WP4: Health management and diseases and fish welfare

 Currently, Mediterranean aquaculture is lacking or has fragmented knowledge on epidemiology, impact of diseases, harmonized and coordinated diagnostics, or strategies and tools for a proper local, regional or even Pan Mediterranean health management. Moreover, there is a consensus that one of the main present threat is viral nervous necrosis (VNN, also known as viral encelophathy and retinopathy, VER) for which a vaccination tool is urgently needed. Thus, WP4 is assisted by a team of researchers and fish health professionals (including the European reference centre for fish diseases and the OIE collaborating centre for epidemiology and risk assessment), which will work together and in close contact with a major representation of the farming sector from the main producing countries of the Mediterranean basin. The WP is aware of the great importance of parasites on fish health and production, but has chosen betanodavirus acknowledging that important parasites are being dealt with in the on-going EU project Parafish. Partners in the MedAID-consortium are also involved in Parafish providing necessary networking and transfer of knowledge between the two initiatives.