The 4th meeting of the Erasmus+ MARIPET project in Reykjavik
The fourth meeting of the Erasmus+ project “Innovative Curriculum to Evaluate Marine Fishery Discards as Raw Pet Food for Sustainable Europe” [MARIPET] took place on 28th and 29th November at the Agricultural University of Iceland in Reykjavík. Prof. Dr. Aušra Blinstrubienė, Vice-Chancellor of the Agricultural University, and Dr. Anželika Dautartė, Associate Professor at the Department of Environment and Ecology, participated in the meeting.
During the visit, the Vice-Chancellor met with Ragnheidur Inga Thorarinsdottir, Rector of the Icelandic University of Agriculture, to look into prospective scientific and educational collaboration.
Dissemination activities are scheduled to occur in all project nations in January 2024, as stated on the first day of the meeting, which focused on the completion of the project. The unique five-module curriculum, the online learning platform, the experts’ and producers’ platform for pet food, and the pilot testing of the curriculum in the first week of February were the main points of discussion. The manual/e-book on producing pet food from discarded fish has been finished in terms of organisation, publishing, and distribution.
On the second day of the meeting, a visit was made to the LYSI company. Founded in 1938, LYSI is one of the world’s largest producers of marine oil for human consumption and a pioneer in fish oil production. Today, more than 95% of LYSI’s energy consumption comes from renewable sources. LYSI is one of the main actors in Iceland’s policy to achieve full utilisation of all fishing industry inputs. As a leading expert in the production of valuable products from by-products and waste from traditional fish production, the company makes a significant contribution to the responsible use of natural resources.
Another site visited was BRIM, one of Iceland’s largest fishery companies. Responsible fishing and use of marine ecosystems ensures long-term interests and value creation for employees, shareholders, and society. The company measures its carbon emissions and decisions on fishing and processing here are based on economic and environmental considerations. The company is also committed to long-term carbon neutrality and has set a target to reduce its greenhouse gas intensity (tCO2/m€) by 40% between 2015 and 2030.
The project is coordinated by Ege University (Turkey), project partners: University of Balikesir (Turkey), University of Dubrovnik (Croatia), Agricultural University of Iceland, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality (Turkey), Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and Vytautas Magnus University.
The final meeting of the project will take place at Ege University on 7-8 February. The project will end on 28 February 2024.
