Researchers from 16 countries are uniting to transform aquatic animal health and welfare within the European aquaculture industry, while also supporting the environmentally friendly, inclusive, safe and healthy production of seafood.

Funded by the EU Horizon Europe program, Cure4Aqua is a €4.8 million, 4.5-year project that will develop new approaches to prevent aquatic fish diseases through innovative prophylaxis and technologies for early disease detection, while also supporting the advancement of alternative treatments to replace pharmaceuticals in disease control.

Cure4Aqua has brought together leading experts to develop cost-effective vaccines to prevent diseases in farmed fish, implement selective breeding programs to improve stress and disease management, develop innovative, bio-based and sustainable alternatives to antibiotics for controlling fish diseases at various life stages and improve diagnostics of fish pathogens, among others.

“Research must be at the forefront of positive changes that will ensure our food systems are sustainable while caring about high health and welfare standards for fish. There is an urgent need to solve some of the major shortcomings and constraints that the European aquaculture industry is facing. Cure4Aqua will address these issues by building a co-creative approach with other players interested and involved in aquaculture,” said Cure4Aqua project coordinator, Ivona Mladineo from the Institute of Parasitology (BCAS) in Czech Republic.

Cure4Aqua partners held an inaugural project meeting in November 2022 in Prague, Czech Republic.