13 ta’ Novembru 2013 |
Konsorzju magħmul minn 13-il imsieħeb minn tmien pajjiżi differenti fosthom Malta, kisbu riżultati notevoli meta rnexxielhom inisslu tonn fil-‘fish farms’ u b’hekk jipprovdu bażi għal ġejjieni sostenibbli ta’ din l-ispeċi mhedda.
Dan il-proġett beda fil-bidu tas-snin 2000 wara konferenza internazzjonali, DOTT (DOTT – Domestication of Bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus), fejn laqqgħet flimkien f’Cartagena, fi Spanja, xjentisti li jispeċjalizzaw fir-riċerka dwar it-tonn. B’hekk ingħata bidu għall-proġett imsejjaħ Repro-DOTT, bl-iskop li tkun studjata r-riproduzzjoni tat-tonn kemm fl-ambjent naturali kif ukoll fil-magħluq.
Ir-riżultati eċċellenti miksuba matul dan il-proġett wasslu biex il-konsorzju japplika għal għajnuna finanzjarja mill-UE ħalli jkun jista’ jiżviluppa l-proġett Self-DOTT (Self-sustaining aquaculture – Domestication of Thunnus thynnus). Lokalment, il-Malta Aquaculture Research Centre (MAR), li qabel kienet magħrufa bħala l-Malta Centre for Fisheries Sciences (MCFS), ikkoordina l-esperimenti Maltin u l-kampjunar ta’ tonn fl-ambjent naturali tiegħu, filwaqt li l-kumpanija MFF Ltd kienet responsabbli għaż-żamma tal-ħut ripporduttiv, għall-esperimentazzjoni fuq skala kbira dwar in-nutrizzjoni ta’ dan il-ħut, għal provi ta’ trasport tal-bajd, kif ukoll għal provi tat-trobbija tal-frieħ.
Kelliem għall-konsorzju qal li, “Grazzi għall-iffinanzjar mill-UE, li jammonta għal kważi €3 miljun, il-konsorzju rrekluta speċjalisti f’kull qasam, fosthom għaddasa u x-xjentisti, kif ukoll żviluppa teknoloġiji u tekniki ġodda li permezz tagħhom ir-riproduzzjoni u t-takkbir fil-magħluq ta’ din l-ispeċi setgħu jkun mmaniġġjati u studjati.”
L-istess imsieħba qed jipparteċipaw fi proġett ieħor ta’ sentejn taħt il-kappa tas-‘7th Framework Project’ tal-UE, bl-isem Trans-DOTT (Translation of domestication of Thunnus thynnus to a commercial application) biex flimkien jiżviluppaw metodoloġiji ekonomikament vijabbli u sostenibbli għall-produzzjoni tat-tonn.
Further Reading
Link to Euronews feature: www.euronews.com/2010/07/23/farming-bluefin-tuna.
EU’s support to SME Research
The Malta Aquaculture Research Centre and MFF Ltd are among over 45 grant holders in Malta that have benefitted from EU research funding since 2007, collectively receiving over €6.5 million.
By the end of 2013, in the European Union as a whole, more than 15,000 SMEs will have been supported directly for an amount exceeding €5 billion.
At the start of the current EU research framework programme, the European Union set a target for SMEs to share 15 percent of funding available for cross-border cooperative research projects. At the last count in October the rate was 17.5 percent, with country performances ranging from 12 percent in Finland to 36 percent in Hungary and Slovakia.
In the next EU research programme, Horizon 2020, due to launch in January, the target will be higher – 20 percent of the budgets available for research on societal challenges and leading technologies – meaning almost €9 billion in grants over seven years will be available to small companies. Of this amount, €3 billion will be provided through a dedicated “SME instrument” to fund feasibility studies and demonstration projects to help speed ideas to the market. Part of the EU research budget will also be used to back loans to SMEs by public and private lenders.
Michael Jennings, spokesman for European Research, Innovation and Science, said: “The €9 billion should be seen as a minimum. SMEs are the backbone of the European economy and account for two thirds of total employment. We want as many SMEs as possible to benefit from EU research and innovation funding to generate new products, services and jobs. Full details of how they can get involved will be announced when we launch our first calls for proposals in December.”