On November 24, 2025, a one-day field trip to Austria was held with third-year students from the Vodňany Fisheries School, compensating for the September field trip that could not take place due to a technical fault with the bus. A total of three different sites were visited in Austria. These included a unique fish skin processing manufactory, a public aquarium, and a Biofisch store offering tastings of organic aquaculture products. The excursion for 34 students and 2 teachers was organized and personally accompanied by Dr. Ján Regenda. The event was financially supported by the Living Treasures project, ATCZ00180, Living Treasures of Streams and Pools, Interreg Austria-Czechia 2021-2027 program.
From September 22 to 24, 2025, a field trip was organized for third-year students of the Vodňany Fisheries School to Austria. A total of seven different sites were visited, mainly in Austria. These included partner schools specializing in fisheries and water management, an environmental center, and a traditional fish farm. Due to a technical fault with the bus, we were unable to complete part of the planned program. The visit to the partner institution BOKU in Vienna was particularly inspiring, where we learned more about the issues of sediments and material transport in rivers. The excursion for 30 students and 2 teachers was organized and personally accompanied by Dr. Ján Regenda on behalf of FFPW SBU. The event was financially supported by the Living Treasures project, ATCZ00180, Living Treasures of Streams and Pools, Interreg Austria-Czechia 2021-2027 program.
The Research Institute in Mondsee is a long-established center focused on lake limnology. I visited Associate Professor Rainer Kurmayer, a recognized expert in lake microbiology who specializes in the production of toxins by planktic cyanobacteria. Austrian colleagues enabled me to collect phytoplankton and sediment samples from deep cold lakes—both pristine and long-term polluted areas—which we subsequently analyzed together and used for cultivation experiments. This material will further serve for the cultivation of microorganisms metabolizing nitrogen compounds. I also participated in a two-day block of the limnology course at the University of Innsbruck, where I was involved in the analysis of cyanobacteria from alpine streams.
On August 25, 2025, I made a short, one-day visit to the Lindbergmühle farm in Bavaria, where we are implementing the bilateral project BYCZ-SPF00088 Fish Welfare Education – Knowledge Transfer and Innovation in Fisheries Sciences, which is supported by the Small Projects Fund of the Interreg Bavaria-Czechia program. The purpose of our trip was to reflect on our cooperation on the project so far and to prepare further joint activities for autumn 2025. The participants also visited the Lindbergmühle fish farm and discussed fish welfare issues in relation to the various fish farming technologies available on the farm. Emphasis was placed on the impact of fish-eating predators on broodstock rheophilic fish in ponds.
From October 8 to 18, 2025, I had the opportunity to visit Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, to participate in the Hangzhou Xiaoshan District Innovation and Entrepreneurship “5213” Program. As part of this research grant initiative, I presented my project proposal (related to sustainable aquafeed). I also shared advanced knowledge and insights on the industrialization of circular protein for aquaculture feed with the research team at Zhejiang University and experts from the local municipal research sector. The discussions focused on innovative approaches to utilize waste for circular bioeconomy solutions, emphasizing both environmental sustainability and economic feasibility.
In addition to the academic and technical exchanges, I visited a few aquaculture hatchery farms in Xiaoshan District to assess current challenges in disease management and nutritional enhancement. These interactions provided valuable practical insights into the application of circular protein technologies to improve fish health and feed efficiency. The visit strengthened collaboration with Zhejiang University and Donghai Aquaculture Co., Ltd., fostering innovation and sustainability in aquafeed development.
Erasmus Training at the Fisheries Advisory Service of the Lower Bavaria District
From October 20th to 24th, my visit to Lower Bavaria—funded through an Erasmus+ training mobility—was an exceptionally enriching experience on both a professional and personal level. The combination of hands-on insights into river restoration and species conservation projects, along with close cooperation with the regional Fisheries Advisory Service, and the quiet, grounding moments in the Bavarian Forest/Šumava, reminded me of the power of genuine exchange between science and practice. The lively discussions, the truly bilateral knowledge transfer, and the opportunity to share my own research deepened my understanding of current challenges in fisheries and aquaculture, while highlighting how much stronger solutions become when different areas of expertise come together. This stay has motivated and encouraged me to continue building such collaborations—because it is exactly at this intersection of research, practical management, and environmental stewardship that meaningful progress for sustainable aquaculture and ecosystem protection is made.
From September 29 to October 2, 2025, a four-day excursion was held for first-year students of the follow-up master's program as part of the courses "Salmonid Fish Farming" and "Pond Aquaculture." A total of 16 different facilities, farms, organizations, and locations in the Czech Republic and Bavaria were visited. These included various types of operations, primarily fish hatcheries, flow-through and recirculation farms breeding fry and/or marketable salmonids and sturgeons, research organizations, cage farms, pond farms, water structures, fish processing plants, fish and fish products, etc. The program also included tasting fish specialties.
The excursion was made possible thanks to financial support from the Sumava Fish Jewels project, BYCZ01-020 Living Jewels Beneath the Water Surface of Šumava, and teaching resources from ÚAOV and VÚRH. Thank you for your support!
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Report from a Foreign Trip – Bavaria 8th of December 2025
On December 8, 2025, I made a short, one-day visit to the Lindbergmühle farm in Bavaria, where the bilateral project BYCZ-SPF00088 Fish Welfare Education – Knowledge Transfer and Innovation in Fisheries Sciences, supported by the Small Projects Fund of the Interreg Bavaria-Czechia program, is taking place. The purpose of my trip was to reflect on our cooperation on the project so far and to prepare further joint activities for 2026 – internships. I also took five students from the Vodňany Secondary School of Fisheries with me on the trip so that they could learn about the differences in approaches to fish welfare in different types of aquaculture.
Written by: Ing. Ján Regenda, Ph.D.
Report on Twenty Days of Research Activities at the Research Center for Fisheries and Aquaculture (HAKI) under the AQUASEV Transnational (TNA) Project 2025
I completed a twenty-day research stay at the Research Center for Fisheries and Aquaculture (HAKI), Szarvas, Hungary, from November 20th to December 20th, 2025, within the framework of the AQUASEV Transnational Access (TNA) Project 2025. During this period, I participated in a series of laboratory and field activities aimed at evaluating growth performance, physiological status, immune responses, and molecular biomarkers of experimental fish groups.
M.Sc. Mahyar Zare, Ph.D. České Budějovice, Czech Republic
22. December. 2025
On November 26 and 27, 2025, I visited the United Secondary School in Ivanka pri Dunaji, Slovakia. On Wednesday, November 26, I participated in an all-day conference on the establishment of a Center of Excellence for vocational education and training. The faculty school in Ivanka pri Dunaji is included in the center of excellence, which brings new opportunities for development. I spent the second day of my trip with students of fisheries. I gave a presentation on the impact of "weed fish" on pond management, both from the perspective of the economics of fish farming and the impact on the pond ecosystem as such. I then invited the students to our faculty for an Open day, which will take place on January 16, 2026. The students appreciated my presentation and expressed an active interest in visiting us in České Budějovice and Vodňany in January. In the afternoon, after a tour of the school, the possibility of deeper cooperation with teachers of specialized subjects was also discussed.
During a week long stay from November 10 to 14, 2025, funded by the PPSŘ mobility programme, I participated in several training activities with the Physiology of Fish Research Group (PhysToFish) at the University of Vigo, Spain. I attended a lecture on the regulation of feed intake in fish and contributed to sample collection activities. In addition, I delivered a seminar providing an overview of research facilities and scientific priorities. I also engaged in discussions with colleagues from the PhysToFish Group regarding potential future collaborations.
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Report on Erasmus Mobility Visit to SLU, Uppsala
I successfully completed a five-day Erasmus visit to the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Uppsala, Sweden, hosted by Dr. Parisa Norouzitallab and Dr. Kartik Baruah. During this mobility, I had the opportunity to tour their laboratory facilities and gain valuable insights into the advanced research conducted by the Aquaculture Nutraceuticals Research Group (ANARG) and the Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare. Our program focused on exploring synergies between our research interests, particularly in the fields of aquaculture, biotechnology, and sustainable health management strategies. We engaged in productive discussions on the scope of future collaborations and successfully identified key areas for joint projects, laying a strong foundation for continued partnership.
I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the FFPW USB for the generous financial support that enabled me to participate in this prestigious event.
Excursion for ČRS Rada, z.s. staff to Swissland and Germany 8th to 12th September 2025
From September 8 to 12, 2025, the Czech Fishing Union (ČRS Rada, z.s.) organized a five-day excursion to Switzerland and Germany for its experts and several guests from Slovakia. A total of 13 different sites and farms were visited, including waterfalls, an Alpine peak, and a carp museum. Modern aquaculture in Switzerland is characterized by the breeding of pikeperch and perch in RAS, including off-season fish spawning. However, this breeding has its pitfalls in the need for perfect zootechnical management and economic demands (production at Swiss costs for the local market). Similar to Poland, almost all of the fish farmers we visited are actively trying to sell their products in processed form to end customers (fish products, gastronomy). A visit to the Oberle family's fish restaurant in Kosbach, which serves traditional carp from its own farm and has recently added beer brewing, was very inspiring and similar to our conditions.
I had the great opportunity to visit the School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (HAFL) in Bern to analyse samples from our previous feeding experiment. The goal was to investigate potential immune activation caused by functional feeds in fish.
Preliminary results suggest that our selected functional feed components can enhance immune activation, as evidenced by the upregulated markers in the mucosa. These findings are promising and will guide our next steps in evaluating immune modulation and overall fish health.
The collaboration with HAFL was extremely rewarding — both scientifically and personally. The team’s expertise and hospitality made this visit a great success, and we look forward to continuing our cooperation on functional feed research in the future.
International Conference of Innovative Aquaculture - Innovative Aquaculture for a Sustainable and Resilient Future (Chiang Mai, Thailand)
On November 27–28, I participated in the relatively new conference The 2nd International Conference of Innovative Aquaculture (Chiang Mai, Thailand), organized by Chiang Mai University. Despite being a new event, the conference was of high quality both in terms of its scientific program and the presence of leading experts in the field — for example: Prof. Avnimelech (Israel Institute of Technology), Prof. Sorgeloos (Ghent University), Prof. Gasco (University of Turin), Prof. Galindo-Villegas (Nord University), Prof. Na-Nakorn (Kasetsart University), Prof. Paolucci (University of Sannio), Prof. Rodkhum (Chulalongkorn University), Prof. Tort (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Prof. Hoseinifar (Gorgan University), Prof. Davies (Harper Adams University), Prof. Spaink (Leiden University), Prof. Oliva-Teles (Porto University), Prof. Zhou (Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences), and Prof. Shumway (University of Connecticut). At the conference, I gave a lecture titled "Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) for Sustainable Aquaculture", and my colleague Dr. Hung Quang Tran delivered an online presentation on "Microbial Composition and Diversity in the Intestine of Common Carp in Biofloc System." On November 29, a one-day practical workshop focused on biofloc technology followed the conference, led by Professor Yoram Avnimelech, who is known as a pioneer of the biofloc technology.
Dne 25. srpna 2025 jsem realizoval krátkou, jednodenní návštěvu farmy Lindbergmühle v Bavorsku, kde realizujeme bilaterální projekt BYCZ-SPF00088 Fish Welfare Education – Přenos znalostí a inovace v rybářských vědních oborech, který je podpořen Fondem malých projektů programu Interreg Bavorsko-Česko. Náplní naší cesty byla reflexe naší dosavadní spolupráce na projektu a příprava dalších společných aktivit pro podzim 2025. Účastníci cesty si rovněž prohlédli rybochovný objekt Lindbergmühle a diskutovali problematiku welfare ryb v rámci jednotlivých technologií chovu ryb dostupných na farmě. Zvláštní důraz byl kladen na působení rybožravých predátorů na generační reofilní ryby v rybnících.
Od 8. do 18. října 2025 jsem měl příležitost navštívit Chang-čou v provincii Če-ťiang v Číně, kde jsem se zúčastnil programu „5213“ pro inovace a podnikání v okrese Xiaoshan v Chang-čou. V rámci této iniciativy výzkumného grantu jsem představil svůj projektový návrh (týkající se udržitelného krmiva pro vodní živočichy). S výzkumným týmem na Zhejiangské univerzitě a odborníky z místního municipálního výzkumného sektoru jsem také sdílel pokročilé znalosti a poznatky o industrializaci cirkulárních bílkovin pro krmiva pro akvakulturu. Diskuse se zaměřily na inovativní přístupy k využití odpadu pro cirkulární bioekonomická řešení s důrazem na environmentální udržitelnost i ekonomickou proveditelnost.
Kromě akademické a technické výměny jsem navštívil několik akvakulturních líhní v okrese Xiaoshan, abych posoudil současné výzvy v oblasti řízení chorob a zlepšování výživy. Tyto interakce poskytly cenné praktické poznatky o použití technologií cirkulárních bílkovin ke zlepšení zdraví ryb a účinnosti krmiv. Návštěva posílila spolupráci se Zhejiang University a Donghai Aquaculture Co., Ltd. a podpořila inovace a udržitelnost ve vývoji krmiv pro akvakulturu.
Zpráva o dvaceti dnech výzkumných aktivit v Centru pro rybářství a akvakulturu (HAKI) v rámci transnacionálního projektu AQUASEV (TNA) 2025
Absolvoval jsem dvacetidenní výzkumný pobyt v Centru pro rybářství a akvakulturu (Research Center for Fisheries and Aquaculture – HAKI) ve městě Szarvas v Maďarsku, který probíhal v období od 20. listopadu do 20. prosince 2025 v rámci projektu AQUASEV – Transnational Access (TNA) 2025. Během tohoto období jsem se podílel(a) na řadě laboratorních i terénních aktivit zaměřených na hodnocení růstové výkonnosti, fyziologického stavu, imunitních odpovědí a molekulárních biomarkerů u experimentálních skupin ryb.
M.Sc. Mahyar Zare, Ph.D. České Budějovice, Česká republika
22. prosince 2025
Erasmus školení u Odborné rybářské poradny okresu Dolní Bavorsko
V období od 20. do 24. října byl můj pobyt v Dolním Bavorsku – financovaný prostřednictvím mobility Erasmus+ – mimořádně obohacující jak po profesní, tak po osobní stránce. Kombinace praktických poznatků z projektů zaměřených na revitalizaci vodních toků a ochranu druhů, úzká spolupráce s regionální rybářskou odbornou poradnou a klidné, uklidňující chvíle v Bavorském lese/Šumavě mi znovu připomněly sílu skutečné výměny mezi vědou a praxí. Živé diskuse, skutečně bilaterální sdílení znalostí a možnost prezentovat vlastní výzkum prohloubily mé porozumění aktuálním výzvám v oblasti rybářství a akvakultury a zároveň ukázaly, jak mnohem silnějších řešení lze dosáhnout, když se propojí různé odborné perspektivy. Tento pobyt mě motivoval a povzbudil pokračovat v budování podobných spoluprací – protože právě na tomto průsečíku výzkumu, praktického managementu a environmentální péče vzniká skutečný pokrok směrem k udržitelnější akvakultuře a ochraně ekosystémů.
Ve dnech 29. září až 2. října 2025 proběhla čtyřdenní exkurze studentů 1. ročníku navazujícího magisterského studia v rámci předmětů „Chov lososovitých ryb“ a „Rybniční akvakultury“. Navštíveno bylo celkem 16 různých objektů, farem, organizací a míst v ČR a Bavorsku. Jednalo se o různé typy provozů, především rybí líhně, průtočné a recirkulační farmy s chovem násad a/nebo tržních lososovitých ryb, jesetrů, výzkumné organizace, klecové chovy, rybniční hospodářství, vodní stavby, zpracovny ryb, ryb a rybích výrobků apod. Součástí programu byla také ochutnávka rybích specialit.
Exkurze byla realizována díky finanční podpoře projektu Sumava Fish Jewels, BYCZ01-020 Živé klenoty pod vodní hladinou Šumavy a zdrojů pro výuku z ÚAOV a VÚRH. Děkujeme za podporu!
