March update: the top aquaculture and seafood events this month

There's no time to be bored this month: March 2024 is shaping up to be an extraordinarily busy month for the aquaculture and seafood industries, with a series of strategic blue economy meetings, exhibitions and events taking place across the globe.

Here's a closer look at what's coming up:

The 9th World Fisheries Congress, held from March 3-7, 2024, in Seattle, is focusing on "Fish and Fisheries at the Food-Water-Energy Nexus."

Organized through the World Council of Fisheries Societies, every four years delegates from around the world meet to exchange ideas and perspectives about new research, emerging issues, scientific breakthroughs, and governance related to fisheries science, industry, conservation, and management. 

This year's program includes an opening plenary, general sessions, education workshops, and planned symposia related to sustainability, fish and aquatic ecosystems, fisheries and society, and innovations in fisheries.

The European Ocean Days, organized for the first time in 2024, takes place from March 4th to 8th in Brussels, Belgium. The week of events is dedicated to a range of key topics related to Europe's seas and blue economy.

The second annual EU Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters Forum takes place on 5 March, showcasing innovative solutions, engaging diverse stakeholders in implementing the mission, and discussing financing streams for scaling and deploying solutions.

On 6 March, Where next for Europe’s Seas? is a dedicated session on future priorities for Europe's seas, exploring policy needs, economic transformations, and potential pathways for Europe's maritime sectors up to 2050.

Focused on catalyzing investment in the blue economy, the EU will hold its annual BlueInvest Day on 7 March, which will feature a pitch competition, as well as networking opportunities, and discussions on market uptake for innovative ocean technologies. The event will also be livestreamed here.

The North Atlantic Seafood Forum 2024, set to take place from March 5th to 7th in Bergen, Norway, is considered a pivotal event for top executives in the seafood industry. The annual forum serves as the world's largest seafood business conference, bringing together industry leaders to exchange insights and knowledge on various critical aspects affecting the sector.

The forum will feature a comprehensive three-day program, including 20 sessions and over 200 speakers, aimed at offering enhanced insights, inspiration, and the latest updates on market trends, technology, sustainability, and industry challenges.

Key speakers at this year's event include Ivan Vindheim (CEO of Mowi), Ann Hvistendal (Global Head of DNB Seafood), Therese Log Bergjord (CEO of Skretting), and Thomas Vogth-Eriksen (Aquaculture Director, DNV), among others.

Seafood Expo North America 2024, taking place from March 10 to 12 in Boston, is one of the world's largest seafood trade events. This year's expo will be even bigger than last year, occupying 244,965 net square feet of exhibit space, and showcasing a range of products and innovations from over 45 countries, including new participants like Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Mauritania, and Myanmar.

The conference component of the expo will offer more than 30 educational sessions, addressing topics like aquaculture, artificial intelligence, consumer trends, corporate social responsibility, and food safety.

A special focus of this year's expo will be innovations in sustainability and aquaculture from emerging startups and legacy brands, on both the processing and seafood sides of the industry.

This prestigious summit, hosted by The Economist during March 11-13 in Lisbon, Portugal, is a critical platform for dialogues on ocean health, focusing on sustainable development and the blue economy.

This year's World Ocean Summit & Expo will see global leaders, business figures, and environmentalists come together to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing the world's oceans today.

Key topics to be discussed at the summit include tackling climate change, addressing biodiversity loss, combating pollution, and promoting sustainable marine industries.

The agenda will feature high-level policy discussions, industry-specific analyses, and cross-sectoral engagement sessions. "How to" working group sessions are also planned, aiming to provide practical strategies and insights for participants dedicated to improving ocean health.

Oceanology International (Oi24) in London is billed as the world's leading ocean technology marine science exhibition and conference.

Oi24, with its co-located event OceanICT, takes place at London’s ExCeL from 12 to 14 March and is expected to bring more than 7,500 attendees and over 450 exhibitors from more than 80 countries. Of these, at least 100 companies are expected to conduct product or service launch activities in 2024.

"Thousands of international industry buyers, influencers, and professionals will come together once again for the chance to benefit from the unparalleled global marketplace, forum and networking opportunity," the event organisers say.

This year's event will also feature the Future Tech Hub, a global forum for the ocean technology industry's leading accelerators. The hub aims to spotlight innovations that could revolutionize ocean exploration and preservation. Highlights include three days of technical conference content, live on-water Dockside Demonstrations and the return of the premium Catch the Next Wave conference.

Monaco Ocean Week is an annual event bringing together the international marine community to discuss ocean health and conservation. The event features workshops, symposiums, and discussions on topics such as marine protected areas, sustainable ocean governance, and the latest scientific discoveries in oceanography.

This year's event includes a special roundtable meeting on aquaculture, organized by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council: The contribution of responsible aquaculture and the role of Blue Finance in protecting the oceans.

The ASC discussion will "explore the role which Blue Finance and verifiable alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can play in protecting the oceans, whilst providing food security and livelihoods to millions of people for the coming decades".

Themes will include "ESG data & goal-setting, de-risking the aquaculture industry to create investor trust; the demands for blue bonds in aquaculture, and the challenges of matching supply and demands in a world striving for climate action / Net Zero and aquaculture improvements".

AquaSur 2024, scheduled from March 19 to 21 in Puerto Montt, Chile, is the largest aquaculture trade fair in the Southern Hemisphere.

Aiming to underscore Chile's key position in the global salmon market, the event showcases advancements in local goods, products, and services pertinent to the aquaculture sector. It also serves to highlight the industry's community impacts, introduce groundbreaking technologies to the Chilean market, facilitate the exchange of experiences and global developments, and promote sustainability within the industry.

This year's AquaSur will span over 12,500 net square metres of exhibition space, hosting over 350 exhibitors and sponsors, and featuring over 200 brands. This year's event involves participants from more than 30 countries, and expects more than 20,000 visitors to attend.