With the primary aim of fostering the growth of Greek aquaculture and of its Members, the privately owned nonprofit Hellenic Aquaculture Producers Organization (H.A.P.O.) was established in 2016, when the initial 21 Members agreed to combine their efforts and self-finance the creation of a national Greek identity for their products and their distribution to selected markets. Today H.A.P.O. consists of 23 Members representing approximately 80% of Greek aquaculture. Parallel to a complex network of promotional activities, H.A.P.O. provides a wide range of active support in terms of research, collaboration, development, education, training, advice, problem-solving, networking, liaising with academic institutions, scientific entities, authorities and more. The Organization's primary mission, the growth of Greek aquaculture and the promotion of fresh fish farmed by the members of H.A.P.O. characterized by the collective label Fish from Greece, is being achieved by developing and establishing their Greek identity and by highlighting their exceptional characteristics. Fresh fish labelled Fish from Greece, are raised with the utmost care and in the most ideal locations of the country's unspoiled and transparent seas, by people with knowledge, experience and expertise, according to EU standards and regulations.
Graduated from the Veterinary Faculty of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Holds a Master of Laboratory Animal Science (MLAS, University of Copenhagen) and a Postgraduate Certificate in Veterinary Education (FHEA, RVC). Qualified by examination as Diplomate of the European College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (Dipl.ECLAM) and EBVS European Veterinary Specialist in Laboratory Animal Medicine. Employed as the Designated Veterinarian of the Experimental Educational Research Center ELPEN (EERCE), Athens, Greece since 2007. She is responsible for the veterinary care, participates in procedures on mice, rats, rabbits and swine, and is a member of EERCE’s Project Evaluation Committee and Animal Welfare Body. Serves as General Secretary and webmaster of Hellenic Society of Biomedical and Laboratory Animal Science (HSBLAS), Board Member and webmaster of European Society of Laboratory Animal Veterinarians (ESLAV), and Coordinator of the LAS EU Functions Course.
Nafsika Karakatsouli graduated (1994) with a BSc in Animal Sciences from the Agricultural University of Athens (Greece) and obtained her PhD in Aquaculture (2000) from the same University. She works in the Laboratory of Applied Hydrobiology since 2002. Her research interests concern the holistic overview of intensive rearing of Mediterranean fish species (hatcheries and sea cages) and focus on the interactions between nutrition and rearing conditions with fish physiological status, welfare-behaviour, quality and productivity. The ultimate objective of her research activity (published papers, presentations in scientific conferences, invited lectures/studies, research projects) is the harmonious and reciprocal communication of science with practice.
Hellenic Aquaculture Producers Organization - member of the Scientific Committee
Dr. Markos N. Koligas is a Veterinarian graduate of the University of Thessaly specializing in Aquatic Pathology and Fish Immunology. He has a long professional experience in the field of Greek Aquaculture having collaborated with the largest companies in the field. She teaches independently at the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Thessaly 2 undergraduate and 5 postgraduate courses. At the same time, he heads the Department of Livestock Livestock Health of the Aquaculture company Philosofish S.A. His studies include, among others, Cornell University in New York (Comparative Pathological Anatomy of Marine Organisms) and Wageningen in the Netherlands (Fish Immunology).
Jeff Lines trained in physics and engineering and now runs an engineering consultancy specialising in the improving the welfare of farmed animals at slaughter. He was formerly a principle scientist at the UK Research Institute for Agricultural Engineering (SRI). Current research areas include new developments to improve halal slaughter options for cows and chickens in addition to a long-term contract to design new and improved commercial fish stunning systems for Ace Aquatec Ltd. Jeff is an honorary visiting fellow with the University of Bristol Vet School and collaborates closely with colleagues at the London Royal Veterinary School and the University of Stirling Institute of Aquaculture.
Graduate of the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Thessaly. Holds a Master in Diagnostic Ultrasound from the Veterinary School of the University of Glasgow, Scotland. Doctor of the Medical School of the University of Athens in a subject related to laboratory animals. She was appointed to the Ministry of Rural Development and Food in 2001 and is Head of the Department of Protection of Productive Animals and Laboratory Animals of the General Directorate of Veterinary Medicine. National Contact Point for the European Commission and the World Organization for Animal Health (formerly OIE) for the implementation of animal protection legislation. Coordinator on behalf of the Greek central competent authority for the implementation of the legislation for the protection of animals of the voluntary subgroup of the European Union Platform for the protection of animals concerning the protection of fish in farms. Trainer on behalf of the European Commission to veterinary inspectors for the implementation of legislation on the protection of animals during transport. Regular Member of the National Committee for the welfare of animals used for scientific purposes of the Ministry of Regional Development. Member of the Geotechnical Chamber of Greece (GEOTEE). Full Member of the European Society of Laboratory Animal Veterinarians (ESLAV), the Hellenic Veterinary Society (CSR) and the Hellenic Society of Biomedical Research and Laboratory Animals.
Constantinos C Mylonas is currently the director of the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture (IMBBC), one of the institutes of the Hellenic Center for Marine Research (HCMR). He studied Aquaculture (B.Sc.) at Texas A&M University (1988), followed by an M.Sc. degree in Zoology at North Carolina State University (1991) evaluating the application of pharmacological methods for the induction of ovulation in salmonids. He completed his studies with a Ph.D. in Marine-Estuarine and Environmental Sciences at the University of Maryland (1996) studying the reproductive endocrinology of marine fishes and the use of controlled-release delivery systems for gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa), in the induction of ovulation and enhancement of sperm production. The research field of Dr. CC Mylonas may be summarized in (a) the study of fish reproductive biology and endocrinology, (b) the identification of the dysfunctions exhibited by female and male broodstocks in captive conditions, and (c) the development of pharmacological methods for the control of reproduction, induction of spawning and improvement of sperm production in fish of interest for the aquaculture industry. Dr Mylonas has published 132 scientific articles with an ISI-Index (H-index 39), has co-authored six books and edited one book on the reproduction of fish. He has been on the Editorial Board of the journal “Aquaculture” since 2002, and on the Board of Directors of the European Aquaculture Society since 2018.
Hellenic Aquaculture Producers Organization - Coordinator of the Scientific Committee
Leonidas is an Ichthyologist with advanced studies in Quality Management and he received MPhil in Fisheries Economics from the Business School of University οf Portsmouth (UK). Leonidas holds Executive MBA degree from American College of Greece, American Lab of Business Administration (ALBA) located in Athens (GR). He has been also working in the aquaculture industry since 1996, initially as a business consultant. On 2003 started working in NIREUS SA as QA/QC Manager, and since 2009 he took over the Research & Development department of the company. Currently works for Andromeda Seafood Ltd as Group Director of Quality Assurance and Occupational Health and Safety departments. He is president of Hellenic Aquaculture and Technology Platform since 2018 and technical consultant of HAPO.
Michail Pavlidis, Biologist, is a Professor of “Biology-Physiology of Marine Organisms” at the Department of Biology, University of Crete, Greece. He was also Docent Professor in “Aquaculture-Biotechnology of Broodstock Management” at the University of Kuopio (now University of Eastern Finland), Kuopio, Finland. He received his M.Sc in Public Health at the School of Public Health and Hygiene, Athens and his PhD in Biology, University of Athens, Greece. His current research is focusing on the molecular, neuro-endocrine and environmental interactions involved in the regulation of the stress response, in relation to individual differences in coping strategies, and on the development of non-invasive reliable welfare indicators in fish species. He is currently coordinator of the Erasmus Plus Joint Master Degree in “Aquaculture, Environment and Society”. He coordinates the FELASA Accredited Course “Care and use of laboratory animals: mice, rats and zebrafish”. Co-editor of the books “The Welfare of Fish” (Springer, 2020) and “Sparidae: Biology and aquaculture of gilthead sea bream and other species” (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011). Member of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for the assessment of welfare of European sea bass and gilthead sea bream. Since March 2017, is a National Representative at the SCAR (Standing Committee on Agricultural Research) FISH Strategic Working Group. Since September 2020 is a vice rector of Research and Development at the University of Crete.
Dr. Athanasios Samaras received his degree in Biology in 2010 from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in "Environmental Biology - Management of Land and Marine Water Resources" from the University of Crete in 2012. He received his Ph.D. specialization in fish physiology. He has participated in 9 domestic and European research and development programs in the field of fish physiology and fish farming. His research interests include stress physiology and the well-being of fish in Mediterranean fish farms as well as model organisms such as the zebrafish. His most recent work includes the evaluation of hormonal and biochemical stress indicators as selection criteria in genetic selection programs and the study of mechanisms that regulate individual differences in the stress response of sea bass. During his doctoral dissertation he developed and evaluated for the first time a protocol for characterizing individual variability in the seabass cortisol response and identifying individuals with consistently low responding (LR) or high (responding, HR) stress responses. He has 13 publications in international peer-reviewed journals with impact factor with h-index = 7 (Scopus), while his works have been announced in 11 presentations at international and Greek conferences. In addition, he is a member of the writing team of the Guide "Mediterranean Fish Welfare: A Guide to Good Practice and Evaluation Indicators" which is in the process of being published and distributed to the relevant services. Finally, Dr. Samaras has received 7 scholarships and awards for his performance during his pre- and post-graduate studies, as well as during his doctoral dissertation.
Dr Lynne Sneddon obtained her Ph.D at Glasgow University studying animal behaviour, physiology and neurobiology. After a postdoctoral position studying weakly electric fish Lynne moved to the Roslin Institute where she began characterising nociceptors in fish for the first time with Dr Mike Gentle. Lynne moved to the University of Liverpool in 2002 on a fellowship where she has used an integrative approach to understand mechanisms of behaviour and specialises in addressing question in fish welfare. In October Lynne took up a new academic position at Gothenburg University in Sweden. Lynne is the convenor of a FELASA Working Group considering pain management in laboratory zebrafish and is a member of the NC3R (UK) expert panel on zebrafish welfare.
