The University of La Laguna (ULL) is a key reference in education and research, offering 46 undergraduate degrees, 38 master's programs, 20 doctoral programs, and more than 240 research groups. The Faculty of Sciences has extensive experience in scientific and educational activities related to the marine ecosystem. Since 2013, it has offered the Master's Degree in Marine Biology: Biodiversity and Conservation. The research group “Lipid Physiology and Their Derivatives in Animal and Human Nutrition” – NUTRAHLIPIDS at ULL (Go to NUTRAHLIPIDS website), part of the Department of Animal Biology, Soil Science and Geology, has significant experience in marine physiology and aquaculture research. This group maintains close scientific collaboration with other ULL groups in the Canarian marine sciences ecosystem that also form part of the ACUICONECTA consortium, especially with CSIC-IEO, with which it has created the AQUAFISMAR research group (Go to AQUAFISMAR website), as well as with ULPGC and more recently with the Biotechnology Department of ITC, the project lead partner. NUTRAHLIPIDS has qualified personnel and expertise in numerous techniques for studying the nutrition and physiology of marine organisms, along with facilities and specialized equipment for pilot trials with aquaculture species of commercial interest.
ULL in ACUICONECTA: in ACUICONECTA, ULL will contribute its expertise to the development of healthy, nutritious, and diverse foods through aquaculture production, with emphasis on modulating the lipid composition of cultured organisms to increase their nutritional value, diversifying aquaculture products for the market, and fish disease control. ULL will also work on strategies to increase the sustainability of aquaculture processes, exploring the use of waste and by-products to develop meals and oils for aquaculture diets, and on the study of recirculation systems and IMTA/RAS to incorporate local species with aquaculture potential at different trophic levels. ULL will also contribute to the creation of SH.A.PL.A. (Sharing Aquaculture Platform in the eastern Atlantic). ULL will play a significant role in the cross-cutting actions of the project: on the one hand, by helping to channel research results to the productive sector, leveraging its experience in collaborative projects with private companies and in implementing knowledge transfer actions and outreach workshops; and on the other, by contributing to student and trainer education, as well as the creation and promotion of researcher mobility to foster transregional knowledge exchange in aquaculture.
Go to the University of La Laguna website