PhD vacancy: Modelling aquatic food production in circular food systems

The Aquaculture biology and Fisheries ecology group (AFI) at Wageningen University is looking for a PhD with a sincere interest in sustainable aquaculture and fisheries.

The concept of circular food systems is seen as a promising approach to producing sufficient food while minimizing environmental impacts. Within circular food systems, animals play a valuable role by upcycling biomass that humans cannot or do not want to eat directly (e.g. leftovers) into nutrient-rich food. Optimal use of these leftovers requires a combination of different animal species, as animals can differ substantially in their ability to upcycle specific biomass streams.

Aquaculture and fisheries are vital global food sources and are anticipated to play an important role in the transition to circular food systems. Fisheries provide nutrient-dense food with relatively low resource use, while aquaculture has the potential to efficiency upcycle biomass. However, feed-food competition (the use of food grade ingredients in animal feed) remains a key challenge in aquaculture.

Under the circularity paradigm, animal production -including aquaculture- is constrained by the availability of leftovers. In theory, more efficient conversion of leftovers into human food or increasing the share of edible parts of the fish could increase nutrient supply without increasing production. Understanding the nutritional contributions and environmental impacts of such strategies can help shape future pathways towards more circular aquaculture and fisheries.

This project aims to analyse resource use, environmental impacts, and nutritional contributions of aquatic foods in future food system scenarios. By identifying trade-offs between circularity objectives, environmental outcomes and nutrition, this PhD project will provide practically applicable insights to support the development of more sustainable aquaculture and fisheries.

As a PhD student, you will work on:

• Using international datasets on aquaculture feed, production and nutritional composition to evaluate trends in feed use of global aquaculture and estimate feed-food competition.
• Identifying trade-offs between nutrition, resource use, and greenhouse gas emissions of aquaculture and fisheries in future food systems using linear optimisation models.
• Assessing nutrients provided by aquaculture and fisheries under different fish consumption strategies in future food system scenarios using linear optimisation models.

You will work here
The research is embedded within the chair Aquaculture biology and Fisheries ecology, which is led by Prof. Geert Wiegertjes. You will be supervised by Dr Anne-Jo van Riel and Prof. Dr Ir Geert Wiegertjes.

As the ideal candidate you:

• have successfully completed an MSc degree in environmental sciences, aquaculture sciences, food systems, sustainability sciences or a related field;
• have a strong interest in circular economy and sustainable food system transitions;
• have experience with quantitative modelling and data analysis (e.g. Python or R);
• have knowledge of research design and experiences with quantitative methods for data collection, statistical analysis and visualisation;
• have good organisational and communication skills (written and spoken) in English, as well as the ability to collaborate with others.

For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level. Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found here.

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed year-end bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will receive a fully funded PhD position and you will be offered a course program tailored to your needs and the research team.
The gross salary for the first year is € 3.059,- per month rising to € 3.881,- in the fourth year in according to the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.

Wageningen University & Research offers plenty of opportunities for growth and development, with a strong internal recruitment policy and excellent training programmes.

You will work on the greenest and most innovative campus in the Netherlands, in an international and open working environment.

The mission of Wageningen University & Research is “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 students and over 150,000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch the video below to get an idea of our green campus!

We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.

Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees.

Because we expect you to work and live in the Netherlands our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.

Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. We can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example helping your partner to find a job, housing, or schooling. Finally, certain categories of international staff may be eligible for a tax exemption on a part of their salary during the first five years in the Netherlands.