Providing the science behind the policy
This article was featured in Eurofish Magazine 3 2025.
To prevent overfishing inland fishing quotas need to be adjusted to reflect the state of the stocks. Monitoring the health of these resources is just one of the tasks carried out by the Research and Development Institute for Aquatic Ecology, Fisheries, and Aquaculture that allow Romanian policy-makers to take science-based decisions.
Founded in 1981 by decree under Nicolae Ceaușescu, the Research and Development Institute for Aquatic Ecology, Fisheries, and Aquaculture (ICDEAPA) in Galați is one of Romania’s leading institutions in the fields of freshwater aquaculture, inland fisheries, aquatic ecology, and fish product development. Its creation was closely tied to Galați as a hub for fisheries science and industry and built upon the region’s strategic location along the Danube and its proximity to the former Brateș lake system.
Critical contribution to freshwater fisheries and aquaculture
The establishment of the institute responded to the political desire to decentralise fisheries research, which until the late 1970s had been concentrated in Bucharest. From the start, the institute’s mission encompassed aquaculture technologies, freshwater fisheries management, fish product development and commercialisation, and the breeding of high-quality juvenile fish for restocking. It continues to combine applied research with a national role in data collection, environmental monitoring, and policymaking support. The institute operates under the Romanian Academy for Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, giving it a unique position among research bodies. It is one of three key national fisheries institutes, collaborating closely with the Nucet Research Station and the Marine Research Institute in Constanța.
Located near the Moldova and Ukraine borders, ICDEAPA manages both a central office and a 400-hectare research station close to the 2,000-hectare Brateș lake. In its early days, the institute was part of a larger network of state-supported fish production facilities and fisheries-focused education institutions. The nearby University of Galați hosts the country’s only specialised faculty for fisheries engineering, with which ICDEAPA maintains close academic and project-based links. The Brateș research base is equipped for experimental aquaculture, broodstock development, restocking, and water quality testing. ICDEAPA is also active in outreach, including ad hoc training for fishermen and hosting doctoral students from Romania and abroad.
New challenges bring further research opportunities
The institute’s main research activities span four areas: aquaculture, freshwater fisheries, fish product development, and aquatic ecology. Its laboratories work on technological innovation in aquaculture, fish disease control, broodstock genetics, environmental impact monitoring, and stock assessment. In recent decades, ICDEAPA has expanded its work into new challenges such as the effects of climate change, economic viability of fish farming, and ecosystem-based management of inland fisheries. Climate change impacts such as drought and warming water combined with predation by birds, cormorants and pelicans in particular, and competition from countries with lower costs of production affect Romanian aquaculture production, says Dr Neculai Patriche, ICDEAPA’s deputy scientific director. Another particularly active area of research is the development of modern aquaculture systems, including closed-loop recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). The institute has helped design several RAS facilities, including in Brăila and Timișoara, and supports their uptake through technology transfer and training.
ICDEAPA has a formal mandate to assess fish stocks and propose annual catch quotas for the Danube and the Danube delta. The stock assessment unit monitors over 1,000 kilometres of river and associated wetlands and tributaries, including the Prut and Siret tributaries for commercially important species. Each year, researchers conduct scientific fishing campaigns, collect biological samples, and integrate and harmonise catch data from fishers, administrators, and historical records. Quotas are adjusted annually by sector and species based on observed trends. The principal commercial species include common carp, perch, pike, pike-perch, and Pontic shad (Alosa immaculata). ICDEAPA’s assessments, reviewed by the Romanian Academy and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, guide the issuance of ministerial orders regulating inland capture fisheries practised by the approximately 5,000 inland fishers. The gear they use is typically traps, drifting gill nets on the river, and stationary gill nets in lakes.
Several factors behind catch declines
Declining catches have been observed in several areas, largely due to hydrological changes, climate stress, and anthropogenic impacts such as inland navigation and damming. And while illegal fishing exists, it is considered less significant than these structural pressures. The war in Ukraine too has an impact—from vessels that have moved to safety to Romanian ports creating more traffic on the Danube, from attacks on Ukrainian ports that create pollution in the river, and from dredging in the Ukrainian Danube. As a result quotas are adjusted each year usually downwards though in some sectors they are also increased.
One of the institute’s flagship programmes is the breeding and restocking of native sturgeon species. These include beluga (Huso huso), Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedti), stellate sturgeon (A. stellatus), and sterlet (A. ruthenus). ICDEAPA has also worked with the Siberian sturgeon (A. baerii), introduced from Soviet hatcheries in the 1970s via France. Sturgeon breeding at the institute dates to the early 1990s, and artificial reproduction techniques developed in Galați have since been widely adopted. The institute runs restocking campaigns in the Danube, tags fish for migration studies, and collaborates with both Romanian and European partners. The research spans broodstock management, larval rearing, nutrition, and adaptation of sturgeon to RAS systems.
One of the key functions of ICDEAPA is to monitor water quality and the ecological status of freshwater ecosystems by analysing microbiological, hydrobiological, and hydrochemical parameters in lakes, rivers,
and fishponds across Romania.
Freshwater ecosystems studied in detail
Another key function of ICDEAPA is to monitor water quality and the ecological status of freshwater ecosystems. The aquatic ecology and environmental protection laboratory analyses microbiological, hydrobiological, and hydrochemical parameters in lakes, rivers, and fishponds across Romania. This work supports both research and regulatory compliance. The scientists study phytoplankton, zooplankton, and benthic fauna to assess trophic status and ecological integrity. They also examine climate-induced shifts in aquatic productivity, which affect fish growth and reproductive success. The lab runs Romania’s only functional photobioreactor for microalgae production, supporting experiments into algae-based fish feeds and biostimulants.
ICDEAPA has been at the forefront of documenting the effects of climate change on inland aquaculture. Increasing water temperatures, irregular rainfall, and more frequent droughts are all affecting pond productivity and fish health. Dr Patriche describes a model that the institute has developed for assessing the vulnerability and viability of fish farms under climate stress, which includes over 30 environmental and socio-economic indicators. This system, initially paper-based, is being converted into a digital tool to guide investment decisions. It helps determine whether farms should adapt, relocate, or suspend operations based on future scenarios. The tool is already being used by fish farms in Cluj, Brăila, and other parts of the country. The model delivers reliable results but is constantly being tweaked to improve accuracy even further.
Innovations in aquaculture nutrition and fish health
To improve sustainability and reduce costs, the institute is researching alternatives to fishmeal-based feeds. In particular, it is experimenting with spirulina and other microalgae as protein sources. Efforts are being made to optimise the digestibility of these algae through biological processes, avoiding chemical treatments. Other nutrition trials aim to enhance fish meat quality by modifying feed composition, targeting higher omega-3 content and better flavour. The institute is also investigating immunological responses to probiotics and symbiotic compounds as a way to reduce antibiotic use in fish farming. This research is especially relevant for high-value species such as sturgeon and trout. Further research is also being conducted to increase the proportion of unsaturated acids in fish meat by changing the fish diet and the density at which the fish are stocked.
ICDEAPA plays a national coordinating role in fisheries and aquaculture data collection. It maintains a central server system where data from farms and fishers are processed, verified, and standardised for use in EU and international reporting frameworks such as the GFCM and STECF. The institute also supports the Romanian National Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture (ANPA) and liaises with EUMOFA, the European market observatory for fisheries and aquaculture products, via designated national correspondents. However, discrepancies between different data systems and delayed data flows from national agencies sometimes create inconsistencies in official statistics. The institute is therefore advocating for a unified data platform that can generate reports in the format required by each authority, to streamline Romania’s contribution to EU databases.
Collaborations and knowledge transfer
Though not a teaching institution per se, ICDEAPA has long-standing partnerships with universities, particularly the University of Galați. Many staff hold dual appointments or have previously taught in the university’s fisheries engineering faculty. Research projects are often carried out jointly, and the institute hosts PhD candidates from Romania and abroad for thesis work. Beyond academia, ICDEAPA has trained hundreds of Romanian fishers during the post-accession period, supporting compliance with EU fisheries and aquaculture regulations. It continues to offer short courses on request, particularly on fish health and pond management.
The institute also contributes to national and regional development and helps fish farmers diversify their sources of income by designing multi-functional aquaculture projects. One notable example is a private initiative near Focșani, combining sturgeon aquaculture, restocking, eco-tourism, and gastronomy. The conceptual design and technical plans were developed in-house by ICDEAPA researchers. Past applied research has also investigated the potential for aquaculture in irrigation canals. Trials conducted on the Galați irrigation channel demonstrated the feasibility of both cage farming and restocking strategies, offering additional income sources for landowners and water managers.
The institute is also involved in designing closed loop recirculating aquaculture systems and in training operators to use them.
Essential contribution to inland fisheries and aquaculture despite constraints
ICDEAPA’s work is constrained by limited public funding, fragmented data governance, and the high operational costs of experimental research. Nonetheless, the institute continues to serve as Romania’s scientific backbone in inland fisheries and aquaculture, providing essential inputs to policy and industry. As climate change accelerates and aquaculture modernises, the institute‘s multidisciplinary expertise and broad research portfolio position it as a key actor in navigating the transition. Its legacy, dating back to the industrial ambitions of the 1980s, has evolved into a flexible, collaborative, and environmentally attuned institution committed to safeguarding Romania’s freshwater fishery resources.
