Blue Education, Training and Culture. The report of the first two days at Acquatina
16/04/2026
The first two days of the Blue Education, Training and Culture training programme took place on 13 and 14 April at the Acquatina Fisheries and Aquaculture Research Centre of the University of Salento.
A joint Italy–Croatia training programme
The training courses, hosted by DiSTeBA, the lead partner, and organised in collaboration with project partners Eduforma, Sea&Karst, Public Institution Dubrovnik-Neretva County Nature and the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, are aimed at twenty young students, equally divided between Italy and Croatia.
The participants met and worked together, drawing on the knowledge and expertise on the blue economy, alien species and the protection of marine biodiversity developed within the project, whilst at the same time highlighting the variety of skills and expertise within the Italian-Croatian partnership.
Activities at Acquatina
At Acquatina, the first day was dedicated to classroom training, with sessions on:
- the political context and governance of the sea;
- biodiversity and invasive species, including the blue crab;
- marine pollution, ecosystem services and economic opportunities.
On the second day, the students engaged in practical fieldwork involving:
- describing and using monitoring equipment;
- installing and using blue crab traps;
- collecting data using probes;
- conducting genetic sampling through water sampling for environmental DNA analysis;
- collecting plastic waste from coastal areas.
The event concluded with the presentation of certificates.
The next two days of training for the Italian-Croatian students will take place in Split on 27 and 28 April at the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries.
Check out the photos from the first two days of training!
