From December 8th to December 17th, 2023, I undertook a business trip to Southeast Asia with the aim of visiting partners in Thailand. The purpose of the trip in the first part was to visit the laboratory of Dr. Hien Van Doan (Department of Animal and Aquatic Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University), where we worked on preparing an ERASMUS+ project and two collaborative publications. In the second part of the trip, I visited Professor Channaron Rodkhum at Chulalongkorn University, Center of Excellence in Fish Infectious Diseases.

On the 8. 12. 2022 I have visited colleagues from the management of the National park Bayerischer Wald. Together, we were finishing an application to the international program INTERREG VI-A Bavaria – Czechia. The project aims to make a significant contribution to the coordinated protection of surface waters by studying the populations of brown trout in the programme area.

The annual international conference organized by European aquaculture society (EAS) was held in Vienna, Austria from September 18 - 21, 2023. Dr. Koushik Roy, under the patronage of Prof. Zdenek Adamek and Alistair Laine, participated in the capacity of a session chair. He chaired the session themed “Nature-based Solutions and Eco-intensification in Aquaculture”. Where he chaired seven oral presentations, including one oral presentation of his own which was honorarily chaired by Prof. Bela Urbanyi (MATE, Hungary). A stimulating discussion around the future of pond aquaculture also occurred, following oral presentations by Hungarian (Ferenc Levai, Bela Urbayi), Czech colleagues (Lenka Kajgrova, Koushik Roy) and an IUCN representative (Raphaela le Gouvello) in the session.

Photo courtesy: Prof. Pavel Kozak.

31st October 2023, a networking meeting of the LIFE Living Rivers (101069837/LIFE21-IPE-SK-Living Rivers) and LIFE Boat4Sturgeons projects took place at the Water Management Research Institute in Bratislava (Slovakia). The meeting was attended by FFPW USB staff Dr. Borek Drozd and Assoc. Prof. Miloš Buřič. At the meeting, the goals of both projects and the intended activities were introduced as well as mutual cooperation and synergy in the performance of project tasks within the Danube River basin were discussed.

RNDr. Bořek Drozd, Ph.D.

On November 20-21, 2023, as part of the fulfillment of the goals of the LIFE Living Rivers project (101069837/LIFE21-IPE-SK-Living Rivers), a part of the telemetry gates was installed (on the Čunovo and Gabčíkovo water bodies) for the subsequent study of the sterlet migration in the Slovak part Danube. The event was attended by FROV JU staff consisting of Bořek Drozd, Lukáš Veselý, Jan Kubec, Martin Vlk and Filip Ložek.

RNDr. Bořek Drozd, Ph.D.

On March 20-25, 2023, staff of the FFPW USB (Dr. Bořek Drozd and Ing. M. Šindler) together with colleagues from the Hydrobiological Institute BC ASCR v.v.i. performed preparatory tests in the field to verify the functionality of the technology and its settings for a telemetric study of the migration passability of the key barriers and water structures in the Slovak part of the Danube (Čunovo, Gabčíkovo, Dunakiliti and others) for fish. The survey was carried out in accordance with the objectives of WP6 of the project LIFE21-IPE-SK-LIFE Living Rivers/101069837.

RNDr. Bořek Drozd, Ph.D.

On May 11-12, 2023, staff of the FFPW USB (Dr. Bořek Drozd and Ing. M. Šindler) together with colleagues from the Slovak Angling Union and BOKU (Vienna, Austria) performed collection of the sterlet in the Danube. Furthermore, a selection of the suitable localities for performance of the ichthyomonitoring surveys within the project LIFE21-IPE-SK-LIFE Living Rivers/101069837 took place.

Author: RNDr. Bořek Drozd, Ph.D.

On September 11-15, 2023, staff of the FFPW USB (Bořek Drozd, Jan Kubec, Lukáš Veselý, Martin Vlk, Martin Bláha, Marek Let, Daniel Kvapil, Filip Kupka, Das Koushik, Iqbal Azeem, Oficialdegui Aladren Francisco Javier a  Balzani Paride) together with colleagues from the Slovak Angling Union performed monitoring of the fish populations of the Slovak part of the Danube and its side branch system within the project LIFE Living Rivers (101069837/LIFE21-IPE-SK-Living Rivers).  The results of the surveys will be used to evaluate the current state of fish populations, to set up sustainable fishing and fishery management and are also key to the design of fish ladders and passes through which the gigantic Gabčíkovo and Čunovo water constructions will be passable.

RNDr. Bořek Drozd, Ph.D.

On June 14, 2023, FFPW JU staff (Bořek Drozd, Miloš Burič, Jan Kubec, Martin Vlk and M. Šindler) together with other partner organizations of the LIFE Living Rivers project (LIFE21-IPE-SK-LIFE Living Rivers/101069837) carried out the stocking of 20 thousand of marked juveniles of the sterlet (A. ruthenus) to the Slovak part of the Danube (Čunovo, Sáp, Velkolelský ostrov).

RNDr. Bořek Drozd, Ph.D.

On June 26-27, 2023, staff of FFPW USB (Bořek Drozd, Lukáš Veselý, Filip Ložek, Martin Vlk, Jan Kubec and M. Šindler) visited the Slovak part of the Danube and the side branch system. They performed detailed mapping and preparation of localities for ichthyomonitoring as part of the LIFE21-IPE-SK-LIFE Living Rivers/101069837 project.

RNDr. Bořek Drozd, Ph.D.

Five FFPW employees joined the annual fish nutrition workshop by Wageningen University and Research, Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute. Ing. Lenka Kajgrova won the Best Poster Award. They attended with support from ERASMUS+ or lab funding. The workshop highlighted pond research by Marc Verdegem, featuring a session led by Dr. Koushik Roy on pond fish nutrition, sharing insights from GACR 22-18597S project. Dr. Arjen Roem (Skretting) showed interest in adopting balanced pond feeding. Prof. J.A.J. Verreth praised the advancements for pond supplementary feeding's efficiency and ecological sustainability. The workshop provided theoretical and practical insights from global specialists and R&D scientists in fish feed industry. Study materials supplemented learning. Organizers thanked USB FFPW for financial support.

Workshop photos are available at: [https://photos.app.goo.gl/DdjFjNh9aSR1sE8n6].

On April 7^th – 11^th, 2024, FFPW USB staff (Bořek Drozd, Jan Kubec, Lukáš Veselý, Filip Ložek, Martin Vlk) carried out the next phase of installing telemetry gates to monitor the movement of rheophilic fish species in the Slovak part of the Danube in the project area of the LIFE Living Rivers project (101069837/LIFE21-IPE-SK-Living Rivers).Furthermore, the activity of incubating sterlet eggs in incubators put directly into the Danube, which is also part of the LIFE project, was started.

RNDr. Bořek Drozd, Ph.D.

On April 15^th – 21^st, 2024, FFPW USB staff (Bořek Drozd, Jan Kubec, Lukáš Veselý, Filip Ložek, Martin Vlk) completed the installation of telemetric gates and began a telemetric study focused on monitoring the movement of rheophilic fish species in the Slovak part of the Danube in the project area of the project LIFE Living Rivers (101069837/LIFE21-IPE-SK-Living Rivers). Furthermore, the activity of incubating sterlet eggs in incubators put directly into the Danube, which is also part of this LIFE project, was completed.

RNDr. Bořek Drozd, Ph.D.

On February 25-29, 2024, FFPW USB staff (Bořek Drozd, Jan Kubec, Lukáš Veselý, Filip Ložek, Martin Vlk) carried out the second phase of installing telemetry gates to monitor the movement of rheophilic fish species in the Slovak part of the Danube in the project area of the LIFE Living Rivers project (101069837/LIFE21-IPE-SK-Living Rivers).

RNDr. Bořek Drozd, Ph.D.

On 30th January 2024, a networking meeting of the LIFE Living Rivers (101069837/LIFE21-IPE-SK-Living Rivers) and LIFE Boat4Sturgeons projects took place at the Bodenkultur Universität (Vienna, Slovakia). The meeting was attended by FROV JU staff Dr. Borek Drozd and Dr. Filip Ložek. At the meeting, the procedures for coordinating work on both projects in 2024 were discussed. The sharing of data resulting from both projects in the European context was also discussed.

RNDr. Bořek Drozd, Ph.D.

On the 23. 05 2023 a kick-off meeting of the integrated LIFE project "Implementation of the river basin management plan in selected river sub-basins in Slovakia - Living Rivers" took place in Bratislava. This project is solved in the years 2023-2032 and coordinated by the Slovak Research Institute of Water Management. The Living Rivers project will contribute to the implementation of the 3rd Water Plan - Management Plan of the Danube Basin Administrative Area in Slovakia by implementing measures in the Danube, Hron, Ipeľ and Belá river basins.

Bořek Drozd and Martin Šindler took part in the opening ceremony with their presentations, Miloš Burič, Monika Malkusová and Jiří Koleček were also present.

On the 12^th  January 2024, J. Koleček, J. Regenda and Ch. A. Steinbach visited the Bavarian Fachberatung für Fischerei in Lindbergmühle. The subject of the meeting was the consultation of the content and form of the joint application to the INTERREG program. The joint project application will be processed by the FROV JU/CENAKVA coordination team and will be submitted as part of the ongoing call.

On days 10-14 In July, I visited Italian Gen-Tech company as part of the Erasmus + program. The company deals with fisheries services and is partly owned by the University of Parma. The content of the internship was to get to know the commercial processes within the Gen-Tech company.

In partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the united Nations (FAO), the department of forestry, fisheries and the environment, South Africa, our faculty (represented by Assoc. Prof. Jan Mráz and Folorunso Ewumi Azeez (MSc.)) was invited to help in developing aquaponics model for a government-own research institute, the Aquaculture Technology Demonstration Centre (ATDC). Our faculty was invited based on our expertise in the field of freshwater aquaculture, specifically aquaponics, and an opportunity for fruitful exchange. In a 6-days workshop/training, we, along with the FAO representative assessed the major aquaponics variables that would determine a successful South African modeled aquaponics considering her climates, market and economy. Along with the trainings, we fostered a likely future collaboration, that would produce prominent research studies and exchange of students.

From 10th November to 12th December 2021, I conducted a business trip to Spain, CENTRO IFAPA AGUA DEL PINO, Cartaya, Huelva focused on the use of PLGA microparticles with mGnRHa in the artificial reproduction of marine fish species. 

Author: Mgr. Peter Podhorec, Ph.D.