Italia-Croatia

The four-day training course titled Blue Education, Training and Culture will be held on April 13th and 14th at the University of Salento's Research Centre for Fisheries and Aquaculture in Acquatina and on April 27th and 28th in Split, Croatia, at the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries. The event is part of the BlueDiversity project - Interreg Italy-Croatia 2021-2027 - coordinated by DiSTeBA of Unisalento.

The training programmes, organised in collaboration with the project partners Eduforma, Sea&Karst, the Public Institution Dubrovnik-Neretva County Nature, and the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, are reserved for twenty young students, half representing Italy and half representing Croatia, who will meet and collaborate, drawing on the knowledge and expertise on the blue economy, alien species and the protection of marine and coastal biodiversity generated within the project, whilst making the most of the wide range of skills, competences and capabilities of the Italian-Croatian partnership.

In Acquatina, the first day of training will take place in a classroom, where topics such as the political context, biodiversity, invasive species such as the blue crab, marine pollution, ecosystem services and economic opportunities will be discussed. The second day, however, will be dedicated to practical training on the description and use of field equipment, including the installation and use of blue crab traps, data collection via probes, genetic sampling through the collection of water samples for environmental DNA analysis, and the collection of plastic waste in coastal areas. Finally, laboratory activities will take place involving the processing and analysis of samples collected in the field.

BlueDiversity’s training programme does not stop there: the training courses will resume in May, this time aimed at professionals in the Italian and Croatian fishing and mariculture sectors, and will take place in various locations in the Venice Lagoon and in Dubrovnik at the Public Institution for the Management of Protected Natural Areas.

As part of its training and awareness-raising activities, the project also aims to provide an e-learning platform to host the results and offer educational content to all interested users, openly and free of charge.