Antonios has over 13 years’ commercial and R&D aquaculture experience on fish hatchery production and development of fish feeds across the UK and internationally. Antonios has a PhD and MSc in Aquaculture from the University of Stirling (Scotland) and a “Ptychio” in Ichthyology from the University of Thessaly (Greece). In addition, he is on the board of directors of the European Aquaculture Society (EAS) and a member of the Geotechnical Chamber of Greece (GEOTEE).
You have a rich career in the industry what initially lead you to this field?
Pure luck. All I remember is that I always had a passion for the sea and aquatic life – and coming from Greece, a country with a long coastline, it certainly helped!
Later on, I realise how diverse the aquaculture industry is and did not know where to focus, so I just started trying different things in various countries. The first step was with my studies in Ichthyology at the University of Thessaly and project work in Greece, where I got a broad exposure and a strong stimulus for aquaculture. Following on, the MSc in Sustainable Aquaculture at the University of Stirling exposed me to the global scene and challenges of the sector. Wanting to understand more about applied research and rise to the challenge of scaling up the production of a new species (i.e. ballan wrasse), I found myself working in marine hatcheries (Ardtoe and Otter Ferry Seafish) while doing a PhD at the “tropical” west coast of Scotland. My next step came from the opportunity to work with BioMar exposing me to more international commercial, technical and product management side of feed. Most recently, I joined Devenish to develop the aquaculture side of this agri-technology company with long history and strong global presence in agriculture. Plenty to learn and even more to do!
One thing led to another really but looking back the common thread of the past over 14 years was linking R&D with production and develop solutions to scale up production. The catalyst in my career is the people I have met and work with. I feel privileged and extremely lucky to have met such incredible professionals who have helped me throughout this journey.
As someone deeply involved in the European Aquaculture Society, what do you find most rewarding about contributing to a sustainable future in aquaculture?
Knowledge exchange and collaboration are key for the development in any industry. The European Aquaculture Society (EAS) plays an instrumental role bringing different stakeholders together to promote and develop the European aquaculture.
Having been an EAS member for over 12 years now, I had the opportunity to be the president of the student group and currently I am member at the EAS Board of Directors. These have given me the chance to encourage industry engagement with the academia, increase market awareness of the EU sector and strengthen employability and skills of early career professionals.
Being able to contribute to this evolution of the aquaculture sector through EAS, I feel honoured – and this is the biggest reward for me. And of course, meeting new and old friends is always a bonus!
Addressing continuously increasing raw material prices, could you discuss your personal insights into the factors that influence this and how you, as a professional, work to mitigate these challenges in fish feeds?
The pressure to cover the global demand for high quality protein is higher than ever, leading to continuously increasing pressure on the intensity of aquaculture and feeds. Increasing raw material prices is a result of production intensification and scarcity of resources.
I believe that increasing efficiencies across the supply chain would mitigate the challenge of soaring prices. Given that feed is right at the middle of the supply chain and responsible for most of the operational costs, a big part of the accountability falls to the “feed people”.
My personal career path is focused on developing commercially driven solutions towards improving productivity and efficiencies. This is either through policy (with EAS) or directly with my work on feed additives with Devenish. The terrestrial animal farming sector has a much longer history than aquaculture and we have a lot to learn from it. There is no need to reinvent the wheel.
My current work is focusing on optimization of feed production, efficient nutrient utilisation and growing healthy animals. This involves anything from developing processing aids and formulation savings for the feed factories to health promoting strategies and adding value through the supply chain.
Developing together with adopting established solutions in feed additives and farming practices, I have seen extensive improvements towards more economic and sustainable systems. It seems that we are on the right path to a cost effective and efficient future.
How do you see consumer preferences and demands shaping the development of aquaculture products and practices in the coming years?
The need for good quality aquaculture products can be translated in different ways such as sustainable, cheap, or easy to produce – depending on where in the world you are. Ideally, all these can be combined, but practically this is impossible, and the market defines the local priorities.
The issue is that, often, consumer preferences are led by misinformation, which is unfair for both the buyer and the producer. Big steps have been taken towards a more sustainable future and these need to be communicated to the wider public with a stronger voice. Subsequently, consumer awareness will play a big role to the products and practices of the future.
The aquaculture sector has a moral duty to produce truly sustainable products and not turn sustainability into a box ticking exercise of a short-sighted “market demand”. We need to develop solutions without adding more environmental pressure to the system – as this will defeat the purpose of sustainable growth.
What role do you believe aquaculture can play in addressing global food security and nutritional needs, particularly in the face of population growth and environmental challenges?
Current food systems often fail to deliver nutritious and affordable food to many people around the world. While there is no more space to develop further the terrestrial food production, aquaculture is barely scratching the surface of its “territory”. Farming, in general, is part of the solution and not the problem – when it is done right. Working closely WITH regulators and research institutions through collaborative research the sector can maximise the utilisation of available resources, while keeping the environmental impact to a minimum.
Aquaculture has the highest potential for food production globally – there is no question about it. However, given that it is a relatively new industry there is still a lot to be learned and improved.
Despite the great diversity of over 500 farmed aquatic species globally, the focus is still on just a few in each region. This lack of farming diversification and geo-clustering increases the risk of health crises, market fluctuations, and limits the flexibility towards environmental changes. Polycultures can offer biological control of health issues, improve water quality, and provide a secondary crop to the farmers, together with the possibility to farm species suitable to seasonal environmental conditions. It seems that the climate is changing faster that we can adopt the farming conditions to it.
Development has and will exhibit different fluctuating patters in growth among regions and species. This is primarily driven by local resources and market requirements. I strongly believe that the markets need to be more focused towards consuming locally produce species with low environmental impact on production and transport. I am not convinced that delivering an “exotic” species to the other side of the world, simply because of a “market demand”, would ever be sustainable. As a sector, we need to be better at communicating our message to the consumers, and work towards finding solutions – not create unnecessary problems.
Aquaculture certainly can be part of addressing global food security, by building an environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable future for everyone. This can only be achieved with an ethical, anthropocentric, and truly sustainable approach.
