The sector of aquaculture has been recording constant growth trends at global level triggered by the progressive increase in world population and the resulting growing demand for food. The consumption of fish products has grown by 27% over the last ten years, and FAO estimates that aquaculture will meet 62% of global food demand in 2030.

The purpose of fish RISE is to increase economic social and environmental sustainability of aquaculture through the design and development of a wide methodological and technological framework for technological land-based and offshore aquaculture. The implementation of the framework solutions will follow a multidisciplinary approach so as to deal with the problem from multiple points of view by identifying the excellent solution in terms of methodologies and technologies.

The project consortium will develop two prototypes of sustainable technology assisted production systems in land-based and offshore aquaculture.

In order to give to the project a holistic structure, fish RISE aims to achieve 3 Macro Specific Objectives:

1. Food system: creation of technologies and methodologies to ensure the quality of edible products and other biotechnological (biopolymer) derivatives produced by the fish RISE platform;
2. Health management system: creation of technologies and methodologies to ensure the farmed fish health and growth, by controlling and monitoring the production environment;
3. Control and management system: creation of technologies and methodologies to ensure the functioning of the structure with respect to the external environment and the relationship between the farmed fishes and the external environment.

Planetek Italia will enable the exploitation of Earth Observation data and technology towards more sustainable aquaculture systems, by providing EO data of water quality, contributing to the development of coastal marine forecasts at very high-resolution for an off-shore autonomous cage, supporting in the development of a Decision Support System for Aquaculture and overseeing the technical experimentation of both systems developed within the project.

Main project activities include:

• Analysis and background definition of knowledge methodologies and technologies for assisted land-based and offshore aquaculture;
• Design and development of the food system, to ensure the quality of the edible products and derivatives of biotechnological interest
• Design and development of the health management system, for the production systems controlling and monitoring;
• Development of the integrated land-based aquaculture system in its prototype version;
• Development of the structural components of the offshore aquaculture cage;
• Development of the information system that allows monitoring and managing production structures;
• Development of a weather marine forecast system for offshore cage;
• Integration of the different components and operations

Expected results

fish RISE will allow to monitor fish behavior according to habitat parameters, presence of nutrients, use of natural or artificial light, thanks to an ICT system for continuing monitoring, control and implementation, with the aim of both getting automatic information on biomass state and farming habitat – previously collected through sampling or human activities (whose results required longer waiting time), and improving the management of production processes and the aquaculture system itself. Moreover, the project will allow a smarter use of water, nutrients and processing waste, and to diversify the process outcomes.

Project Partners
Coordinated by Xenia Progetti Srl, the projet involves also Apphia Srl, Badinotti Group, Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change (CMCC), Cooperative Research Institute (ICR), Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies (CBN-IIT), ISPRA, Maricoltura Mattinatese, Planetek Italia Srl, Università del Salento, Università della Tuscia, Università del Piemonte Orientale.

Visit the official website to learn more https://www.fishrise.eu

Project financed as part of the Notice for the presentation of industrial research and experimental development projects in the 12 areas of specialization identified by the PNR 2015-2020, “Blue growth” specialization area, code ARS01_01053.