Name: South Bohemian Research Centre of Aquaculture and Biodiversity of Hydrocenoses
Institution: University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice
Coordinator: Assoc. Prof Vladimír Žlábek, Ph.D. vzlabek@frov.jcu.cz
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CENAKVA serves as an RI and a unique centre of knowledge, science, services and education in fisheries and water protection. CENAKVA aims to understand the ongoing processes in freshwater ecosystems and their importance in biodiversity conservation, water environment protection, and water resources for life and human activities. The unique facilities and expertise offer the capacity needed for various users who dare to comprehensively investigate emerging issues of aquaculture and biological processes in changing conditions of freshwater ecosystems. CENAKVA has fishpond facilities encompassing 40 hectares and many closed recirculation and aquaponic systems unique in Europe. It has expertise in the assisted reproduction and breeding of nearly 30 species of freshwater fish and crustaceans and manages the largest sturgeon gene bank in the world. The biological, chemical and toxicological laboratories with state-of-the-art equipment allow for investigation of the global processes in freshwater ecosystems and the cycling of substances in water, including monitoring new environmental pollutants. The unique ponds, experimental facilities and scientific background of CENAKVA empower close ties with the aquaculture community and stakeholders in the Czech Republic, Europe and worldwide. CENAKVA participates in a consortium of 22 RIs from 13 European countries involved in AQUAEXCEL3.0 (Aquaculture Infrastructures for Excellence in European Fish Research), enabling access to its excellent RI. These connections allow for planning and verifying modifications to actual pond management within the context of ongoing global climate change, promoting sustainable aquaculture in the long-term with minimal water consumption, together with minimum discharges of waste substances and greenhouse gases into the environment.
CENAKVA has become an integral part of DANUBIUS-RI (International Centre for Advanced Studies on River-Sea Systems) and is associated with the Czech national nodes to eLTER (European Long-Term Ecosystem Research) and ELIXIR (European Life-Science Infrastructure for Biological Information). It also cooperates with EMBRC-ERIC (European Marine Biological Resource Centre) and contributes to the implementation and progress of PARC (European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals). CENAKVA also organizes professional conferences, training courses, workshops, and lectures for scientists, students, industrial enterprises, regional and public authorities, international organisations and the public.
