IRBIM DAYS 2024

IRBIM Day 2024 took place from 7 to 10 October at the Eolian Milazzo Hotel in Milazzo (Messina). The first day, dedicated to the Institute’s internal reflections, saw an overview of future challenges and crucial administrative issues for CNR-IRBIM, with speeches on accounting and public procurement by Fabrizio Lanzafame , Miriam Palombini and Alessandra Patti . In addition, the CNR-IRBIM Grant Office presented new tools and services to support research. The day also included presentations on ongoing projects, such as EMBRC-UP: Unlocking the potential for health and food from the seas by Giulia Maricchiolo and REDRESS: Prioritization of active deep-sea restoration interventions in a climate change scenario by Vincent Georges . The day ended with a cultural visit to the Museum of the Sea in Milazzo (MuMa).

The second day was dedicated to opening up to the community. After the institutional greetings of Maria Chiara Carrozza (President of the CNR), Giuseppe Midili (Mayor of Milazzo), Francesco Petracchini (Interim Director of the DSSTTA CNR Department) and Gian Marco Luna (Director of CNR-IRBIM), with the participation of the students of the fifth classes of the course of “Chemistry and Materials” and “Environmental Biotechnology” of the “Ettore Majorana” Technical Technological Institute of Milazzo, the program of the day was launched. Rainer Froese, coordinator of the FishBase project, gave a keynote lecture on “Ecosystem-based fisheries management in Europe”.

Numerous IRBIM researchers presented their projects. Giuseppe Scarcella dealt with the challenges of research on the assessment of marine resources in relation to climate change. Marina Chiappi and Andrea Petetta illustrated the results of the international mobility projects: CIMPAL for the expansion of the study on invaders in the Aegean Sea and Catch & Release for the management of recreational fisheries. Young IRBIM researchers shared their research, including Enrico Nicola Armelloni on the assessment of fish resources, Martina Meola on the development of sustainable aquaculture, Vojsava Gjoni on the “Implications of size spectra on the impact of fishing on marine communities”, Francesca Fabrizi on the “effects of plastic on marine biodiversity in the Mediterranean and Antarctica”, Naomi Massaccesi on “Antibiotic resistance in the marine environment and aquaculture settings: Sources, sinks, and pathways” and Francesca Maria Veneziano “Trophic ecology of hake and different species of elasmobranchs: Case studies from the Southern Tyrrhenian area”.  Fabio Campanella presented the PELASeam project on seamounts and their monitoring. Finally, Flavia La Colla explored European funding opportunities with a focus on Horizon Europe Cluster 6 for marine research. Geert Frits Wiegertjes (Wageningen University & Research) concluded the keynote lectures by talking about “Aquaculture of the future”. The day continued with a round table on the theme “Marine research & education in Italy”, with speeches by Paola Del Negro (OGS), Teresa Romeo (Stazione Zoologica “Anton Dohrn”), Americo Todisco (Technical Institute “Ettore Majorana” of Milazzo) and Alessandro Sarro (Frigate Captain, Coast Guard of Milazzo), moderated by Gian Marco Luna. The day ended with a session of scientific posters accompanied by an aperitif, followed by a social dinner at the Eolian Milazzo Hotel, during which the IRBIM Poster Awardwas awarded to Pamela Lattanzi .

The third day, optional, included a team building activity with a guided trekking and mindfulness activities in the Etna Park led by David Mariani – Researcher, author, and science communicator, Creator of the Healthy Habits® approach, followed by dinner and overnight stay at Casa San Tommaso in Linguaglossa (Catania).