FEAP participates in Horizon Europe project “ActFast” to support climate-resilient aquaculture

On 2–3 July 2025, the ActFast project (Actions for Climate Transition by developing Future Aquaculture Strategies and Technologies) held its official kickoff meeting in Bologna, hosted by the coordinator Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna under the leadership of Prof. Alessio Bonaldo and his team.

ActFast is a Horizon Europe Innovation Action project that will demonstrate climate change adaptation and mitigation solutions for Aquaculture. FEAP is pleased to contribute to this project, which officially started on 1 June 2025 and will run for 48 months. With a total budget of €5 million, the project is coordinated by the University of Bologna and brings together 28 partners from 13 countries, including EU Member States, Norway, Tunisia and Egypt, working to improve the resilience, sustainability and circularity of aquaculture in the face of climate change.

Supporting the sector’s climate adaptation and innovation capacity

ActFast aims to develop and demonstrate practical, science-based solutions to help aquaculture operators adapt to environmental stressors such as heatwaves, disease outbreaks, and water quality deterioration. The project combines AI-driven forecasting tools, real-time biosensor monitoring, climate-adapted feeds, and integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) systems to future-proof marine, transitional and freshwater farming across four key regions:

• The Mediterranean (sea bass, sea bream)
• The North-East Atlantic (salmon)
• Central and Eastern European inland waters (carp, trout)
• Delta and coastal lagoon areas (shellfish, tilapia, mullet)

Expected impacts by 2029

ActFast sets out to deliver:

• 10% reduction in mortality rates for sea bass and sea bream through climate-adapted health strategies
• 10% reduction in antibiotic use via preventive measures and functional feeds
• 10–15% improvement in feed conversion through low-carbon, climate-smart feed formulations
• Validation of biosensors and early warning systems for on-farm monitoring of water quality and fish health
• AI-based decision-support tools for adaptive farm management in response to climate variability10% reduction in mortality for key species

FEAP’s role

FEAP plays a central role in stakeholder engagement, dissemination and market uptake. As part of Work Package 7, FEAP coordinates the ActFast Stakeholder Panel to ensure producers’ needs are reflected in project activities. FEAP also contributes to the design and promotion of the ActFast Virtual Lighthouse, a digital platform offering immersive training and demonstration of climate-smart solutions developed within the project. By supporting knowledge exchange and innovation uptake across the sector, FEAP aims to ensure that ActFast delivers real and lasting benefits for European aquaculture producers.

For more information, visit the project page on CORDIS or follow it on LinkedIn.