3rd Summer Shoal 2019 on fish ethology & welfare

Two full days of oral presentations, with text books on the participants' knees, followed by animated discussions in the circle under a big pine tree—and many opportunities to further discuss fish welfare issues in small groups during the breaks: This is the Summer Shoal, a unique dialogue setting among experts with different backgrounds and interests—thus encouraging cooperation beween science, practice, and advocacy.

 

Plenary speaker: Colum Brown


Associate Professor, Macquarie University, Australia

Culum is one of the top international experts in cognition, intelligence, and behaviour of fishes. For years he has studied the behavioural ecology of fishes with a special interest in learning and memory. Culum's academic path crossed through Melbourne University, University of Queensland and Cambridge University where he worked on social learning in a range of fishes. A further post-doc at the University of Edinburgh expanded on his background in learning by examining the ecological correlates of cognition in Poeciliid fishes. This work was conducted in collaboration with the Smithsonian Research Institute in Panama.

In 2006, he moved to Macquarie University on an Australian Research Fellowship. Culum won a young researcher award from Australian Academy of Science in 2007 and Young Tall Poppy Award in 2008. He is now an Associate Professor at Macquarie Uni. Culum is Editor for the journal Animal Behaviour, Assistant Editor of the Journal of Fish Biology, and the editor of a book entitled Fish Cognition and Behavior, published by Blackwell Scientific (2006, 2011). Apart from an exceptional scientific record, Culum is a brilliant speaker who delighted the audience with his insights into the minds of fish.





The 2019 edition took place in the Algarve in southern Portugal, in the lovely small resort Pedras d'el Rei at the Atlantic coast, half an hour by car east of the Faro airport. The meetings were organised by the sea, in the heart of the Ria Formosa nature park and its marvellous barrier islands.

 

Find the programme here.

View the full text book of all presentations

 

View the videos of presentations and discussions (for the video, click on the name; for the text, click on the title):

 

Aquaculture sessions

Culum Brown (Plenary speaker)
Prof., Macqaurie University, Australia
Fish cognition and the implications for welfare

Tatjana Colchen
Université Rennes, France
Welfare in early life stages of fish: review and new considerations

Melina Silva
CCMAR, Portugal
Study of chemical communication and aggression in the Siamese fighting fish may give new insights to improve fish welfare

Marco Cerqueira
University of the Algarve, Post-doc researcher, Portugal
Proteomics and other "omics" in the context of farmed fish welfare biomarkers

Becca Franks (Keynote speaker)
Prof., University of New York, USA
What would complete fish welfare look like?

Pablo Arechabala-Lopez
Fish Ethology and Welfare Group, researcher, Spain
On environmental enrichment and fish welfare in aquaculture

Joao Luis Saraiva
Fish Ethology and Welfare Group, team leader, Portugal
A Global Assessment of Welfare in Farmed Fishes: The FishEthoBase

Susanna Lybaek
Norwegian Animal Protection Alliance, zoologist and scientific adviser, Norway
SMÅFISKVEL: How can we improve welfare in Atlantic salmon production?

Georg O. Herriger
Chairman Swifish AG, Switzerland
Experiencing near-natural reproduction of pike perch

Walter Sanchez-Suarez
Mercy For Animals, Animal Behavior & Welfare Specialist, Spain/USA
From land to water: using terrestrial animal welfare science to inform fish welfare

Maria Filipa Castanheira
Fish Ethology and Welfare Group, researcher, Spain
Fish welfare criteria in worldwide aquaculture: the contribution of CAREFISH project

Fernanda Seles David
Friend of the Sea,Italy
On why an how integrating fish welfare to a sustainability certification scheme

Janneke Aelen
ASC Fish Welfare Standard Coordinator, Netherlands
Fish welfare indicators in ASC certification

Stefan A. Johnigk
Aquaculture Welfare Standards Intiative, Germany
Between fascination and fear - a psychological perspective on aquaculture of fish and its implications for welfare standards

 

Fisheries sessions

Phil Brooke
Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), Research and Education Manager, UK
Improving welfare in wild fisheries

Douglas Waley
Eurogroup for Animals, fish welfare programme leader, Belgium
Fish Welfare in European Fisheries and Fishery Policy

Nicolas Blanc
Sciaena, Portugal
Should we aim for more? A look into fish welfare in EU fisheries

Joelle Philippe
Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements (CFFA), Belgium
Improving working conditions in African artisanal fisheries

Billo Heinzpeter Studer
fair-fish international, president, Italy/Switzerland
Combining the welfare of fishes and fishermen in artisanal vs. industrial fisheries

 

Roundtable 1
Welfare in fisheries: how? When?

Roundtable 2
Welfare in aquaculture: global implementation challenges

Out of programme:
William Bench
Aquatic Life Institute, USA