Pictured, a moment of the presentation of Aquafuture Spain 2025 at the headquarters of Afundación Abanca, one of the sponsors of the event since its first edition.
Photo: Aquafuture Spain.
A few days before the opening of the 31st edition of Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global to be held in Barcelona from May 6 to 8, it has also been presented Aquafuture Spain 2025 to be held from May 20 to 22 in Vigo, Galicia, and which will bring together again in Spain part of the seafood industry, in this case, the aquaculture sector.
After becoming biennial and changing dates and location - leaving Santiago de Compostela, but not Galicia - the International Exhibition of the Aquaculture Industry will be held at IFEVI - Vigo exhibition center, already known by part of the industry for being the venue of one of the largest international fairs in Europe focused on the frozen seafood sector, Conxemar.
At the official presentation of the exhibition, the organizers confirmed that the third edition of Aquafuture Spain will finally count on the participation of 210 companies from 26 different countries, surpassing the previous expected figure of 200 companies. The number of participants represents an increase of 50% over the previous edition.
In addition, Aquafuture Spain also highlighted that in this 2025 edition, there has been a significant growth in the participation of international companies, noting in particular the presence, for the first time, of 12 Chinese companies at the event.
Likewise, the organizers also expect a significant increase in the number of visitors. Given the large number of invitation requests they are receiving, the forecast is that the event will grow from the 2,500 visitors of the previous edition, held in March 2023, to more than 8,000.
"The two important decisions made in 2023—to move the event to a biennial event and to relocate it to the IFEVI exhibition center in Vigo—are bearing fruit, consolidating Aquafuture Spain as the only trade fair in the sector in Spain and the second largest in Europe," organizers said in a release.
As WeAreAquaculture already reported, as the event gets bigger and so does its Technical Conference program, which, as we learned in February, will include more than 60 international speakers and round tables that will address topics of general interest and current relevance to the aquaculture sector.
The Conference Room 'Zona Franca de Vigo' will be the venue where the seven round tables already announced will be held, plus a panel. There will be eight meetings in total, with the participation of 40 international speakers, in addition to the audience.
Although in the February preview we already viewed the topics to be discussed in the round tables, now Aquafuture Spain has unveiled the specific program, which is as follows:
Tuesday, May 20
The panel and the first two round tables will be held:
Panel 10:30-11:30 a.m.: Aquaculture: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. A space for intergenerational dialogue in which professionals with extensive experience, current experts, and young people starting their professional careers will share their perspectives on the evolution of aquaculture in Spain.
Roundtable 1. 3:00-4:00 PM: Implementation of CSRD in the aquaculture industry. How companies can comply with the new legal requirements on sustainability will be discussed.
Roundtable 2. 4:00-5:00 PM: Technology and Artificial Intelligence applied to marketing and production. Best practices in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other technologies in aquaculture, such as optimization of production processes, will be addressed.
Wednesday, May 21
The remaining five roundtables will be held:
Roundtable 3. 10:30-11:30 AM: Increasing production for sustainable global aquaculture. Innovations in farming systems, improvements in resource management, and possible collaborations will be discussed.
Roundtable 4. 11:30 AM-12:30 PM: Circular innovation in aquaculture. Initiatives that transform aquaculture business models towards greater sustainability and profitability will be debated.
Roundtable 5. 12:30-1:30 p.m.: Internationalization in the aquaculture sector. Changes in consumer demand, opportunities in international markets, and strategies will be the subjects of the conversation.
Roundtable 6. 3:00-4:30 p.m.: Future food trends and alternative proteins. Future food trends and alternative proteins. Emerging trends in the consumption of aquaculture products, changes in demand and market opportunities will be discussed.
Roundtable 7. 4:30-5:30 p.m.: Ensuring a sustainable supply of bivalve seed: challenges and opportunities for aquaculture and shellfish farming in Galicia. Perhaps the most local of the conferences, it will deal with the Galicia Marine Sciences Program, ThinkInAzul, a joint research and innovation strategy involving several Spanish coastal regions with the aim of protecting marine ecosystems from climate change and pollution, and addressing the challenges of aquaculture, fisheries, and tourism.
Finally, Aquafuture Spain will also have two presentation rooms where companies, institutions, and research centers will present their projects, research, services, etcetera. Among them will be Alex Group, Laksesystemers, Akva Group, Irta, iArcus, Ciimar, BioMar, Grupo Eurored, Morenot, Kovalus, or Flatlantic.
