Currently, Mediterranean aquaculture is lacking or has fragmented knowledge on: epidemiology, impact of diseases, harmonized and coordinated diagnostics, or strategies and tools for a proper local, regional or even Pan Mediterranean health management. Moreover, there is a consensus that one of the main present threat is viral nervous necrosis (VNN, also known as viral encelophathy and retinopathy, VER) for which a vaccination tool is urgently needed. Thus, WP4 is assisted by a team of researchers and fish health professionals (including the European reference centre for fish diseases and the OIE reference centre for VNN), which will work together and in close contact with a major representation of the farming sector from the main producing countries of the Mediterranean basin. The WP is aware of the importance of parasites, but has chosen betanodavirus acknowledging that important parasites are being dealt with in the on-going EU project Parafish. Partners in MedAID-consortium are also involved in Parafish providing necessary networking and transfer of knowledge between the two initiatives.

Taking all of this into account, MedAID was designed to work on the following objectives:

• Improve disease management by risk assessment tools for relevant new and emerging pathogens in the Mediterranean basin.
• Improve communication and harmonization on diagnostic competences.
• Provide new preventive tools for the most important disease (VNN) for seabream and seabass.
• Establish the main operational welfare indicators (OWI) profile for seabream and seabass