ABOUT NACEE

Development of the NACEE initiative

The idea of the establishment of the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Central-Eastern Europe (NACEE) emerged during the activity of the Central-Eastern European Committee of the European Aquaculture Society (EAS) in early 2003. The main mandate of the envisaged network was to facilitate that the R&D sphere in Central-Eastern Europe be an integral part of the European Research Area.

After initial evaluation of the needs and possibilities, the idea of NACEE was publicly announced during the International Symposium "Coldwater Aquaculture: Start in the 21 st Century", in St-Petersburg , Russia , on 7-15 September 2003. Aquaculture institutions of five CEE countries (Belarus , Czech Republic , Hungary , Russia and Ukraine) joined the initiative during the conference. This is considered to be the date of launching of NACEE.

In the same period, starting from October 2003, aquaculture-related institutions of the region were informed on NACEE. In one year, by November 2004, twenty-three institutions and organisations have returned the signed "Letters of intent", expressing their wish to join the Network.

Even though the Network existed only informally at the time, it started one of its main activities, collecting and dissemination of aquaculture-related information to members as early as in January 2004. Members were informed about and encouraged to take part in the FEAP PROFET Workshop on Inland Fisheries and Freshwater Aquaculture (Budapest , Hungary , 20-21 February 2004). This event provided an opportunity to establish cooperation between Russia and AquaTT. NACEE assisted FAO in collection and translation of national aquaculture development strategies of three CEE countries, Croatia , Hungary and Ukraine in February-May 2004. The Network made it possible to collect information on aquaculture producer associations in CEE, which was presented at the FAO EIFAC Symposium on Aquaculture Development "Partnership between Science and Producer Associations" (Wierzba , Poland , 26 May- 2 June 2004) and subsequently published in FAO Aquaculture Newsletter. During the EIFAC Symposium, participation from NACEE member institutions was so significant that it allowed organizing the first ad-hoc Meeting of NACEE.

Simultaneously, international acknowledgement and support of NACEE was also growing. Information on the Network was published in several journals, including World Aquaculture Magazine and Eurofish Magazine. Relevant international organizations (EU, FAO, EAS, FEAP, NACA) were informed on the Network and expressed their strong support for the initiative. Representatives of FAO, EAS, NACA and IUCN attended the ad-hoc meeting of NACEE in Wierzba and helped in developing priorities and strategies of NACEE using the experience of other similar networking arrangements. NACEE was asked to sponsor the AQUA 2006 Conference and Exhibition and to hold its next meeting in conjunction with this event. The Network was also accepted as a member of the ASEM Aquaculture Platform and invited to its Workshop on Aquaculture Animal Health Improvement (Barcelona, Spain, 24-26 October 2004).

The Network was formally founded during the First Meeting of NACEE Directors (Szarvas, Hungary, 21-24 November 2004), when directors and representatives of 23 institutions and organizations from 13 CEE countries signed a formal Founding Document and agreed on the structure and the operational framework of NACEE.

By the Second Meeting of NACEE Directors (Astrakhan, Russian Federation, 8-9 September 2005), NACEE increased its membership to 31 institutions and organizations from 13 countries. The participants adopted the By-law and Rules of Procedure of NACEE, thus laying down the operational framework of the Network. In addition to organizational issues, concrete steps were taken toward the development of joint project activities. NACEE directors determined four priority areas for joint work, four respective Working Groups were formed, each coordinated by a Lead Centre responsible for the activities of the given Working Group.

In conjunction with the Second Meeting of Directors, the FAO / NACEE Expert Workshop on Regional Aquaculture Review in Central and Eastern Europe was also organized in Astrakhan, when experts from CEE countries presented the National Aquaculture Sector Overviews (NASO) and Prospective Analyses of Future Aquaculture Development (PAFAD) of their respective countries. The submitted materials were compiled into a Regional Review of Aquaculture in Central and Eastern Europe by the NACEE Coordinating Institution, which was then discussed and adopted during the Workshop.

After requesting the establishment of formal relations between the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Central and Eastern Europe (NACEE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), FAO decided to grant NACEE liaison status with the Organization on 7 June 2006. A representative of NACEE was invited to the 3 rd. COFI Aquaculture Sub-Committee Meeting held in Delhi between 4-7 September 2006. NACEE was referred in the meeting report as a good example for regional networking, and NACEE could also contribute to the development of inter-regional collaboration, which is encouraged by the COFI Aquaculture Sub-Committee.

The Third Meeting of NACEE Directors (Dubrovnik, Croatia, 28-30 September 2006) saw, in addition to discussion of different organizational and technical issues, further development of collaboration, especially in the framework of the NACEE Working Groups. A particular result of the Meeting was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on establishment of a Joint NACEE Master Programme in Aquaculture by the NACEE member educational institutions.

 

Structure and function

The Network is a voluntary association of Central and Eastern European aquaculture institutions, in which all members maintain their full independence. Activities are coordinated by the Research Institute for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Irrigation ( HAKI ) of Hungary. All member institutions assign a liaison person (preferably speaking both English and Russian) who is in regular contact with the coordinating institution HAKI . The language of the communication is English and Russian, which means that members can use either English or Russian. Members inform the coordinator about all events, which may count for the interest of other members. The coordinator then distributes the information among the members of the Network. The coordinator also disseminates major information from European organisations and institutions, which may be relevant for members of the Network. The directors of the Network will meet once a year in different member countries. The structure and function of the Network could further be defined and regulated upon the decision of the directors of the member institutions. New members can join the Network upon the consensus of the directors of member institutions.

Current members of NACEE

NACEE membership is open to any Central and Eastern European research institute, university or producer association in the field of fisheries and aquaculture. Currently, the Network consists of 38 institutions from 15 countries, as follows:

Belarus

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Croatia

Czech Republic

Estonia

  • Department of Fish Farming, Estonian Agricultural University, Tartu , Estonia

Hungary

Latvia

Lithuania

Moldova

Montenegro

Poland

Romania

Russian Federation

Ukraine

 

It was decided that the Fourth Meeting of Directors of NACEE would be held in Galaţi, Romania on 27-29 September 2007.

Members Contacts