Introduction
Aquaculture is central to the future of sustainable food systems, yet its social acceptance has not fully kept pace with its scientific and technological development. Farmed aquatic foods are still sometimes perceived as less natural, less healthy, or less desirable than wild alternatives, while concerns around animal welfare, disease, food safety, environmental impacts, and production practices continue to influence public trust. In this context, science outreach has an important role in translating research results into clear, credible, and audience-specific messages that explain how innovation can improve welfare, resilience, sustainability, and the production of high-quality aquatic protein.
In a context of global change, increasing pressure on food production, limited natural resources, climate-related stressors, disease risks, and concerns about animal welfare, large research projects must do more than generate new knowledge. They must translate results into accessible, credible, and useful outputs for the audiences that can apply, support, or better understand those results.
Approach
The Horizon Europe project 'Improving Green Innovation for the Blue Revolution: new tools and opportunities for a more sustainable animal farming (IGNITION)' provides a case study of strategic science outreach to inform on the sustainable practices and improve the perceptions of aquaculture. The project focuses on animal welfare under climate change scenarios, biomarker discovery, functional feeds, vaccination strategies, genomic tools, non-invasive biosensors, and prediction models for improved health monitoring and production management in aquaculture. These research areas are strongly connected to the One Health concept, recognising the links between animal health, environmental sustainability, food systems, and human wellbeing.
IGNITION's communication, dissemination, and exploitation materials were developed progressively, following the evolution of the project itself. At an early stage, general materials such as the project flyer and poster were produced to introduce the project as a whole, explain its objectives, and provide a clear overview for broad audiences, including key stakeholders such as researchers, students, industry practitioners, policy makers, civil society, and the general public. As results became available, the materials gained technical detail and were increasingly tailored to specific target audiences and dissemination contexts.
Infographics and videos were then developed as tools to bridge de gap between technical content and public outreach. These formats translate complex project methodologies, scientific concepts, and emerging results into accessible visual narratives. Infographics support the explanation of project methods and results in a simple manner for non-specialist audiences, particularly through social media channels such as Instagram, while also serving as supporting materials in scientific and industry-focused meetings and conferences where project results are presented to specialised audiences. Videos follow a similar logic: some are designed to communicate the project to broader audiences, while others support both communication and dissemination.
Webinars, podcasts, and industry-oriented fact sheets were developed for more technical audiences, including researchers, aquaculture producers, breeders, feed manufacturers, professionals working in aquatic animal health and welfare, nutrition profiles, and other blue economy stakeholders. These materials provide more detailed access to project knowledge, allowing scientific and technical audiences to engage with specific research themes, methods, and outputs. The fact sheets, in particular, translate project findings into concise and practical insights that can support uptake and informed decision-making by the aquaculture sector.
Educational games were developed as a dedicated outreach tool for the general public, particularly younger audiences, families and schools. These materials introduce aquaculture, animal welfare, disease detection, and sustainable production through playful interaction, making them suitable for science days, school visits to partner facilities, public events, and informal learning environments. Their purpose is not only to explain scientific concepts, but also to improve ocean and aquaculture literacy, challenge misconceptions about farmed aquatic animals, and contribute to greater social acceptance of aquaculture as a sustainable food production system.
Relevance and expected impact
This audience-specific approach supports the communication, dissemination, and exploitation responsibilities associated with European Union-funded research, increasing science literacy and the likelihood that project results reach the communities that can use them. For industry stakeholders, targeted materials can help accelerate uptake of innovations related to functional feeds, bioactive compounds, selective breeding, welfare monitoring, and resilience to climate and disease pressures. For scientific audiences, visual and narrative materials can strengthen the presentation of results and support knowledge exchange across disciplines. For non-specialist audiences, accessible outreach can help address persistent misconceptions about farmed aquatic animals and improve understanding of how responsible aquaculture contributes to food security, sustainability, and animal health.
In this way, IGNITION also contributes to improving public understanding of aquaculture as a sustainable means of producing high-quality protein in a world facing population growth, overfishing, environmental limits, and climate change. By matching content, format, language, and dissemination channels to each audience, the project shows that science outreach should not be treated as an end-of-project visibility exercise, but as a strategic process that connects research outputs with societal understanding, sectoral uptake, and long-term trust in sustainable aquaculture.
Acknowledgment
This work was developed within the IGNITION project, co-funded by the European Union and the United Kingdom Research and Innovation under Grant Agreement No. 101084651.