Third African aquaculture conference nets a crowd
Almost 1,300 attend event in Tunisia
Nearly 1,300 people from industry, academia, government, and development partner delegates attended the recent Aquaculture Africa Conference (AFRAQ24) in Hammamet, Tunisia, organisers have revealed.
Attendees came from 74 countries around the world, with most from countries in Africa.
Themed “Blue Farming: New Horizons for Economic Growth”, the event underscored how partnerships in science, education and technological advancement can help drive innovations in Africa’s blue economy agenda.
Tunisia’s agriculture and fisheries minister Ezzeddine Ben Chiekh was guest on honour. Other senior state dignitaries from Tunisia, Zambia, Algeria and Angola as well as high-level and specialist guests including from the African Union (AU), United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), European Union, World Bank and others also featured at the conference, which was organised by the African Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society (WAS-AC).
The conference has a busy scientific and technical programme, with sessions balancing global and African perspectives. Overall, the programme featured 41 sessions, 277 abstracts, 46 posters and four training workshops.
Along with development organisations, more than 100 industry players and professionals from Tunisia, Africa and globally featured at AFRAQ24. Some of the major industry players included Nutrifish (AFRAQ24 gold sponsor), Aller Aqua and several other aquafeeds, fish producer, equipment supplies and consulting companies.
The technical and scientific programme was complemented by a major international trade show which featured 55 exhibition booths from 22 countries. This comprised a Tunisia exhibition pavilion which showcased the country’s aquaculture industry and some support projects. Several aquaculture companies in Tunisia and the Mediterranean region featured within the pavilion.
On the sidelines of AFRAQ24, the WAS-AC executive board of directors convened the Chapter’s fourth annual board meeting. WAS-AC also organised the Africa Student Programme Sessions to the benefit of more than 80 students who physically participated. The second annual session of the WAS Platform for Portuguese speaking countries (PALOPs) also took place.
The next WAS African conference is scheduled for Entebbe, Uganda, on June 24-27, 2025. This is followed by AFRAQ26 slated for Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, in early December 2026 and then World Aquaculture 2027 scheduled for late November 2027 in Accra, Ghana.
