The Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale of Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d’Aosta have recently awarded the “RESILTROUT – Resilient Aquaculture to Global Changes: Research Supporting the Italian Trout Farms” Program (2022-2026), funded by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Forestry.
This Program primarily targets the freshwater aquaculture sector, specifically trout farming, which holds historical and production significance in Italy. The overarching objective of the RESILTROUT Program is to bolster the competitiveness of Italian aquaculture production by capitalizing on research and technological advancements. This entails integrating both research and production sectors to ensure long-term sustainability across environmental, economic, and social dimensions throughout the entire aquaculture sector. Moreover, RESILTROUT aims to foster stable collaboration among several stakeholders within the aquaculture value chain. This overarching goal will be pursued through the attainment of specific objectives, aligned with the environmental goals outlined in the European Regulation n. 852/2020:
objective 1: achieving environmentally friendly and sustainable businesses to address the environmental goal of “mitigating climate change”;
objective 2: selecting resilient trout strains in alignment with the environmental goal of “adapting to climate change”;
objective 3: implementing water recirculation systems, promoting the sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources;
objective 4: reusing wastewater sludge and implementing measures for energy and resource efficiency, contributing to the environmental goal of “transitioning to a circular economy”;
objective 5: Reducing pharmaceutical contamination in water and sediments, aligning with the environmental goal of “preventing and reducing pollution”;
objective 6: Producing sterile brown trout strains and perform a statistical model to assess the timeline for introducing such strains to ensure the absence of hybridization with the native marble trout. This objective is tied to the environmental goal of “protecting and restoring biodiversity and ecosystems”;
objective 7: Promoting innovation and ensuring the fish welfare.
The small companies (Azienda Agricola Canali Cavour; Troticoltura delle Sorgenti ) and the Università Cattolica of Sacro Cuore (Piacenza, Italy) actively participate in the RESILTROUT activities as beneficiary entities.