20 Apr Aquaculture Europe 2025: The future of aquaculture is in Valencia

Aquaculture Europe 2025, the congress of the European Aquaculture Society (EAS), an international non-profit organisation based in Ostend, Belgium, whose aim is to promote and develop European aquaculture in an environmentally and economically sustainable way, will be held at the Palacio de Congresos de Valencia from 22 to 25 September 2025. The EAS organises conferences, workshops and symposia to facilitate the exchange of knowledge between scientists, industry professionals and policy makers in the aquaculture sector.
With this in mind, the EAS expects to bring together more than 3000 European experts from academia, product and service providers and producers in Valencia in 2025 for a congress that will consist of scientific conferences, sectoral meetings, a trade exhibition, industry forums, workshops and student events. It will be a showcase for sustainability and a forum for collaboration and knowledge exchange between professionals from around the world, where multi-stakeholder collaboration, from government institutions to industry organisations, aims to demonstrate a shared commitment to a more sustainable future for aquaculture.

The Valencian Community as a key element

Aquaculture Europe 2025 is an event promoted by the Torre de la Sal Aquaculture Institute (IATS), a reference centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) located in Castellón, with cutting-edge research in aquaculture. The congress will be chaired by research professor Jaume Pérez and will be a unique opportunity to highlight the importance of aquaculture in the Community of Valencia, both in terms of production and research.
Aquaculture Europe 2025 will also be the platform for the presentation of the final results of the ThinkInAzul programme, a major marine and aquaculture research initiative funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Regional Ministry of Innovation of the Valencian Government, and coordinated by IATS-CSIC together with several public and private universities in the Valencian Community. ThinKInAzul aims to reduce the negative impact of climate change on the blue economy, the preservation of the marine environment and aquaculture production.
The fact that the Valencian Community is the leading producer of farmed fish in Spain is confirmed by a production of more than 14,000 tonnes in 2021, including sea bream, sea bass, sea bream and eel. This figure puts it at the top of Spanish production, closely followed by Murcia, Andalusia, Galicia and the Canary Islands. The Generalitat Valenciana has promoted the economic and technological development of aquaculture in the region, while the CSIC and Valencian universities have contributed significantly to research in marine sciences and aquaculture.

Aquaculture Europe 2025: “Aquaculture for all – Investing in our planet”

The title of the Congress, “Aquaculture for everyone – Invest in our planet”, reflects the commitment to develop a sustainable and inclusive aquaculture, compatible with the environmental and spatial integrity of coastal zones, the responsible involvement of primary sectors, the economic well-being of food value chains,training and long-term learning for public administrations in the field of aquaculture.

This vision has been enthusiastically endorsed by the Generalitat Valenciana, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Spanish Aquaculture Observatory, the Association of Aquaculture Producers of Spain (APROMAR) and the Plataforma Tecnológica Española de la Pesca y la Acuicultura, among others. This reflects the commitment at both regional and national level to promote sustainable aquaculture.

There is no doubt that the promotion of aquaculture is essential for the development of blue growth, due to its potential for innovation and the development of cutting-edge techniques based on high certification standards, as well as the creation of inclusive and sustainable jobs. The growth potential of aquaculture is very interesting, without forgetting that the aquaculture sector currently supplies, and will be able to supply in the future, a large part of the world’s population with animal protein in an environmentally friendly way, thus implementing some of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the UN.

In conclusion, AE2025 represents an important milestone in the promotion of sustainable aquaculture and knowledge exchange in Europe, and offers the Community of Valencia a unique opportunity to highlight its national leadership in fish production.