Strengthening of Centres for Aquaculture production and Safety surveillance in Adriatic Cross-border Countries

The fishery sector is one of the most important or even strategic areas for most of the economies of Adriatic Cross-border Countries. The thousands kilometers of coasts belonging to those Countries represent an incredible resource not only for the tourist sector, but also for the production of high quality fishery and mollusc products. The present project will continue and extend the actions successfully carried out in two previous cross-border CARDS – Phare projects. The first project "SARA’" created an Interregional Center for food safety and risk analysis involving, among others Italian partners, the Istituto G. Caporale Teramo of Italy, Veterinary Services and Food Safety Authority of Croatia and Veterinary Services of Rep. of Montenegro. The second project "CAPS" established a Croatian Centre for Aquaculture Production and Safety, dedicated to the diagnosis of microbiology problems and ichthyopathologies. Project promoted also the development of several new diagnostic services for aquaculture farms through the strengthening of the Croatian Veterinary Institute (CVI) diagnostic tools and implemented a web GIS application for the surveillance of molluscs biological safety conditions. In addition, the collection and analysis of data on shellfish bacteriological contamination permitted to identify the main mollusc species contaminated and consequently to refine the national surveillance plans on shellfish and molluscs production areas. The two projects represent a possible model for transferring and distributing presence of technology and knowledge in cross border Adriatic Countries. Following the results obtained with the two previous projects, new risks linked to the contamination of shellfish and aquaculture products need to be assessed. In particular, besides the microbiological hazards, the presence of chemical compounds like heavy metals, benzopyrene and other PAH and the risks to human health posed by the presence of bio-toxins are recently emerging more and more. Thus, CAPS2 project aims to provide main specific technologies and operational capabilities to a higher numbers of laboratories than the previous partenariate, which will be adequately equipped and well acknowlegded for assuring a better policy for the surveillance of fish and mollusc safety conditions. The alignment to the EU sectorial legislation will be guarantee being a main target of the project as well as the attention to adopt innovative tecnologies and validated methods i.e. biotoxins contamination chemical detection. In addition, the implementation of a web GIS application at single national level and at supranational level, for the surveillance of fish and mollusc safety conditions in Adriatic Area could allow the collection and analysis of data on shellfish bacteriological, chemical and toxicological contaminations. This permits to cover a very wide range of identification of the existing main mollusc species contaminated and consequently to refine the national surveillance plans on shellfish and mollusc production areas. Consequently the project aims at involving not only national laboratories but also competent authorithies in order to apply new knowledges to national surveillance plans. The project will share knowledge and it will create networking by involving, at national and supranational levels, stakeholders and target groups, such as among others, Institutions, experts, professionals, farmers, production, commercial and consumer associations. Rising competence levels and encouraging transfer of innovation by the creation of networks, the project will facilitate development of the Adriatic area by ameliorating consumers food safety policies, productivity and effectiveness of mollusc Adriatic production: the project as trigger.