How to make aquaculture more stable, efficient and resilient by combining modern technologies, scientific data and regional cooperation and what is Armenia doing in that direction?
Our country has joined the AQUATECH project, “Joint Efforts for Sustainable Aquaculture Production through Technological Advancement”. It is implemented within the Interreg NEXT Black Sea Basin program and unites 6 organizations from Armenia, Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia and Turkey. Armenia’s partner is the International Center for Agribusiness Research and Education.
At the meeting with the journalists, Sona Khojoyan, the coordinator of the project, presented the issues that formed the basis for the implementation of such a project. That is, the marine areas of the Black Sea basin face serious challenges related to environmental degradation, unsustainable aquaculture practices and economic instability of the sector, water pollution exists in these areas, which threatens both the health of aquatic ecosystems and the livelihood opportunities of local communities.
According to him, the program will be implemented in Armenia on the scale of fish farms.
“The main idea of the project is to use modern technology, scientific data and regional cooperation to make aquaculture more sustainable, efficient and resilient. AQUATECH’s overall goal is to increase the sustainability and productivity of aquaculture in the Black Sea Basin project implementation area by introducing advanced environmental monitoring technologies, promoting stakeholder cooperation and disseminating best practices,” the speaker noted.
Through the implementation of early warning systems, the development of hydrodynamic models and the implementation of comprehensive environmental assessments, the project aims to improve water quality management, disease control and the efficiency of aquaculture operations. According to Khojoyan, the expected change is a significant reduction of negative impacts on the environment and an increase in the economic viability of aquaculture farms, which will contribute to the formation of healthier water ecosystems and more resilient local economies.
“The main outputs of AQUATECH are the installation of automated monitoring stations, the development of a hydrodynamic model, the creation of a digital Community of Practice (dCoP), a platform for professional collaboration and knowledge exchange, as well as the development of comprehensive educational and information-promotional materials. These results will be useful for a wide range of stakeholders, including representatives of aquaculture farms, researchers, policy makers and local communities,” said the project coordinator.
He added that the intended approach of the AQUATECH project is based on a combination of technological innovation, stakeholder engagement and capacity building. “Through these joint efforts, the AQUATECH project aims to form a more stable and resilient aquaculture sector in the Black Sea basin, while contributing to environmental protection and the socio-economic development of local communities,” Khojoyan added.
It should be noted that the duration of the program is 30 months.
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