_{Figure 1 – The “innovation valley of death” (https://www.ideatovalue.com/inno/nickskillicorn/2021/05/the-innovation-valley-of-death/)}

The seaweed aquaculture industry in the UK and Europe is novel but has been growing in the last decade. This is demonstrated by the increase in the number of existing commercial seaweed farms, businesses and available seaweed-based products on the market and growing political support (https://marinescience.blog.gov.uk/2022/05/05/the-developing-uk-seaweed-industry/; Araújo et al. (2021) https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.626389). To unlock and harness the full potential of the industry, cultivation and production need to be upscaled and relevant markets for food and non-food applications need to be developed (https://oceans-and-fisheries.ec.europa.eu/publications/communication-commission-towards-strong-and-sustainable-eu-algae-sector_en).

However, upscaling is hindered by multiple issues; some of them targeted by recent/current projects in the UK (e.g. Seaweed in East Anglia https://hethelinnovation.com/seaweed-in-east-anglia/; WWF UK’s Seaweed Solutions Programme; Project Madog https://projectmadoc.cymru/home/). Particularly, difficulties remain in obtaining licences for seaweed aquaculture and funding availability for prospective seaweed farmers. Furthermore, lack of standards on farming and products, technological barriers, and the need for social licence to operate and spatial planning are still important issues, common to the UK and Europe.

You may be wondering then, can the seaweed industry in the UK/Europe emerge from the ‘innovation valley of death’?

Back in June, I had the pleasure of attending the 13^th Seagriculture Conference (https://seagriculture.eu/conference-program-2024/), in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands (Figure 2), with two days of presentations, highlighting the main progress and challenges for the industry in the UK and Europe.

_{Figure 2. Landing in the Faroe Islands; seaweeds in Tórshavn port.}

The ‘reality check’

Some of the issues and challenges in growing seaweed businesses to scale, highlighted by the presentations, included:

• The cost of farmed seaweeds per tonne is still too expensive compared to wild-harvest seaweed or to other crops (e.g. sugar kelp has a price per tonne 100 times higher than corn). This has implications for the economic viability of businesses.
• People do not eat (enough) seaweed in the UK or Europe, so it is key to identify other/additional uses for seaweed biomass (to ensure diversification of products and viability of businesses).
• There are a lot of valuable bioactives in seaweed (Figure 3); some are unique to seaweeds (e.g. fucoidan, alginate, ulvan, carrageenan, agars) and are not available in terrestrial crops. The concentration and quality of these bioactives can be variable. It is important to understand how environmental conditions, seaweed strains, time of harvest etc. affect the quantity and quality of these bioactives to ensure consistent quality of seaweed biomass;
• There is still a mismatch between seaweed producers and buyers/processing companies in terms of quantities produced/needed, species cultivated, and products, with the need to further develop links in the seaweed value chain;
• Ecosystem services provided by seaweed aquaculture, such as through carbon uptake and enhanced biodiversity, need to be quantified so they can be captured and incorporated into, for example, credit schemes, as well as communicated to consumers. The sector needs to be innovative but also trustworthy, not just from a consumer perspective but for the wider stakeholders including policymakers.

_{Figure 3. Range of interesting bioactives offered by seaweed, and potential uses versus their economic value (from Torres et al. 2019, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11157-019-09496-y)}

It is not all doom and gloom!

There were also very encouraging highlights:

• Pilot farms in the North and Baltic Seas under EU-funded projects such as ULTFARM (https://ultfarms.eu/) and OLAMUR (https://olamur.eu/) are showing that seaweed can be successfully cultivated offshore in very energetic/exposed conditions (e.g. 11 m waves height) while co-located with offshore wind. Data from these pilots is key to demonstrating the feasibility of co-location and offshore cultivation, moving the innovation cycle to mature activities and providing evidence for decision making;
• There has been substantial progress towards the cultivation of dulse (Palmaria palmata); a highly flavoured, bacon-like tasting red seaweed which can be tricky to grow, offering potential for upscaling of this species;
• Innovative applications of seaweed include their use as an additive and probiotics for farmed animals; trials suggest they lead to improved animal health systems, for example in pigs, by improving their digestion and increasing their resistance to disease and therefore reducing the amount of feed needed and the need for antibiotics;
• Technological developments for mechanised harvest continue, with new farming methods, systems and harvesting machines which will be essential for scaling up cultivation;
• There are useful seaweed knowledge hubs (e.g. https://seaweedhub.extension.uconn.edu/, https://www.greenwave.org/hub) providing support to seaweed stakeholders throughout the value chain, which could be used as examples to develop a similar knowledge hub in the UK.

Returning to my initial question, I think the seaweed industry in the UK/EU is getting better and better equipped to emerge successfully from the “innovation valley of death”.

To support this journey Cefas’ work aims to provide the evidence to identify the appropriate siting of farms, to determine the impact of pollution and climate change on seaweed aquaculture, the effects of interactions between farms and the surrounding environment, and the potential role for the seaweed industry to support socio-economic needs while minimizing its environmental footprint.

Through the Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP), Sri Lanka and the UK are collaborating to tackle the three key challenges of marine biodiversity, marine pollution and sustainable seafood. The programme aims to support the marine environment and to make a positive impact on the livelihoods of coastal communities that depend on healthy marine ecosystems. OCPP is a UK Government-led official development assistance (ODA) programme under the Blue Planet Fund, delivered by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) on behalf of the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). 

Sustainable Seafood  

In July, a team from Cefas visited Sri Lanka to enhance local expertise in aquatic animal health through specialised training workshops. The team conducted a five-day workshop on shrimp and mud crab disease diagnosis, DNA/RNA extraction, and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) analysis. The goal was to train participants in diagnosing crustacean diseases and identifying new pathogens, using a "train the trainer" model to spread knowledge within local organisations. 

Key institutions, including National Aquatic Resources Research (NARA), National Aquaculture Development Authority of Sri Lanka (NAQDA), Veterinary Research Institute (VRI), and the University of Peradeniya, were invited, with 32 participants. An extra day of training was offered to MPhil students (funded by the OCPP through the Association of Commonwealth Universities scholarship programme) and staff from the University of Peradeniya. All participants received certificates upon completion. These skills will help improve disease diagnosis, aquaculture, and sustainable food production in Sri Lanka. 

Training participants commented, 

“The workshop provided me with valuable skills in tissue fixation, precise dissection, and meticulous data recording. This experience has significantly enhanced my expertise in aquatic animal health research methodologies. I am eager to apply these new skills in future projects and collaborations!” 

“Under the distinguished guidance of Dr. Kelly Bateman from Cefas we engaged in intensive hands-on training that profoundly deepened our expertise in tissue sampling for both histological and PCR analysis. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Cefas for providing us with this invaluable learning opportunity.” 

Workshop: hands-on dissection and PCR training for aquatic animal diseases. 

The molecular biology training group with Cefas’ Morena Santi and Megan Parker.

Tackling River Pollution 

A team from Sri Lanka's National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), supported by Cefas’ OCPP team, successfully deployed a large-scale litter boom to tackle pollution. The boom, placed in the Ja-Ela River due to unseasonal rainfall at the original Kelani River site, captures large debris flowing downriver, providing valuable data on plastic waste entering the ocean. 

This initiative aims to monitor pollution levels, particularly in the Kelani River, which supplies 80% of Colombo's water. Collecting and analysing the litter will help better understand plastic pollution, allowing for targeted actions to reduce it, improving both environmental health and local livelihoods. 

Left: Deployment! Utilising a generator powered winch to deploy the litter boom across the river; 

Right: Deployed! - The boom is in the water gathering litter. 

Official Handover of Climate Change Education Booklets 

Regarding climate change, Cefas’ Charlotte Reeve (OCPP Sri Lanka Pollution Lead and Country co-ordinator) delivered the opening remarks at the formal handover of climate change education booklets at Nawala Boys College, Colombo. The event was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Environment, the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), the British High Commissioner, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) representatives, and a representative from the British Council as well as staff from both Cefas and JNCC. This event marked a significant step in raising awareness and integrating climate change education into the school curriculum. The team also met with representatives from the CEA and the Ministry of Education to discuss initiating a teacher training programme to use this new resource created by Cefas and JNCC. The resources will help create awareness on the harmful impacts of climate change amongst Sri Lanka’s youth.  

British High Commissioner Andrew Patrick tweeted “These resources will help create awareness on the harmful impacts of climate change amongst Sri Lanka’s youth.” 

Official handover of climate change education packs to students of Nawala Boys College, Colombo.

Workshop on Marine Pollution Prevention and Coastal Conservation 

We were pleased to share highlights from the Marine Pollution Prevention and Coastal Ecosystem Conservation Workshop, organised by Rockland Distilleries (Pvt) Ltd in partnership with the OCPP, where the OCPP team from Cefas and JNCC provided outreach sessions on a range of pollution issues, including a practical fieldwork training session on OSPAR beach monitoring practices. This two-day event brought together youth from various environmental organisations to explore critical issues such as pollution prevention, coral conservation, and the threats facing Sri Lanka's marine ecosystems. 

Participants engaged in practical activities, including waste mapping and biodiversity assessments along the coastline, which provided them with hands-on experience in coastal conservation. The workshop, aligned with the UN Environment Programme's Tide Turners Plastic Challenge initiative, was a valuable step towards building capacity for marine conservation in Sri Lanka.  

National ALDFG Conference 

OCPP team members and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) staff supported the delivery of the second national ALDFG (Abandoned, Lost, or otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear) Conference, organised by the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA). Cefas’ Peter Randall (ALDFG Lead scientist) participated in stakeholder discussions as a panellist. This workshop provided valuable insights to guide the direction of upcoming ALDFG work in Sri Lanka. The conference aims to share the findings of the completed initiatives on ALDFG in Sri Lanka and foster a meaningful dialogue on the subject towards identifying practical solutions and a way forward, bringing together government and non-government stakeholders. 

Peter Randall (ALDFG lead) was invited to the panel discussion on: ”Exploring donor landscapes and potential collaborations”.

Climate Change Risk Assessment Workshop 

The Cefas OCPP team then also delivered a two-day Climate Change Risk Assessment Workshop was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The event aimed to evaluate the impacts of climate change on Sri Lanka's coastal and marine environments. In preparation for the workshop, the OCPP team drafted a comprehensive Marine Climate Change Evidence Report, which outlined a 'long-list' of 37 key risks—18 related to biodiversity and habitats, and 19 societal and economic risks—identified through a detailed literature review. 

The first day focused on biodiversity and habitats, with 29 participants from 17 organisations assessing risks to Sri Lanka's marine biodiversity. On the second day, dedicated to Societal and Economic Risks, 23 participants from 15 organisations refined risks, including splitting the coastal fisheries risk into three concerns: employment, food security, and fish processing.   

This workshop served as a crucial step toward addressing climate change vulnerabilities in Sri Lanka, providing a clearer understanding of both environmental and socio-economic impacts, while identifying key gaps in evidence that require further research. 

Strides Forward in the Sri Lanka OCPP Impacts 

The Sri Lanka visits over the summer from the various OCPP teams marked a significant step forward in our ongoing efforts to support sustainable seafood production and aquatic animal health, and efforts to tackle marine pollution and climate change in the region. Addressing these challenges supports food security and healthy environments, and also contributes to improved livelihoods for communities. 

Special thanks to all our partners in Sri Lanka and all those who participated in this trip: Cefas’ Peter Randall, Charlotte Reeve, Andy Smith, Julia Baker, Alessandra Bielli, Dave Limpenny, Bryan-Goodsir Thompson, Kelly Bateman, Megan Parker, Morena Santi, John Pinnegar, Karen Vanstaem and Piyali Chowdhury and JNCC’s Hannah Lawson and Jamie Small. 

Look out for our next blog which will focus on Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) work in the Ocean Country Partnership Programme led by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and the JNCC.

The UK government’s Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) recently attended the 8th World One Health Congress (WOHC)  in South Africa. The Congress took place over four days in the Cape Town International Conference Centre and focussed on how the One Health concept can help tackle the world’s pressing challenges of food safety and security, environmental pollution, human health, climate change, antimicrobial resistance and zoonotic disease. The event provided the opportunity to look at global One Health science and policy from the perspectives of African colleagues.

Transforming food systems for healthy people and planet

The APHA and Cefas team joined the congress under the umbrella of the UK government-funded One Food programme, an Official Development Assistance transformative project to champion a safe and sustainable food future. At the project’s core are integrated One Health principles, which seek to balance and optimise the health of humans, animals/plants and ecosystems, known as the three One Health ‘pillars’.

The Cefas and APHA team organised a Special Morning Session ‘One Food: A One Health approach for food systems transformation’ chaired by Professor Grant Stentiford, Cefas’ Chief Scientist and Dr Essa Suleman, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa (CSIR) Principal Researcher and One Food programme co-lead. The session, with over 100 attendees, explored the challenges and opportunities for a One Health approach to food systems. The panel, comprising representatives of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), United  Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Health Organisation (WHO), World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), World Bank and the South African Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), discussed key questions on integrating across the three One Health pillars for food systems transformation, embedding the One Food approach into ‘business as usual’ and what a healthy food system could look like in the future.

Professor Stentiford commented “Food systems on land and in the water offer tremendous potential to act as a focal point for policies aimed to embed One Health – making healthier plants and animals that benefit people, and which have much reduced burden on nature and climate change. The One Food programme is looking to place hazard control [e.g., diseases, contaminants etc) at the centre of this new approach – reducing production losses, avoiding waste in the supply chain, making food safer to eat and ultimately, reducing the footprint of the food system to realise One Health benefits. The quadripartite [FAO, UNEP, WHO and WOAH] are already looking at this kind of systems approach via their Joint Plan of Action – programmes such as One Food developing the methods and approaches needed to make this collaborative approach a working reality.”

The UK-South Africa team promoted the One Food concept and project from a dedicated booth outside the main auditorium throughout the four days of the congress. This interactive space created an opportunity for deeper dialogue between the experts present at WOHC and to advocate for shared learning to improve our ability to work together and optimise One Health outcomes. There were visitors from government, academic and research institutions and international visitors who were interested in One Food. All were encouraged to join the One Food Community of Practice, which brings previously disparate deep specialisms together around a shared belief – better, safer foods that have less impact on the environment. The community co-develops science, policy and societal solutions to the pressing challenge of sufficient, accessible, appropriate, safe, resilient and environmentally positive food for all.

Dr Julie Bremner, One Food co-lead explained “We need a whole-system approach to the world’s pressing problems. It’s really challenging to work across diverse disciplines because we speak different technical languages and hold different worldviews; one person’s ecosystem to conserve is another’s natural resource to utilise. The One Health approach gives us a banner under which we can frame our common goals, and the World One Health Congress is the place to have those cross-pollinating conversations.”

The One Food Anatomy

The One Food project is funded through the UK government’s Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate programme and is co-led by the UK’s Cefas and APHA, and South Africa’s DSI, CSIR and Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). The programme includes 21 UK, South African and global partners drawn from government, academia and non-profit, and is organised around three main themes of ‘food system evidence’, a ‘One Food Risk Tool’ and ‘enabling change’.

The One Food approach is rooted in the principles of economic, environmental, and social sustainability. One of the central outputs of the programme is the ‘One Food Risk Tool’, a whole-food system risk assessment tool, developed on the template of the earlier Seafood Risk Tool, which seeks to estimate the impact of all hazards (i.e. problems) acting on, or created by, food systems. The tool assesses the impact of chemical, biological, physical and societal along different stages of the food value chain across all food sectors; allowing the relative risk of the hazards to be compared and in doing so facilitating collective decisions on priority interventions.

Dr Essa Suleman, Principal Researcher and Research Group Leader at CSIR explained the One Food Risk Tool (OFRT) further, “The CSIR, together with Cefas and APHA, are leading development of the OFRT, which aims to provide scientists and policymakers with a means to support evidence-based decision making when evaluating the risks and impacts of hazards on food systems value chains. A functional prototype of the OFRT will be demonstrated at an upcoming workshop in November 2024.”

Transforming food systems in this way requires us to understand the structure and arrangement of the whole system. One Food seeks to create a framework for mapping a country’s food system and is implementing this in South Africa, as well as filling knowledge gaps on the role of informality in the food system, on food system interventions, on food loss and waste and on nutrition, amongst others.

A robust evidence base is a necessary pre-condition to achieve climate resilient, sustainable, nature-positive food systems for all.

Dr Flavie Vial from the Animal and Plant Health Agency elaborates: “Paradigm shifts are required to address fragmentation in systemic research. One Food’s participatory research approach – in which research is carried out in a collaborative and iterative process of shared learning- has high potential for both academic and societal impact. Our research outputs and the community of practitioners we have built are key to influencing the development of policy and changing practices."

Cross Government support for the WOHC

The UK and South African governments both recognise the value of the One Health approach. Cefas partnered with CSIR for the Panel Discussion and Exhibition Booth at the Congress, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and Agricultural Research Council attended, with the One Food team and the Department of Science and Innovation participating on the One Food panel.

From the UK, Defra’s One Health team and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate were represented, taking part in various ways, such as APHA speaking about antimicrobial resistance.

Other contributions at the congress from the UK government included presenting, chairing sessions and sitting on panels, from a range of departments including: the UK Department of Health and Social Care, UK Health Security Agency, Department for Business and Trade, Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

World AMR Awareness Week 2024 takes place this week, 18-24^th November, a global campaign to raise awareness and understanding of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and to promote best practices to reduce the emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections.

Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial agents. As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents become ineffective and infections become difficult or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. AMR is one of the most pressing global challenges threatening human health and economic security in the 21st Century. Today, AMR is estimated to be responsible for 1.2 million deaths per year globally, and this is expected to increase significantly by 2050. The threat of AMR is primarily of concern in human healthcare settings, but it is increasingly clear that AMR can develop and spread in the environment, including freshwater and marine environments.

Cefas, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) jointly hold the UK Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) Reference Centre, which is funded by the Fleming Fund, a UK Aid programme managed by the UK Department of Health and Social Care.

The Reference Centre provides independent technical and scientific advice to safeguard animal and human health from the threat of antimicrobial resistance. Our mission is to provide world leading scientific and policy expertise within the global community to tackle antimicrobial resistance in terrestrial and aquatic animals and their environments.

UN FAO AMR reference centre and Fleming Fund activity in Ghana

The Reference Centre was recently honoured to co-deliver a comprehensive training programme aimed at improving AMR data in the agri-environmental sector. The training was hosted at the National Food Safety Laboratory (NFSL) in Accra, Ghana. The event brought together 14 laboratory scientists from five animal health laboratories and one environmental health laboratory across Ghana. Participants attended from the Accra Veterinary Lab (NFSL), Kumasi Veterinary Lab, Takoradi Veterinary Lab, Dormaa Veterinary Lab, Central Veterinary Lab-Tamale, Ho Veterinary Lab, and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Ghana Laboratory in Accra. The training course combined classroom instruction with practical laboratory sessions, providing participants with hands-on experience in handling and testing bacterial cultures. The programme covered essential aspects of antimicrobial susceptibility testing, including quality control and interpretative criteria.

This training is part of the Fleming Fund Phase 2 West Africa AMR One Health (WA AMROH) programme. The UK FAO Reference Centre for AMR and the UN FAO West Africa Office are regional grantees for the Animal Health portfolio in Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Senegal.

The event featured distinguished speakers including the Chief Veterinary Officer, the FAO AMR Country Coordinator, NFSL staff, FAO Reference Centre for AMR (UK) experts, Aurum Institute representatives, and officials from the British High Commission. This initiative is a critical component of Ghana's National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (NAP AMR), which aligns with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Action Plan on AMR and Quadripartite One Health Joint Plan of Action.

This initiative underscores Ghana's commitment to advancing laboratory capabilities in terrestrial and aquatic bacterial diagnostics and antibiotic susceptibility testing to generate high-quality data on AMR, ensuring a healthier future for animals, humans, and the environment.

AMR work around the world

Cefas is also active in other parts of the world to support the collaborative approach to tackling AMR.

During WAAW, the Cefas Reference Centre team participated in an international hands-on training course, Utilising Microbe and Genomic Resources for Understanding & Mitigating Antimicrobial Resistance in the One Health Context, hosted by Nitte University, Mangalore, India, an FAO Reference Centre for AMR and Aquaculture Biosecurity. The course brought together trainees from Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The Cefas Reference Centre team supported the attendance of four trainees from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Zambia and provided presentations and training on Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing (AST). This initiative exemplified collaboration and expertise-sharing among FAO Reference Centres, aiming to build capacity to understand and mitigate AMR.  

Cefas Reference Centre members were also invited speakers at the webinar Antimicrobial Resistance, organized by the Abu Dhabi Agriculture & Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) and World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Collaborating Centre for Camel Disease. This webinar provided a platform for knowledge exchange and discussions on diagnostics, practical approaches, and innovative tools to address AMR in the animal, plant, and human health sectors.

The Cefas Reference Centre team is also collaborating with Defra colleagues to deliver Official Development Assistance (ODA) Technical Assistance and research programmes in Western and Southern Africa, including via the Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP) and Animal Health Systems Strengthening (AHSS) projects. Additionally, the team is supporting FCDO programmes such as our Climate, Health, and Environment Resilience Programme (CHERP) in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries including the publication of a paper about marine monitoring programme to assess antibiotic resistance. We also support other countries’ work to tackle AMR via the Blue Belt programme.

With thanks to all our partners both in the UK and around the world for the collaborative work to tackle the challenge of antimicrobial resistance.

Malé harbour sign

The Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP) is a bilateral technical assistance and capacity building programme that provides tailored support to countries to manage the marine environment more sustainably, including by strengthening marine science expertise, developing science-based policy and management tools and creating educational resources for coastal communities. The OCPP delivers work under three thematic areas: biodiversity, marine pollution, and sustainable seafood. Funding is provided through the Official Development Assistance (ODA) overarching Blue Planet Fund (BPF) by the UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and delivered collaboratively by the Centre of Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC).

Stormy skies over Malé harbour (Top) and flooded Malé high street (Bottom)

Abandoned Lost and otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG)

Peter Randall, OCPP pollution lead for Maldives, and Anthony Gallagher from Evolved Research and Consulting Ltd (ERC) have launched a national ALDFG baseline data collection project. They developed a fisher questionnaire with non-governmental organisation (NGO) SIGS (Small Island Geographic Society) and refined it with Dr. Ahmed Riyaz Jauharee, Dean of the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences in the Maldvies. Dr. Jauharee’s expertise on the bait fishery and Fish Aggregation Devices (FADs) enhanced the survey.

The team also met with Adam Manik from the Ministry of Fisheries to discuss the project and gain insights into Maldives fisheries. Adam, along with Abdulla Shakir of the Maldives Fishing Association, will now lead the survey data collection. Their deep knowledge of local fisheries and strong connections with fishers will be critical to the project’s success.

The locations of the national landing sites where the ALDFG fisher survey will be delivered (Left), some of the ALDFG survey questions (Right)

The OCPP ALDFG team visited Hai Fishing Tackles one of the main fishing gear suppliers in Malé to get a better understanding of the fishing gears used in the handline, pole and line, and the bait net fisheries. Hai provided data on various gears that will aid the ALDFG survey, enabling the identification of any domestic ALDFG litter when conducting beach monitoring.

Some examples of nets used in the bait fishery (Left), various monofilament lines used in both hand line and pole and line fisheries in Maldives (Right).

The team also met with Isha Afeef of the Olive Ridley Project (ORP) to discuss ORP’s decade-long work on turtle entanglement in ALDFG and their standard sampling protocol. ORP agreed to share their data to support validation of the ALDFG fisher survey.

The team then moved on to Himmafushi Island, Kaafu Atoll, a key fish landing site in Central Maldives, to pilot test and refine the fisher survey, producing a final polished version.

Wall artwork located at Himmafushi harbour demonstrating local awareness of the marine litter issue.

With support from Big Fish Maldives Pvt Ltd, the OCPP team began pilot testing the Maldives ALDFG survey. Despite infrequent landings and the quick turnaround of vessels targeting baitfish and tuna, several test surveys were successfully completed. This allowed the team to refine the survey tool for full implementation in the coming months.

Freshly caught yellow fin tuna on the deck of a fishing vessel.

The captain of the fishing vessel Faridhuveli 4 commented “Although we may not directly get anything from participating in the ALDFG survey, my hope is that ultimately fishers will benefit from the outcomes of this project”.

SIGS complete pilot runs of the ALDFG survey with fishers landing at Himmafushi.

Beach Monitoring training

With temperatures feeling like 40°C due to humidity, beach monitoring training took place at dawn on Himmafushi’s Jail Break beach. A 50m section was marked using GPS, and Peter demonstrated the OSPAR beach monitoring method to Hamza Moosa and Zara Athif of SIGS. The team profiled the beach, collected litter larger than 5cm, categorised it, weighed each category, and ensured proper disposal.

Beach litter monitoring training (Left), Peter Randall demonstrates litter collection and categorisation to SIGS (Right)

ALDFG Outreach

On their return to Malé the OCPP team had a final meeting with SIGS to discuss the future outreach plan on completion of the national ALDFG baseline data collection survey. Outreach will be conducted in 3-4 locations near landing sites across the Maldives to fishers and other relevant stakeholders in Autumn 2025, followed by a national ALDFG conference in Malé.

Water Quality (WQ)

Requests for Water Quality support and training from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) of the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Technology resulted in the formation of a water quality team from Cefas consisting of Andy Powell and Michelle Stone covering microbiological aspects, whilst Tom Hull and Andy Smith covered the water column and chemical pollution aspects.

Maldives partners collaborated with OCPP to design and conduct marine surveys assessing the impacts of untreated sewage discharges from offshore outfalls around Greater Malé. The team provided training on identifying physical, chemical, and biological parameters to evaluate impacts on marine ecosystems and human health, ensuring wastewater meets the Utility Regulatory Authority (URA) standards. Additionally, they worked with URA to develop a roadmap for effective measurement and regulation of these standards.

EPA’s Research Vessel Thimaaveshi used as a laboratory by Andy Powell and Michelle Stone

The OCPP WQ team started their visit by converting the wet laboratory on board the EPA’s vessel RV Thimaaveshi into a microbiology laboratory enabling the training of EPA staff in the microbiological processing of samples collect on survey.

Training of EPA on board the RV Muraka (Left & Bottom Right), OCPP WQ team describing the water quality sampling to the Utility Regulatory Authority (Top Right)

The EPA’s second small vessel the RV Muraka was used for sample collection.  The team conducted water sampling for microbiological analysis; deployment of conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD); deployment of tryptophan probe; and deployment of Niskin for nutrient samples.

Samples for hydrocarbons, metals, and toxicity analysis were collected during the Maldives visit. Hydrocarbon and metals testing was conducted in partnership with a Sri Lankan laboratory to strengthen regional analytical capabilities. Toxicity testing was performed onboard the RV Thimaaveshi using Cefas' refined mobile laboratory.

Unexpected issues with the RV Muraka curtailed boat-based work, but the experienced team shifted to a shore-based sampling plan, continuing data collection and training. Two wrap-up meetings followed, presenting findings, discussing next steps, and exploring applications for policy and regulatory improvements. Key topics included data management, monitoring programs, and water quality guidelines.

Rifath Naeem, EPA Director, praised the effort: “Thank you very much for the important work we accomplished together. From sample collection to analysis, the entire program went well despite some hiccups with the boat and the weather. I would like to express my appreciation to Andy and the team for their efforts”.

These visits advanced efforts to combat marine pollution and equipped Maldivians with skills to monitor the environment and support informed decision-making.

Special thanks to all our partners in Maldives and all those who participated in this trip: Cefas’ Peter Randall, Andy Smith, Andy Powell, Michelle Stone and Tom Hull, and ERC’s Anthony Gallagher.

Special thanks also to Cefas’ Charlotte Jessop for all her before, during and after the trip support and for acting as the key Cefas Primary Contact (CPC).

In October, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO)’s Global Marine Team undertook a deployment to Madagascar under the Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP).

The Ocean Country Partnership Programme is a bilateral technical assistance and capacity building programme that provides tailored support to countries to manage the marine environment more sustainably, including by strengthening marine science expertise, developing science-based policy and management tools and creating educational resources for coastal communities. The OCPP delivers work under three thematic areas: biodiversity, marine pollution, and sustainable seafood. Funding is provided through the Official Development Assistance (ODA) overarching Blue Planet Fund (BPF) by the UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and delivered collaboratively by the Centre of Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC).

The focus of the programme is to provide technical expertise and build capacity in each of three thematic areas, with the specific purpose of this trip being capacity building for those involved in detecting and tackling Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, through the promotion of monitoring, control, surveillance and enforcement techniques, along with more sustainable fishing practices.

The training began in Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo, which, at over 1000m above sea level, provided some gentle acclimatisation for the three UK-based MMO officers. The two-day course in ‘Tana’ was targeted at the analysts employed by the Centre de Surveillance des Pêches (CSP; Fisheries Surveillance Centre), with an introduction provided to the digital tools that can be utilised to detect the presence of fishing vessels within Malagasy waters. This included demonstrations which highlighted the benefits of using satellite data to identify high risk vessels, over the expensive and time-consuming alternative of deploying a patrol vessel, as well as an overview of the range of data sources that enable remote investigations to be carried out into a fishing vessel’s legitimacy and activities, without the need to board or inspect it. Such techniques enable the more than 1.1million square kilometres of Madagascar’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to be more effectively managed.

The attendees of the training in Antananarivo with representatives of the British Embassy (Left), Training materials kindly provided by Trygg Mat Tracking (TMT) (Right)

The MMO team then headed to the coastal city of Mahajanga, in the north-west of the country, where Madagascar’s largest fleet of shrimp trawlers operate. Fishery inspectors travelled from their base locations around Madagascar’s 6000km coastline to take part in the four day course, which comprised of classroom-based and practical training sessions, beginning with the theoretical principles upon which fisheries management measures are based, provided guidance on safe boarding practices and transmitting distress messages should an emergency situation at sea arise, then demonstrated the practical skills required to carry out an effective inspection of a fishing vessel at sea or in port.

Classroom training was delivered in a traditional style build

Feedback indicated a highlight of the training to have been the practical exercises which took place onboard fishing vessels, with this also being a fantastic experience for the MMO trainers; getting to see first-hand the challenges faced by Malagasy fishery inspectors enabled the rapid development of bespoke training material for the remainder of the course that would prove relevant and useful to CSP.

At sunrise on a Friday morning, the MMO officers joined the CSP team in Mahajanga port to board fisheries protection vessel Atsantsa (meaning ‘Shark’ in Malagasy). A combination of vessel monitoring sources were used to identify a suitable target for inspection, which was fishing in an area around a three-hour steam from the port. The transit time was put to good use, with the MMO and CSP teams discussing and exchanging fishing gear measuring methods and trialling the use of equipment to determine the most suitable techniques for the environment.

Fisheries Patrol Vessel Atsantsa in the morning light (Left), Inspectors trial the use of different net measuring equipment (Right)

Boarding of the target vessel was undertaken through the launching of Atsanta’s two inflatable boats, with the trainee inspectors, MMO team and their interpreters transported across the slight swell of the Indian Ocean to a Malagasy-flagged shrimp trawler. Once safely onboard, the team separated into three groups which allowed an efficient and thorough inspection of the vessel’s documentation, catch and fishing gear.

Antsantsa's Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boats (RHIBs) are launched for transit to the fishing vessel.

A debrief back onboard Atsantsa generated helpful discussions on safety at sea, particularly on the provision of a safe means of access to fishing vessels by inspectors, with the MMO describing the requirements and sanctions for failing to do so in UK waters.

MMO fishery officers board a Malagasy shrimp trawler (Left and Right)

The training was considered by all to be a success, having resulted in the sharing of best practice as well as the opening of an ongoing dialogue between the UK and Madagascar on compliance and enforcement measures in relation to managing sustainable fisheries.

MMO officer Sarah Whitelaw said, “the engagement from CSP with the programme has been essential to the success of this training delivery. It has been a pleasure to share our experience and very rewarding to support the excellent work already ongoing in Madagascar on fisheries enforcement; bringing together inspectors from across this unique country with its incredible biodiversity to take back their skills to their own regions and promote sustainable fishing methods nationwide. We look forward to rolling out the next phase of the training in the new year”.

The opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience onboard Atsantsa was valued by all.

Thank you to everyone involved.

The One Food programme, funded through Defra’s Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate and co-led by Cefas, APHA and South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and Human Sciences Research Council, is a pilot study in how to bring One Health approaches to food systems transformation, to maximise the potential for food systems to be simultaneously nutritious, accessible, economically viable, climate resilient, environmentally positive and socially equitable. The programme, which includes 21 UK, South African and global partners drawn from government, academia and non-profit, is organised around three main themes of ‘food system evidence’, a ‘One Food Risk Tool’ and ‘enabling change’. The programme has been developing and testing the themes in South Africa and the workshop is a natural extension of this, working with FAO to explore how the tools and knowledge can have impact long-term at a global level.

Transforming food systems for healthy people and planet

Opening the workshop, FAO Assistant Director-General and Chief Veterinarian Dr Thanawat Tiensin eloquently set the scene, highlighting the importance of collaboration and partnerships to advance a One Health approach in food systems and noting that “the One Food perspective is highly complementary and catalytic to the current efforts from FAO, at global and national levels.”

The workshop gave the opportunity to present the One Food approach and its principles of economic, environmental, and social sustainability. One of the central outputs of the programme is the ‘One Food Risk Tool’, a whole-system risk assessment tool, developed on the template of the earlier Seafood Risk Tool, which seeks to estimate the impact of all hazards (i.e. problems) acting on, or created by, food systems. The tool considers chemical, biological, physical and socio-economic hazards along different stages of the food value chain, across all food sectors. This allows the relative risk of hazards to be compared, actively embracing trade-offs and, in doing so, facilitating collective decisions on priority interventions.

The collaboration with One Food has allowed FAO to review their current repertoire of >100 systems and tools that consider different aspects of animal/plant, ecosystem and human health and how these can be incorporated into their developing Multi-Hazard Dashboard. The report will soon be published on the One Food Community platform and will form the basis for future developments.

One Health synergies

What clearly emerged from the workshop was that the One Food Risk Tool and FAO Multi-Hazard Dashboard are strongly complementary; the hazard dashboard will provide a country/global snapshot of current presence and extent of animal, plant and environment health hazards, whereas the One Food Risk tool provides an assessment of the impacts of these hazards and identification of suitable mitigation strategies. Both One Food and the Multi-Hazard Dashboard are targeting ambitious goals and the group exchanged insights on challenges, successes, and best practices, focusing on optimising synergies between the initiatives as a means to address the complex interconnections between food, ecosystems, climate change and society.

Next steps

The One Food pilot programme completes in March this year, providing an opportunity to develop further collaborations with FAO on One Health and the One Food approach for better, more sustainable food systems. The Assistant Director-General's subsequent letter of support highlights the importance of collaboration between these two important initiatives “reinforcing our commitment to continue working hand in hand to make significant strides in transforming agrifood systems to be more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.”  

The whole experience for the One Food team has been very positive. FAO’s commitment to secure and sustainable food is fully evident in their ethos, from food waste measurement and hydroponics in the nutrition-positive canteen to the programmes of work they presented on hazard early warning and climate-driven food loss. In times of uncertainty, it is gratifying to see Defra-funded research align with and support FAO’s global efforts to feed the planet well and the collaboration with both the FAO and the South African government assures us that the One Food programme is having tangible impact.

The Ocean Country Partnership Programme is a bilateral technical assistance and capacity building programme that provides tailored support to countries to manage the marine environment more sustainably, including by strengthening marine science expertise, developing science-based policy and management tools and creating educational resources for coastal communities. The OCPP delivers work under three thematic areas: biodiversity, marine pollution, and sustainable seafood. Funding is provided through the Official Development Assistance (ODA) overarching Blue Planet Fund (BPF) by the UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and delivered collaboratively by the Centre of Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC).

Members of the Women's Development Council attending the launch of the Hanifaru MPA Conservation Action Plan

In February, representatives from the MMO participated in a cross-ALB deployment to the Maldives, working in collaboration with colleagues from the JNCC and Cefas under the OCPP.

The mission aimed to strengthen national marine conservation frameworks and support sustainable ocean governance through collaboration with key national and regional stakeholders. This included finalising critical policy tools—such as the National Stakeholder Engagement Plan for Marine Protected Areas—and launching the Hanifaru Conservation Action Plan within the globally significant Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

The deployment helped to build stronger partnerships across government agencies, research institutions, conservation organisations, and local communities. Notably, it enhanced stakeholder engagement, promoted sustainable marine tourism, and advanced data-sharing initiatives that are vital to the adaptive management of reef manta ray and whale shark populations. The active participation of local groups, particularly women’s networks, highlighted the importance of inclusive, community-led conservation approaches that promote both ecological and economic resilience in the Maldives.

Strengthening National Engagement in MPA Governance

Biosphere Reserve Ranger undertaking photo identification surveys of reef manta rays in Hanifaru Bay—mantas can be identified by their unique markings, as individual as fingerprints.

In Malé, the capital, the team worked closely with the Ministry of Tourism and Environment to finalise the National Stakeholder Engagement Plan for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). This document forms part of a broader suite of policy tools developed through OCPP, which also includes the Maldives National Framework for the Management of Protected and Conserved Areas, and the National Management Plan Guidance for Protected and Conserved Areas.

The stakeholder engagement plan is a vital step toward ensuring inclusive, transparent, and effective participation in the designation and management of MPAs and Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) across the Maldives.

Launching the Hanifaru Conservation Action Plan in Baa Atoll

Biosphere Reserve Office staff with Sarah Allison (MMO) and Stefan Bolam (Cefas) at the launch of the Hanifaru MPA Conservation Action Plan developed through OCPP

The next phase of the deployment took the team northwest to Baa Atoll to collaborate with the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve team on the launch of the Hanifaru Conservation Action Plan. Hanifaru Bay, located within the Baa Atoll Biosphere Reserve, is internationally recognised for its seasonal aggregations of whale sharks and manta rays. From May to November each year, an upwelling of nutrient-rich waters—linked to the South West Monsoon—drives a plankton bloom that attracts hundreds of reef mantas and occasional whale sharks to the bay for feeding.

The Hanifaru Conservation Action Plan is a tailored management strategy developed with local stakeholders to enhance the protection and sustainable use of Hanifaru Bay. It outlines key conservation measures aimed at safeguarding these iconic species while ensuring marine tourism remains responsible and sustainable. The plan focuses on visitor management, strengthening research partnerships, improving site monitoring, and reinforcing compliance with site regulations.

A key goal of the deployment was to improve collaboration between the Biosphere Reserve Office and local conservation organisations such as the Manta Trust and the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme. These organisations play a vital role in monitoring and data collection efforts, which underpin the plan’s adaptive management approach.

The Hanifaru Conservation Action Plan was formally launched in Eydhafushi, where the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve team presented the plan to the President of the Atoll Council. The launch brought together representatives from key conservation bodies, as well as members of the Women’s Network, who were attending a concurrent workshop on economic empowerment through sustainable tourism. Their involvement underscored the central role that local communities—particularly women—play in shaping the future of marine conservation and eco-tourism in the Maldives.

Looking Ahead

This deployment marked a significant step forward in advancing marine conservation in the Maldives. By strengthening national frameworks, supporting local leadership, and fostering inclusive partnerships, the Ocean Country Partnership Programme is helping to secure a sustainable future for the Maldives’ marine biodiversity and the communities that depend on it.

Three UK government organisations (Cefas, the Animal and Plant Health Agency and Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD)) jointly hold the UK Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) AMR Reference Centre, which is funded by the Fleming Fund, a UK Aid programme managed by the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

The Reference Centre provides independent technical and scientific advice to safeguard animal and human health from the threat of antimicrobial resistance. Our mission is to provide world leading scientific and policy expertise within the global community to tackle antimicrobial resistance in terrestrial and aquatic animals and their environments.

Representatives from aquatic animal AMR National Reference Laboratories, or equivalent, participated from 11 countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia including Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. The participants were supported by the EU-funded Regional Tripartite AMR Project and the UK’s DHSC Fleming Fund. The workshop took place in the state-of-the art facilities at NParks Singapore.

The workshop aimed to enhance participating countries’ ability to detect AMR in aquatic animals, to produce quality data which can be used for antimicrobial stewardship and contribute to sustainable agrifood systems transformation. The objectives of the training were to:

• Provide an overview of the up to date Monitoring and Surveillance of AMR in Bacterial Pathogens from Aquaculture, Guidelines Volume 3
• Provide an overview of bacteriology diagnostics
• Share the latest AMR detection methods for bacterial pathogens relevant to aquatic animals
• Provide laboratory demonstrations and hands on experience in bacterial identification methods and AST

These objectives were achieved through theoretical and practical hands-on laboratory sessions.

Participants found the workshop to be very useful and will share the knowledge with colleagues in their own laboratories to enhance capabilities used to tackle this global challenge.

Pu Channapha, Thailand, said “The knowledge and practical insights gained from the workshop are highly valuable and will certainly contribute to the ongoing efforts in AMR surveillance and capacity building in my country.”

Mattew Agive, Papua New Guinea, said “Indeed, I have learnt a lot from this training workshop. This training was more technical with hands on bench training, and I must admit such training is what a Lab testing officer must be exposed to. The Bacteriology Lab capacity and the set up was very conducive and well prepared for the training. At this juncture, I would also like to acknowledge the effort of the trainers, the level of knowledge with respect to AMR/AST you have imparted to us is commendable. Also, I would like to thank all the staff of NParks Animal & Plant Health Center who have assisted in one way or the other. ”

Andy Powell on behalf of the UK team said "The training event was truly humbling, seeing the interaction and engagement of experts from so many different countries, and we learnt a lot from each other. The delegates’ commitment and dedication were evident and I hope that the sense of unity continues after the event, through the AMR community of practice and collaboration. We received excellent support from the host laboratory, Singapore NParks, making the event a great success. From the initiation of the project, they have been very professional and proactive, and we are very appreciative of their contribution.”

AMR, often referred to as the “silent pandemic”, poses a growing threat to global health and food systems. World AMR Awareness Week takes place annually in November to raise awareness and encourage action to tackle the emergence and spread of AMR pathogens, with this year's theme being, "act now, protect our present, secure our future".

The UK FAO Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Reference Centre, established under the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) designation is equally shared with three Defra agencies: Animal Plant Health Agency (APHA), Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and Veterinary Medicine Directorate (VMD). The UK FAO Reference Centre provides independent scientific and technical expertise to support the FAO’s global mission and contributes to this effort by offering world-class policy and scientific guidance to address AMR in terrestrial and aquatic animals, as well as their environments, using a One Health approach.

Athina Papadopoulou, Senior Research Microbiologist, Co-Lead of the UK’s FAO Reference Centre for AMR, said, “AMR does not respect boundaries – human, animal, and environmental health are interconnected. WAAW underscores the urgent need for a One Health approach and global partnerships to safeguard our future. At Cefas we are working with partners around the world to generate the evidence we need, and drive meaningful action to safeguard the environment, animal and human health.’

Find out more about how Cefas' work contributes to tackling this global threat with some highlights from past and current activities in our latest blog.

Capacity Strengthening in Kenya and Zambia

During WAAW, the Cefas Reference Centre team led an online training on antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) for collaborators from the Fish Quality Control Laboratory-Nairobi (FQCL) in Kenya and Aquaculture Research Institute of Zambia (ARIZ) in Zambia.  The training included an overview of the AMR threat through the One Health lens, presentations from collaborators covering success story on ISO accreditation in laboratories in Ghana and expanding ISO accreditation to sentinel laboratories in Nigeria. Alumni experiences from the Fleming Fund Fellowship were shared and theoretical AST sessions led by Cefas, and APHA also took place. The collaborators also had the opportunity to participate in an e-learning course about residues, which included both theoretical lessons and online sessions from August to October 2025, organized by VMD. Additionally, they joined an online InFarm training conducted by the FAO team in October 2025. 

UK FAO Antimicrobial Resistance Reference Centre Singapore workshop

The UK FAO Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Reference Centre co-led a five-day knowledge exchange workshop in Singapore in July 2025. The workshop was delivered by Cefas, in collaboration with the UK’s Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), the UN FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAO RAP), and Singapore’s National Parks Board (NParks). The event brought together participants from 11 countries across South and Southeast Asia. Through a combination of theoretical sessions and practical, hands-on laboratory training, attendees gained valuable skills in detecting AMR in aquatic animals. Find out more in our workshop blog.

Setting the rules – establishing ECOFF guidance for aquatic pathogens

Bacteria that infect animals including fish, play an important role in the global spread of AMR, and need to be considered alongside important human pathogens to fully understand and tackle drug resistance. Cefas, as the UK FAO AMR Reference Centre, has led global initiatives to establish ECOFFs (ecological cut off values) for aquatic pathogens, coordinating multi-laboratory studies across three continents. Using various AMR tests under varied conditions -  including different temperatures - the team determined antibiotic resistance thresholds for pathogens like Yersinia ruckeri and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. These cut-off values are critical for identifying resistant strains, guiding treatment strategies, and protecting aquatic and human health against the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance worldwide. The work underpinning these efforts was recently highlighted as an important case study for the UK’s national action plan (NAP).

West Africa AMR One Health Grant 

The West Africa Antimicrobial Resistance One Health (AMROH) grant is a Fleming Fund Regional Grant led by Cefas and delivered through a consortium including the FAO Subregional West Africa Office in Senegal, APHA, and VMD between January 2022 and March 2026. Funded by the UK Department of Health and Social Care, AMROH supports Fleming Fund Country Grants by strengthening AMR surveillance across animal health including aquaculture and environment sectors. There are several AMROH grants targeted at Lower- and middle-Income Countries (LMICs) regions e.g. West Africa, East Africa, South and South East Asia. The grant the Reference Centre leads targets four West African countries—Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. Recent milestones include workshops on antimicrobial residues in Ghana, antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) training in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Senegal, and the feedback on the surveillance strategies in all four recipient countries. Read more in our previous blog and this APHA blog.

Climate, Health and Environment Resilience
Programme (CHERP) in the Gulf

Collaborative research was conducted with the Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research (KISR) and the Environment Public Authority (EPA) to assess the presence and diversity of antibiotic resistance in marine water and sediment and coastal wastewater outfalls. This research project included training of junior researchers in bacterial isolation, identification, and AMR resistance testing, with project results published in a number of peer-reviewed scientific journal articles. This research contributes to a baseline screening of the presence of AMR in the Gulf marine environment and will inform the ongoing development of Kuwait’s agri-environment surveillance programme and national guidelines on antibiotic usage. Find out more about the wider CHERP programme including our AMR work in the Gulf in our report.

You can also find out more about our AMR research in these recent papers:

Epidemiological cut-off values for Vibrio parahaemolyticus calculated from minimal inhibitory concentration data generated at 35 and 28°C - PubMed

National Action Plans for Antimicrobial Resistance: What are they and how do they affect aquaculture? | Published in Bulletin of the European Association of Fish Pathologists

Diversity and antimicrobial resistance among bacterial isolates from finfish aquaculture in Thailand | BMC Veterinary Research

First national study on genomic profiling of Escherichia coli in United Arab Emirates (UAE) aquatic environments shows diverse Quinolone and Cephalosporin resistance - ScienceDirect

Association of antimicrobial resistant Vibrio and species pathogenic to humans with aquacultured seafood - ScienceDirect