WestMED at the ASSOITTICA Sea Food Trade Show 2021

The first edition of the international digital fishery and aquaculture exhibition, organised by the Italian association ASSOITTICA, took place on 20-21 May.

With over 90 virtual exhibitors from South-Eastern Asia to Alaska, from Chile to Mauritania, as well as a high quality programme of seminars and workshops, the WestMED Initiative was invited to have an active presence.

Thanks to a strong support provided in these two years by the Italian NH, the WestMED Assistance Mechanism has joined the venue with :
– a dedicated stand to meet stakeholders, interested in its technical assistance and services;
– the first official webinar held by AquaWest, the newly created WestMED Technical Group on Sustainable Aquaculture, with a strong focus on the Southern shore countries of the Mediterranean.

With the participation of the FAO/GFCM representative for Aquaculture, stakeholders from Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania and Libya have had the possibility to present and debate on their national plans for the development of sustainable aquaculture, but also to access to Italian and French good practices towards the Green & Blue bio-economy.

The combination of increased production capacity (in response to internal and export demand) with the environmental, economic and financial sustainability, represents the main current challenge for these young and dynamic societies.

The WestMED stand was intensively visited during the two days by an international public of operators, confirming the importance of the sub-basin initiative of DG MARE and its impact on the Blue Growth ecosystem.