Past Events

VeriFish on the Road: Events & Engagements Across Europe

From high-level policy forums to seafood industry expos, VeriFish has been actively engaging with stakeholders across Europe to promote sustainable seafood consumption. Through workshops, conferences, webinars, and exhibitions, we’ve presented our indicator framework, shared project progress, and built connections with partners, consumers, scientists, and producers. This section highlights the events we’ve attended—each one an opportunity to advance transparency, traceability, and sustainability in the seafood value chain.

🔹 Project Consortium Meetings

  • May 2024 – Brussels, Belgium
    Kick-off meeting with project partners and European Commission representatives to launch the VeriFish project and align on objectives, work packages, and implementation.

  • September 2024 – Tromsø, Norway
    VeriFish Consortium Meeting
    Internal consortium meeting held in connection with the Tromsø Seafood Festival, combining project coordination with stakeholder outreach activities.

  • March 2025 – Heraklion, Crete
    VeriFish Working Meeting
    In-person consortium working meeting hosted by FORTH to advance the indicator framework, knowledge base integration, and media product development.

  • June 2025 – Copenhagen, Denmark
    VeriFish Working Meeting and CWA Preparation Session
    Internal meeting focused on coordination, final technical discussions, and preparation for the VeriFish CWA presentation and related outreach activities.

  • November 2025 – Haarlem, the Netherlands
    VeriFish Consortium Meeting
    Project meeting dedicated to reviewing progress, coordination across work packages, and alignment on final dissemination and exploitation actions.

🐟 International Conferences & Policy Events

  • September 2024 – Madrid, Spain
    Eurofish Conference on Circular Economy in Seafood
    VeriFish project materials and objectives were presented and discussed with sector stakeholders in the context of circular economy approaches in fisheries and aquaculture.

    December 2024 – Rome, Italy
    METROFOOD-EPI Open Event / Stakeholder Engagement
    VeriFish contributed to discussions on sustainable food systems, transparency, and traceability, positioning the project within broader food system innovation debates.

    February 2025 – Tromsø, Norway
    Mr.GoodFish 3.0 Co-Creation Workshop
    NOFIMA presented VeriFish indicators and contributed to discussions on sustainable seafood communication and consumer-facing information.

    March 2025 – Brussels, Belgium
    European Ocean Days / Mission Ocean Forum 2025
    VeriFish was presented through outreach materials and engagement with the Mission Ocean and Blue Economy communities.

    March 2025 – New Orleans, USA
    AQUACULTURE 2025
    VeriFish-related insights were shared in discussions addressing traceability and the role of technologies such as blockchain in aquaculture communication systems.
    Note: this only belongs here if VeriFish was explicitly presented, not merely discussed indirectly through a partner.

    March 2025 – Klaksvík, Faroe Islands
    Seafood Traceability Seminar / Sjókovin 5-Year Anniversary
    VeriFish featured in discussions on seafood traceability, fraud prevention, and innovation in transparency systems.

    April 2025 – Brussels, Belgium
    EuroFIR AISBL FoodForum 2025
    The data sources, methodology, and scientific basis of the VeriFish sustainability indicators were presented to a specialised audience.

    May 2025 – Barcelona, Spain
    Seafood Expo Global 2025
    VeriFish was showcased at the Eurofish stand through dissemination materials, stakeholder exchanges, and project promotion activities.

    May 2025 – Vilnius, Lithuania
    Market Seminar on Fisheries and Aquaculture
    Ixai Salvo (Eurofish) presented the VeriFish indicator framework during a high-level FAO/GLOBEFISH-related seminar.

    June 2025 – Online
    UN Ocean Conference 3 (UNOC3) Virtual Side Event
    VeriFish co-organised and contributed to the virtual side event Can We Still Eat Seafood Responsibly?, linking the project to broader discussions on sustainable seafood consumption and SDG 14.

    June 2025 – Tallinn, Estonia
    Eurofish Conference on Predators and Invasive Species
    VeriFish dissemination materials were presented in connection with broader discussions on fisheries sustainability and ecosystem management.

    August 2025 – Copenhagen, Denmark
    A Seat at the Table – Connecting Food, Culture, and Sustainability
    VeriFish participated in this conference hosted by New Arctic Kitchen, contributing to discussions linking seafood, sustainability, communication, and consumer culture.

    August 2025 – Paris, France
    23rd International Congress of Nutrition (ICN 2025)
    VeriFish contributed to nutrition-related dissemination, reinforcing the project’s integrated environmental, socio-economic, and nutritional perspective.

    September 2025 – Valencia, Spain
    Aquaculture Europe 2025
    VeriFish participated in the event and was promoted alongside other EU initiatives through fair presence, networking, and dissemination activities.
    Do not claim “the project has its own stand” unless you can prove it. That is exactly the kind of sloppy overclaim that gets noticed.

    September 2025 – Rome, Italy
    14th International Food Data Conference (IFDC 2025)
    EuroFIR represented work relevant to VeriFish in the context of food data systems and nutritional information.
    Again: only keep this as a VeriFish event if VeriFish was explicitly presented.

    October 2025 – Vigo, Spain
    Conxemar 2025
    VeriFish was promoted through dissemination materials, networking, and project-related discussions during the fair.

    October 2025 – Heraklion, Greece
    14th International Joint Conference on Knowledge Graphs (IJCKG 2025)
    VeriFish-related work was presented in the context of semantic integration, knowledge bases, and digital infrastructures relevant to the project.

    November 2025 – Online / Hybrid
    Catch Welfare Platform Conference
    VeriFish-related work contributed to discussions on translating operational welfare considerations into communication indicators relevant to seafood sustainability.
    Your original wording was clumsy and misspelled. Also, if only NOFIMA attended, say so clearly and stop pretending the whole project was there.

    January 2026 – Tromsø, Norway
    Arctic Frontiers 2026
    VeriFish participated in outreach and stakeholder engagement activities connected to sustainable seafood, traceability, and responsible communication.

    February 2026 – Ostend, Belgium
    Market Advisory Council WG1 Meeting
    VeriFish and its latest outcomes were presented to fisheries and market stakeholders, including progress on the web app and indicator framework.

    February 2026 – Pordenone, Italy
    AquaFarm 2026
    VeriFish was presented through dissemination activities targeting aquaculture stakeholders and sector professionals.

    March 2026 – Brussels, Belgium
    Mission Ocean Forum 2026 / European Ocean Days
    VeriFish participated in the broader Mission Ocean policy and stakeholder environment through dissemination and clustering activities.

    March 2026 – Brussels, Belgium
    VeriFish Final Event
    The project’s final event brought together partners, experts, and stakeholders to present the main results, including the indicator framework, communication guidelines, and media products.

    2026 – Brussels, Belgium
    Food 2030 Clustering Workshop: Food from the Ocean and Freshwater Resources
    VeriFish participated in this clustering exercise to exchange results and align with related EU initiatives.

    2026 – Seville, Spain
    OSCARS General Assembly
    VeriFish was featured in discussions connected to FAIR data, open science, and research infrastructure relevance.

    April 2026 – Barcelona, Spain
    Seafood Expo Global 2026
    VeriFish was showcased at the Eurofish stand as part of project dissemination and stakeholder outreach.

🤝 Workshops, Co-Creation & Stakeholder Engagement

🎣 Exhibitions & Trade Events

  • AQUA2024 (Copenhagen, Denmark) – Eurofish represented VeriFish through networking and a communication campaign.

  • PolFish 2024 (Gdańsk, Poland) – Eurofish represented VeriFish through materials and networking.

  • Conxemar 2024 (Vigo, Spain) – Project promoted via the Eurofish stand and side discussions.

  • Tromsø Seafood Festival (Norway, 2024) – Public engagement around sustainability and seafood awareness.

  • Aquaculture Europe 2025 – The project has its own stand in the fair.

  • Conxemar 2025 (Vigo, Spain) – Project promoted via the Eurofish stand and side discussions.

  • Seafood Expo Global 2026 April 2026 – Barcelona, Spain
    Continued dissemination of VeriFish results to seafood sector stakeholders.

🏛️ Institutional & Bilateral Engagements

  • Brussels Stakeholder Meetings
    Autumn 2024 – Brussels, Belgium
    Alignment sessions with EU DG MARE, Mission Ocean teams, and EU4Ocean platforms.

  • Visit of the Deputy Ambassador of Spain to Eurofish HQ
    2024 – Copenhagen, Denmark
    High-level briefing on VeriFish and its contributions to Spain’s blue economy agenda.

  • Seafood Traceability Seminar
    April 2025 – Klaksvík, Faroe Islands
    NOFIMA and VeriFish featured in discussions on seafood fraud and blockchain innovation.

David Bassett

Employed by EATiP since 2017, David is responsible for the day-to-day management and direction of this European wide multi-actor ETP. 

Working in the aquaculture industry since 2005, including a decade as the executive of a UK producer association, he has been active in numerous projects from the sixth Framework Programme. Among other roles, David has served as a director of the Scottish Aquaculture Research Forum and served on the Technical Advisory Group of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC TAG) alongside being invited as a guest lecturer at the Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling (UK).  

In addition to working on multiple Horizon Europe projects David is one of the Technical Experts assisting with the implementation of the EU Aquaculture Assistance Mechanism in addition to chairing the research focus group of the Aquaculture Advisory Council (AAC) and sitting on the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research – Fish Committee (SCAR-Fish). 

For further information on EATiP please see www.eatip.eu 

Paul Bulcock

Paul Bulcock is responsible for developing and maintaining aquaculture information in SFP’s systems (e.g., FishSource, AIP Directory, Metrics). He also supports development and implementation of aquaculture strategy through research and analysis.

Paul has extensive program support and aquaculture research experience (particularly in Southeast Asia), having worked for the Network of Aquaculture Centers in Asia-Pacific (NACA) and DFID’s Aquaculture and Fish Genetics Research Programme (AFGRP) at the Institute of Aquaculture, in Stirling, UK. He has an MSc in aquaculture from the University of Stirling and a BSc in marine and fisheries zoology from the University of Aberdeen.

Paul is based in the UK, in Glasgow, Scotland.

Fabio Grati

A fishery biologist presently employed at the National Research Council, Institute for Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnology (Ancona, Italy), he brings to the table more than thirty years of expertise in marine environmental conservation and sustainable resource management. Over the course of his career, he has overseen and participated in numerous international projects focused on understanding and mitigating anthropic impacts on marine ecosystems. Since 2019, he holds a membership in the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) under the European Commission. Within this role, he has chaired two STECF Expert Working Groups (EWG 22-12 and EWG 23-18), where he led efforts to establish scientifically robust yet accessible criteria and indicators for assessing the sustainability of fisheries products.

Andrea Fabris

Andrea Fabris born 11.08.1968, Italian, has a Veterinary Medicine full graduation achieved at the University of Parma. He has also a Specialization in “Farming, Hygiene, Pathology of Aquatic Species and Control of Derivative Products ” achieved at Udine University and a Specialization in “Animal Feeding” obtained at Bologna University.

Actually (from May 2016) he is Director of Associazione Piscicoltori Italiani (API – Italian Fish Farmers Association). At National level behalf of API he is member of some working groups at the General Direction for Fisheries and Aquaculture of Italian Ministry of Agriculture and Italian Ministry of Health regarding aquaculture EU rules and their implementation at national and regional level, and member of Exotic Species Aquaculture Committee – Italian Ministry of Agriculture. Lecturer on in training /courses organized by Ministry of Health, Universities and Local Veterinary Authorities; member of Board of Directors of SIPI (Italian Society of Fish Pathology).

He is also involved at international level with the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP) as Chairman of FEAP Fish Health and Welfare Commission. Andrea is part of the FVE (Federation of Veterinarians Europe) Aquaculture Working Group, and of FishMedPlus Coalition, and from the beginning member of Aquaculture Advisory Council (AAC) where is actually Chair of WG1 – Finfish.

He published as an author or co-author about 30 articles on international and national scientific journals concerning Fish pathology and Aquaculture and more than 60 issues on divulgative (fishermen and aquaculture producers associations) publications

Anne Marie Cooper

Anne shapes global sustainable fisheries and aquaculture policies through her work at the science-policy interface. Driven by a commitment to improving human lives and aquatic ecosystems, she serves as the Professional Officer for Fisheries and Aquaculture Advice at the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) in Copenhagen, Denmark. Anne leads ICES’ efforts in developing and applying methods to provide scientific advice on data-limited fish and shellfish stocks in the Northeast Atlantic, covering over 60% of ICES stocks. She also heads the development of ICES’
advisory framework for sustainable aquaculture. Before joining ICES, Anne advised on national fisheries, aquaculture, climate, and marine science policy in the US Senate, House of Representatives, and NOAA. She holds a Ph.D. in Conservation Biology and Development Studies and Social Change Theory and an M.Sc. in Fisheries Science from the University of Minnesota.

Pedro Reis Santos

Pedro Reis Santos is Secretary General of the Market Advisory Council (MAC), a stakeholder-led advisory body to the European Commission and to the Member States on matters relevant for the EU market of fishery and aquaculture products, as foreseen by the Common Fisheries Policy Regulation.

Before his appointment, in July 2019, as Secretary General, Mr Reis Santos worked as a consultant for a Brussels-based business intelligence service monitoring EU developments on fisheries, agriculture, food, animal welfare, alcohol and tobacco policy. Prior to that, he was a trainee at the Fisheries Unit of the Council of the European Union and a trainee at the Control Unit of the Portuguese Fisheries Authority.

Mr Reis Santos holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law and a Master’s degree in International Law and International Relations from the University of Lisbon with a thesis titled “Marine Protected Areas beyond National Jurisdiction”. Besides his first language, Portuguese, he speaks English and Spanish

Irene Kranendonk

Irene Kranendonk is the Impact Manager at Fish Tales and a board member of the Fish Tales Foundation. Her work focuses on developing and guiding Fish Tales’ sourcing criteria including management of the environmental and social certification schemes. With the Fish Tales Foundation and local partner organizations, she drives social and environmental improvements in small scale fisheries. Irene holds a master’s degree from Wageningen University in Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management and is specialized in the field of fisheries ecology. In a previous role, Irene was sustainable seafood assessor for the Dutch seafood rating scheme the VISwijzer.