B2E presents AEIOU of Aquaculture to 35 children in Vila do Conde

Blue Bioeconomy Collaborative Laboratory visited a Kindergarten in Vila do Conde

What is “Aquaculture”? What are the main “Species” cultivated in Portugal? What is “IMTA”? What is “Omega-3” for? And which “Universities” offer courses linked to this sector of activity?

These were some of the questions that B2E clarified this Tuesday at Jardim dos Sonhos, in Vila do Conde, with an audience of 35 children between 3 and 6 years old as part of the most recent “AEIOU of Aquaculture” campaign.

The campaign consists of short videos in which each letter corresponds to a keyword. So:

A – corresponds to “Aquaculture”, which is defined as “the cultivation of fish, shellfish or plants, in water”.

E – is associated with “Species”, indicating the main species produced in aquaculture in Portugal which are “clams, oysters, turbot, mussels, sea bream and sea bass”.

I – designates the aquaculture production system “IMTA” (Integrated MultiTrophic Aquaculture), “one of the possible systems of aquaculture production”, where “food waste of one species is recycled and becomes food of another species” with, therefore, circularity.

O – corresponds to “Omega-3” whose main source is fish, being strongly present in aquaculture fish, and which “is an essential fat for us to be healthy”.

U – refers to “Universities” and the academic courses in the area, available from north to south of Portugal, opening horizons for possible professions in the sector, ranging from “marine biology” to “research”, “seafood production”, “diving”, among others.

The action was supported by the company Sea Eight, through the presence of a sole aquaculture recirculation system and Carlos Vila-Franca, Aquaculture Technician, who clarified the children’s questions; AIMM – Marine Environment Research Association, which provided photographs; by CIIMAR – Interdisciplinary Center for Marine and Environmental Research which provided 3D fish models and also by (Sonae) MC that offered high quality and fresh aquaculture fish for lunch of the entire school community.

You can learn more about the campaign and watch its videos here.