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RESAMA

Improving health and husbandry practices for aquatic animals

RESAMA, the Health Monitoring Network for Model Aquatic Animals and Wild Aquatic Fauna, brings together animal care staff, veterinarians, engineers and researchers to support research facilities working with aquatic species, in line with the 3Rs and animal welfare.

Our mission

Health and husbandry expertise supporting research

RESAMA provides advisory audits for facilities housing and breeding aquatic species, carried out by a pair combining an aquatic-animal husbandry specialist and a veterinarian.

Visits document husbandry and population-monitoring practices while taking animal health status into account. They help improve practices, physiological welfare, experimental reproducibility and reduction in the number of animals used. Results are shared confidentially with participating facilities; anonymised data contribute to collective knowledge.

Learn more

The network in figures

A structured scientific community at national scale

Facility visits
143Facility visits
Species studied
32Species studied
Analyses performed
4 476Analyses performed
RESAMA Days participants
796RESAMA Days participants

Strategic focus areas

Three pillars for aquatic animal health

RESAMA’s work is organised around three complementary missions, from field monitoring to the coordination of a national scientific community.

01

Advisory audits

Observe husbandry and health practices in housing and breeding facilities, with the combined perspective of a veterinarian and a husbandry specialist.

  • Visits to participating facilities
  • Documentation of husbandry practices
  • Recommendations tailored to each facility
02

Health monitoring

Document diseases and infections through targeted sampling, veterinary examinations and laboratory analyses.

  • Necropsy, parasitology and histology
  • Bacteriological and molecular analyses
  • Secure results database for visited facilities
03

Sharing and training

Bring together a community open to research professionals and disseminate best practices for aquatic species.

  • Annual RESAMA Days since 2016
  • Training and peer exchange
  • 3R and animal-welfare approach
  • Working groups: Vibrasson, replacement, emergency planning

9th edition · model, farmed and wild aquatic animals

RESAMA Days 2026

  • Date

    Wednesday 14 – Friday 16 October 2026

  • Location

    Paris

  • Participation

    Call for presentations open

RESAMA Days 2026 visual with aquatic animals and the Eiffel Tower in Paris

This 9th edition offers three days of presentations and exchanges open to everyone involved in research on model, farmed or wild aquatic animals. Friday morning will be dedicated to workshops and facility visits.

Research

Aquatic animal diversity at the heart of research

Model species, wildlife and farmed animals: specific needs, with the same commitment to health, welfare and high-quality scientific practices.

  • Zebrafish swimming in a research tank

    Model species

    Zebrafish, medaka, Xenopus…

    Aquatic models used to explore the mechanisms of life and study disease, supported by husbandry practices and health monitoring that promote animal welfare and the reliability of scientific results.

  • European perch in its natural aquatic habitat

    Wildlife

    Biodiversity and aquatic environments

    Aquatic species studied to understand ecosystems and the effects of environmental pressures, with capture, housing and monitoring practices tailored to their biology and welfare.

  • Rainbow trout in an aquaculture research tank

    Farmed animals

    Aquaculture and experimental husbandry

    Species of aquaculture interest studied to improve health, welfare and husbandry practices, and to contribute to the development of more sustainable aquaculture.

Network & partners

Field expertise supporting aquatic facilities

Visits, exchanges and shared data to help improve housing and husbandry practices.

  • 89

    Audits of fish housing facilities

    37 facilities · 2,527 animals analysed

  • 54

    Audits of amphibian housing facilities

    18 facilities · 399 animals analysed

  • 5

    Facilities visited internationally

    France, Belgium, Luxembourg, England, Taiwan

Supporters and partners

Organisations that have contributed to the network, its activities or the hosting of RESAMA Days.

  • CNRS
  • INRAE
  • ANSES
  • Ifremer
  • Graduate School Biosphera
  • Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1
  • AnaEE France
  • Vetofish
  • FC3R
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