(Partner 1)
The Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture (FBA) at Nord University is the project’s lead partner. The FBA has a long history in studies that concern the development of new aquaculture species and has experts in the aquaculture field that covers reproduction, nutrition, welfare, and biotechnology. FBA has, in the past years, been working with different companies to help solve some of the bottlenecks in spotted wolffish and lumpfish aquaculture. FBA is also the research network leader for wolfish, which involves partners in Europe and North America. The only commercial wolffish producer had their broodstock at FBA facilities until 2017, when their broodstock facilities were established. The aquaculture research group at FBA has participated in several EU and international projects in aquaculture. Currently, the team involved in the BESTBROOD coordinates the development of aquaculture in the arctic region, including wolffish. 
Dr. Jorge Galindo-Villegas, an experienced EU project manager member of the Genomics Research Group at the FBA, led the project. Recently, he has participated in several large EU-granted projects Eg. TARGETFISH, SAVEFISH, EPIFISH conducting scientific and managerial duties. Besides, Dr. Galindo-Villegas has worked in fish biology and aquaculture for over two decades on various topics, including developmental immunity, nutrition, and health management. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal Aquaculture (Elsevier), Associate Editor at Frontiers in Immunology and Frontiers in Physiology, and President of the International Society of Fish & Shellfish Immunology. The objectives of FBA in the BESTBROOD are focused on finding reproductive and immune mechanisms, evaluating the gamete quality and improving its cryopreservation, and enhancing and managing broodstock’s nutrition and welfare of spotted wolffish. FBA is actively involved in all WPs while leading the WP1 (Administration) and WP3 (Broodstock welfare and immune nutrition).
Coordinator/Principal Investigator: Dr. Jorge Galindo-Villegas (jorge.galindo-villegas@nord.no)
(Partner 2)
Akvaplan-Niva AS (APN) is a research institute in the NIVA-group. APN has 130 employees with a strong focus and tracks record in applied aquaculture research. The company performs research and development for private companies and research organizations, focusing on developing new or improved aquaculture concepts and technologies for environmentally sustainable commercial production.
APN aquaculture specialists combine practical experience with advanced technical knowledge from decades of hands-on management of aquaculture facilities worldwide. The BESTBROOD team has extensive experience in projects within the 5-7 FP for small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs). These developed technologies for commercial-scale farming of sole (SOLEMATES), turbot (TURPRO), tench (PROTENCH), optimizing reproduction and spawning (PROSPAWN) of aquaculture fish, improving feeding and feed efficiency in sea bass (eFISHent), and development of new production methods for turbot and sole (MAXIMUS). These are user-controlled projects utilizing the APN aquaculture research team’s tight connection with the aquaculture industry in Norway and abroad. For the last 20 years, APN has been conducting research in spotted wolfish, and for the last ten years, it has also conducted research in lumpfish.
Akvaplan-Niva owns its research facility in Tromsø, Northern Norway. The lab is a flexible experimental facility for micro- to mesoscale (up to basin-scale) experimental studies. The facility includes a fully equipped marine hatchery (TMY) with permits to perform experiments with aquatic animals. The facility is designed to carry out full-scale production or experiments with marine juveniles. APN participates in the BESTBROOD consortium for its unique expertise in lumpfish broodstocks management. They are one of the leading providers of spotted wolffish and lumpfish eggs for the Norwegian market. APN will participate in all 6 WPs in BESTBROOD and contribute to the work planned for lumpfish and spotted wolffish. APN will lead WP6 and several tasks.
Principal Investigator: Dr. Atle Foss (atle.foss@akvaplan.niva.no)
(Partner 3)
The Hellenic Center for Marine Research (HCMR) in Greece will participate with the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture (IMBBC), which is one of the three institutes of the HCMR based in Heraklion, Crete, and with facilities in Anavyssos, Attica and Souda, Chania. A staff of 120 people and 27 regular researchers undertakes research in marine biodiversity, genetics and genomics, and aquaculture. The HCMR has been involved in several EU and National projects relevant to BESTBROOD. These include the project DIVERSIFY (EU FP7,) coordinated by Dr. Constantinos C Mylonas.Principal Investigator in BESTBROOD. The objectives of DIVERSIFY included the study of reproductive function in greater amberjack and meager and the development of methods to control reproduction. Another relevant project is SELFDOTT (KBBE, FP7, 2,8 million euro), where HCMR was responsible for the WP on the study of the reproduction of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus). The HCMR was also the coordinator of a National Project (KRANIOS) on the development of reproduction control and culture methods for meager (GSRT, ESPA 2007-2014, 500,000 euro) and is currently the coordinator of a National project (MAGIATIKO) on the reproduction and larval rearing of greater amberjack (GSRT, ESPA 2014-2020, 399,600 euro). The expertise acquired in these projects will be used in BESTBROOD to further enhance our knowledge and control of the reproduction of greater amberjack, meager, and other new species with a high potential for the European aquaculture industry.
Dr. Mylonas is the director of IMBBC, and his research field includes (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 40), co-authored six books, and edited one book on fish reproduction. He has been on the Board of Directors of the European Aquaculture Society since 2018.
The involvement of HCMR in BESTBROOD is in hormonal manipulations to control ovulation, spermiation, and spawning, mainly in greater amberjack (WP 4 and 5). Also, HCMR will participate in the work planned for spotted wolffish, Senegalese sole, and lumpfish, with the provision of GnRHa implants and the analysis of the steroid hormones after induction of spermiation (WP 3 and 4). Therefore, the participation of HCMR will be both with analytical lab and large-scale facility for broodstock experiments. In particular, HCMR will provide access to the AQUALABS, a certified facility on Crete for experiments and rearing of marine organisms (certification code EL 91-BIO-04). This facility includes a broodstock area and specializes in various Mediterranean species. Further to the research broodstock facility, a wide range of state-of-the-art laboratory equipment (CASA, ELISA, Histology, Microscopy) will be used.
Principal Investigator: Dr. Constantinos C. Mylonas (mylonas@hcmr.gr)
(Partner 4)
The Andalusian Research and Training Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Ecological Food Production (IFAPA) is a regional public organism that supports a research network of 19 centers in agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, and the agri-food industry. The Centre IFAPA El Toruño specializes in marine aquaculture, contributing for more than 20 years to developing and optimizing protocols for farming new marine fish species, such as Senegalese sole. The IFAPA research team in the BESTBROOD (in the picture) is a multidisciplinary group with specialists covering several aspects for reproduction, genetic selection, and the use and application of genomic techniques to optimize the production protocols in marine aquaculture. The team has participated in and coordinated different European (AQUAGENET, DIVERAQUA, ALGAE4A&B), national (INNOTECSS, PROGENSA, MORFOGEN), and regional (BIOSOLE, TRANSFORMA) research programs focused on sole aquaculture. IFAPA El Toruño holds large facilities for demonstrative research in marine species, including broodstock facilities to keep the fish under natural and controlled photo- and thermoperiods for reproduction trials and genetic breeding programs. Besides, this center has some labs equipped with high-throughput analysis of molecular techniques, including genetic DNA sequencers and a robotic station for nucleic acid processing.
The main contribution provided by IFAPA to BESTBROOD is the development of genetic and genomic markers and gamete quality indicators in sole. IFAPA will standardize the methodology across species, identify gamete quality indicators, and identify genetic and genomic markers related to growth and sperm quality in the sole. Moreover, the effect of reprogramming diets on sperm quality and epigenetic effects in offspring (WP3) will be evaluated. IFAPA will collaborate on the enhancement of sperm cryopreservation techniques in farmed origin breeders, evaluate hormonal therapies to improve gamete production and quality (WP4), and scale up the sperm cryopreservation methods and technology transfer (WP5).
Principal Investigator: Dr. Manuel Manchado (manuel.manchado@juntadeandalucia.es)
(Partner 5)
The University of Bari Aldo Moro (UNIBA) is one of the most prestigious universities in Southern Italy and is located in Apulia, Bari’s capital city. UNIBA comprises 23 Departments and more than 100 degree courses, with about 3,000 employees and 43,000 students, and a provisional turnover in 2019 of 278,4 million euros/year.
UNIBA staff in the BESTBROOD (see picture on the right) includes associate professors and researchers from the Section of Veterinary Clinics and Animal Production of the Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation (DETO). UNIBA staff’s scientific responsibility is Prof. Aldo Corriero, biologist and Ph Doctor in Marine Sciences, whose primary expertise is in gametogenesis, reproductive cycles, and reproductive dysfunction of fish under culture conditions, fish age determination, and growth. He has been a member of the Research Unit of several Italian and EU projects and Principal Investigator for EU FP7 SELFDOTT, EU FP7 DIVERSIFY, and EU H2020 NewTechAqua.
UNIBA will lead Task 2.1 ‘Cross-species methods standardization, in which a review of the literature and operating protocols for samplings, laboratory analyses, and hormone treatments for all the BESTBROOD species will be produced and shared with all partners. UNIBA will also participate in Tasks 4.1 ‘Enhancement of spermiation in amberjack’ on the effects of hormonal treatments on spermatogenesis and testis maturation process in farmed origin greater amberjack in Task 4.3 ‘Control of reproduction in lumpfish’ on gametogenesis and gonad maturation of wild-caught and hatchery-produced lumpfish. For the research activities, UNIBA will apply basic histology, immunohistochemistry, and TUNEL method to identify apoptotic cells and image analysis in histology laboratories.
The Italian Funding Institution is the Ministero dell’Universitá e della Ricerca (MIUR).
Principal Investigator: Prof. Aldo Corriero (aldo.corriero@uniba.it)
(Partner 6)
The Argosaronikos Fishfarms SA (ARGO) has been operating in the sector of Mediterranean fish production since 1987. Since then, ARGO has grown into a modern, vertically integrated unit with a hatchery, a modern unit for fry pre-fattening and feeding units in the open sea. As a result of their participation in the EU project DIVERSIFY, ARGO was the first company in Greece to commercialize the growth out of greater amberjack. With a production capacity of 800 t per year, the company’s modern installations are located at Salamis Island, Greece.
ARGO has acquired significant expertise in broodstock management of amberjack through its involvement in the project DIVERSIFY (2013-2018), as the leading site for the reproduction of this new species and the provision of eggs for larval rearing experiments and trials in commercial hatcheries.
Significant infrastructure and equipment relevant for implementing the BESTBROOD project include 1) sea cages and land-based tanks for the maintenance of amberjack broodstocks. The sea cages are located 500 m from the land-based facility, allowing rapid transfer of breeders maintained in the sea cages to the tanks for spawning; 2) a fully equipped wet lab for evaluating gamete quality and the evaluation of egg and early larval development. The lab has a stereoscope and compound microscope fitted with a digital video camera and a controlled temperature incubator for microtiter plate rearing individual eggs and larvae. ARGO was invited to participate in the BESTBROOD consortium because they are one of the greater amberjack producers. ARGO is involved in the activities related to greater amberjack in WP4 and Wp5.
Contact person: Mrs. Laina Charoula (lainaxara@gmail.com)
(Partner 7)
Cultivos Piscícolas Marinos S.A. (CUPIMAR) is a large company that has developed extensive marine aquaculture in the ponds it owns in the Natural Park “Bahía de Cádiz” for some decades. Since the ’80s, this company has actively developed new culture technologies for some marine fish. In 2012, the company built new facilities for Senegalese to reach up to 2,500,000 soles and cover the entire production cycle, sole breeders, larval rearing, and grow-out.
The CUPIMAR has previously been in European projects such as REPROSEL (FP7) and AQUAGENET (Interreg SUDOE). Moreover, the company has been a leader in industrial projects such as REPROLENGUADO, REPROLENGUADO II (CDTi), and REPROSOLE (own funding) to control the reproduction of sole under 
natural environmental conditions using biotechnology. CUPIMAR collaborates with Spanish-funded projects such as PROGENSA, INNOTECS, and SOLEALGAE to promote sole aquaculture and genetic research. CUPIMAR participates in the BESTBROOD consortium because they are one of the leading producers of Senegalese sole. In the BESTBROOD project, Cupimar will be the leader of WP5 (Technology Transfer) and participate in tasks in WP2 (Task 2.2 Gamete quality indicators in sole; Task 2.4 Genetic and genomic markers), in WP3 (Task 3.2 Nutritional reprogramming in sole), in WP4 (Task 4.2 Enhance the reproductive performance of sole) and in WP5 (Task 5.1 Scale-up sperm cryopreservation).
Contact person: Mr. Ricardo Zerolo (ricardo.zerolo@cupimar.com)