"European aquaculture is on the front line of the climate crisis: rising water temperatures, changes in salinity, emerging diseases and extreme weather events are putting pressure on productivity, fish health and the economic sustainability of farms.

To address these challenges, CIHEAM – through its Zaragoza and Bari Institutes – is organising the webinar “Aquaculture and climate change: Introducing ActFast and OCCAM projects”, to be held online on 25 November 2025, from 10:00 to 11:30 CET. The event will present two new Horizon Europe Innovation Actions, ActFast and OCCAM, which are developing concrete adaptation and mitigation solutions for different European aquaculture systems.

The programme includes presentations on climate modelling applied to aquaculture, key challenges and policy directions at European level, as well as case studies of innovative technologies and practices to increase the resilience of marine and freshwater farms. In particular, early warning systems, functional feeds and genetic approaches for key species such as seabass, seabream, salmon, mussels and carp will be showcased.

ActFast, coordinated by the University of Bologna, brings together 28 partners from 10 EU countries, plus Norway, Tunisia and Egypt, with the aim of validating climate-smart solutions in four pilot regions, from the Mediterranean to Northern Europe. OCCAM, led by Nofima in Norway, involves 22 partners and will develop 12 adaptation solutions in nine European regions, with a specific focus on advanced monitoring systems and strategies to reduce the impacts of algal blooms and parasites.

The webinar will offer researchers, policy-makers and industry stakeholders an opportunity to exchange on the opportunities opened up by these two projects in strengthening the competitiveness and sustainability of European aquaculture.

Participation is free of charge upon online registration.
For further information: https://www.iamz.ciheam.org/agendas/aquaculture-and-climate-change-introducing-actfast-and-occam-projects/.