The “Aquaculture Congress 2018” was held under the auspices of the Presidency of the Greek Republic, on June 22-23 in Athens, Greece, in the conference rooms of the Domotel Hotel, in Kastri. The Congress, organized by the University of Thessaly, the consulting firm AMBIO S.A. and the “Dome” Consulting Firm, with the support of the Hellenic Aquaculture Producers Organization (ELOPY), was attended by the President of the Greek Democracy, Mr. Prokopis Pavlopoulos himself, who addressed a greeting speech, launching the event.
The Congress was attended by a number of representatives of political leadership and the political world, as well as representatives of international organizations and authorities of the Community, including Mr Karmenu Vella, Commissioner DG MARE (he sent a video greeting), executives of DG Mare, of FAO/GFCM and UNEP/MAP. On behalf of the aquaculture industry, except for ELOPY President Dimitris Valachis, many industry and company executives attended the event. From the Public Administration, Dr. Irene Klampacea, Secretary General of Spatial Planning and Urban Environment, Ministry of Environment and Energy, addressed the assembly via video call. Also, they honored the event with their presence, Ms. Angeliki Kallaras, Head of Aquaculture Department, Directorate-General for Fisheries, Ministry of Rural Development and Food, many Heads of Departments of the relevant Ministries, as well as many officials.
The conference provided an opportunity to reaffirm the leadership and importance of aquaculture for the Greek economy. Also, the opportunity to analyze important issues such as the status and size of the industry, the institutional framework in relation with spatial analysis and environmental issues, European markets, the role of ELOPY, funding tools, modern research trends in the industry, innovative solutions, and finally the challenges the industry is facing and the prospects both within and outside Greece.
The valuable conclusions reached are detailed in the Congress’s Proceedings.