Stakeholders celebrate eight decades of Romanian aquaculture research at Nucet

Applying science in support of fi sh farmers

Aquaculture research has always been the central pillar for aquatic food farming development everywhere. Anniversaries of research institutions serve to acknowledge their contribution to the fi eld, sum up what has been achieved, and identify future challenges that call for science-based answers.

The Nucet Fish Farming Research Centre in Romania, one of the region’s oldest freshwater fi sh farming research institutions and the backbone of the carps and associated species farming development for eight decades, celebrated its 80th anniversary in September this year.

Research started with restocking efforts

Maintaining wild fi sh stocks to allow a sustainable pattern of exploitation through commercial fi shing has been a concern of modern societies since the industrial revolution. Growing populations and increased demand for food resources was mainly tackled using two approaches: an administrative one through establishing fi shing management rules, and the second, by developing aquaculture. Th e latter started with the establishment of experimental fi sh farming institutions to conduct fi sh farming, research to supply the stocking material for natural waters and for fi sh farms, and to provide the knowhow for the systematic development of fi sh farming. One of the fi rst institutions of this kind was established in France, in 1852, at Huningue. Th e model was reproduced all over Europe over the next decades. As a result of the continuous joint eff orts of the scientifi c community, institutions, administrative bodies, and investors, 2014 was the fi rst year when aquaculture production (including aquatic plants) overtook capture fi sheries, according to FAO1 .

Romania, even if has access to 254 km of the Black Sea shoreline, is historically defi ned as a freshwater aquaculture country. Th e fi rst reference to the model experimental freshwater fi sh farms was in the 1896 Fishing Law written by the well-known ichthyologist Grigore Antipa after being awarded a summa cum laude Ph.D. at Jena University (Germany) by the famous zoologist Ernst Haeckel, the fi rst to defi ne “ecology”. Th e plans to develop a consistent and science-based fi sh farming sector in Romania were based upon the development of educational, institutional, and research infrastructure. As a result, between 1919 and 1940 vocational schools, fi sh farming-oriented university curricula, and various research establishments focused on diff erent parts of Romanian fi sheries and aquaculture: the Danube Delta, the Black Sea, trout farming, and carp farming. Initially, fi sh farming research and development was a part of the National Animal Husbandry Institute which was

1 FAO. 2022. Th e State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022. Towards Blue Transformation. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc0461en

The Nucet Fish Farming Research Centre, the premium research institute for the aquaculture sector, celebrated its 80th anniversary in September 2022.

founded in 1926 under the coordination of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Th e Nucet Fish Farming Research Establishment was built between 1937 and 1941 and became part of the Romanian Fisheries Research Institute, which was founded in 1940, as a recognition of the importance of aquaculture to the Romanian economy.

Breeding young fi sh for domestic and international use

From the beginning, the main purpose of the research activity was to fi nd ways to farm carp, to control fi sh reproduction, and to select certain productive traits. In 1960, the Nucet research team started, and succeeded a few years later, to acclimatise grass carp, silver carp, bighead carp, and black carp which contributed to the development of carp polyculture technologies. Th is was a step forward in common carp farming technology which allowed the Romanian fi sh farming sector to reach the highest production fi gures by the middle of the ‘80s. Even today, Nucet Fish Farming Research Centre is one of the main suppliers of Chinese carp larvae and fi ngerlings, not only to the domestic market but also to neighbouring countries. Various innovations and technological improvements on the controlled reproduction of fi sh were tried and confi rmed here during the years, which inspired the researchers to aim higher. Th at is how the scientists managed to acclimatise and breed in controlled conditions the paddlefi sh, the American sturgeon,

at the beginning of the ‘90s. Th is fi sh was soon demanded by fi sh farmers due to its tremendous growth rate and its role in phytoplankton control in carp ponds. Even if trials for controlled reproduction of paddlefi sh were done in several European countries, Nucet Fish Farming Research Centre was the only one that completed the full technological setup for this species, becoming the third biggest brood stock owner in the world following the USA and China.

For more than 30 years Nucet Fish Farming Research Center has been scientifi cally coordinated and partially fi nanced by the Romanian Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences „Gheorghe Ionescu- i e ti“. At the anniversary celebration event the academy was represented by its president Prof. Valeriu Tab r . Among the others who participated were fi sh farmers, scientists, former directors of the research unit, members of the Romanian Parliament, local authorities, staff from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and fi sh farmers’ associations. In his intervention, Professor Tab r emphasised that a research unit was the epitome of research and development activity as it had to deliver substantial results for the economic activity of fi sh farms. Ms Mioara Costache, the current director of the institution joined Nucet Fish Farming Research Center in 1987 as a fresh graduate from Gala i University and has held her position since 2001 guiding the organisation through the hectic transition period which followed the political changes of 1989.

New products and services are developed and offered to farmers

Now, she declared, work at the centre is coupled both to European trends and to Romanian farmers’ needs for applied research activity, but also to the interests of the researchers themselves: “Th e development strategy for our institution is to fi nd solutions to the challenges which the fi sh farmers are confronted with. One of the major objectives of the strategic guidelines for a more sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture for the period 2021 to 2030, adopted last year by the Commission is to increase knowledge and innovation. In this respect, we are looking to scientifi cally underpin the ecosystem services contribution of certain types of fi sh farming, and to deliver stocking material for the restocking of fi sh farms and wild habitats. In the last decade in the fi sh farming sector, the increase in the average age of farmers has become obvious. Th is would not be so damaging if more young farmers were entering the activity. More and more fi sh farms are owned by nonprofessionals who do not know very much about fi sh farming but are keen to learn. Th e negative impact of these changes is mitigated by the stability off ered by an applied research institution like ours. EMFF support was used to set up management, relief, and advisory services for aquaculture farms which also cover various aspects of fi sh farm’s regular activities such as developing technical, scientifi c, or organisational knowledge on aquaculture farms. Th is could reduce the impact on the environment, foster the sustainable use of resources in aquaculture, improve animal welfare, and facilitate new sustainable production methods. Continuing our tradition of developing new aquaculture species with good market potential, new or substantially improved products, and novel or improved technologies, while exploring their technical or economic feasibility is something we are interested in.

As a consequence of the close cooperation and dialogue we maintain with the farmers, in 2020 we have written and published, with the support of EMFF funding, the ”Good Practice Guide for Fish Farming”.

Th e impact of climate change on the production cycle and thus on the economic performance of the sector and also on fi sh welfare, especially on pathologies, are things we are very attentive to. We are considering working on the early detection, prevention, and control of aquatic diseases that are not listed in EU legislation, but that have a signifi cant impact at the farm level. In this context we plan to develop guidelines and procedures for good practice. From our point of view, farmed fi sh welfare means abiding by the technical guidelines and any upgrades made by applied research. Our advisory services include diagnosis and recommendations for the best available methods or products to solve the identifi ed problem.

Pond farming plays an important role in conserving biodiversity

Th ere is a need for consistent research activity on the diff erent types of aquaculture technologies. Our focus is on earthen ponds and on farming common carp and associated species in Central and Eastern Europe, which not only provide food security but also a cultural reference, in addition to their contribution to recent European policies and strategies, such as Farm to Fork, Biodiversity Strategy, and carbon and nutrients sequestration. As for biodiversity, not only in Romania but all over Central and Eastern Europe, Natura 2000 Directives were fi rst applied to carp ponds which met all the designation criteria as a recognition that traditional practices employed in this type of aquaculture have been benefi cial for biodiversity. Without fi sh farming in diff erent types of ponds, a threat that hangs over the sector as it did in the 19th century, the biodiversity index will collapse. We will focus our future activity on identifying and assigning values to ecosystem services in the pond farming sector to support political decisions which could fi nally unify the currently divergent approaches between agricultural policies and aquaculture ones. Th e contribution of research and technological development to aquaculture development can be summed up as a dissemination platform, a place of dialogue, a place of mutual knowledge transfer, not only from the research to the industry, but also from the farmers to the scientifi c community.”

Th e combination of crises coming out of the blue and dramatically challenging our daily routines with ambitious long-term goals, aquaculture research is called to deliver answers to provide the farmers with tools and knowledge to build up resilience. Some of the answers to these challenges are new for sure, but others could be found in history or in traditional practices that have passed the test of time. It is up to the decisionmakers to bolster aquaculture research which is performed in partnership with farmers and especially performed in crossborders consortia, speeding up the dissemination of ideas, technologies and knowledge.

Catalin Platon, Romanian Fish Farmers Association, asromfi sh @gmail.com