Low trophic aquaculture on the spotlight in new EU funded project
Over 70 scientists and industry professionals from 16 countries gathered in Tromso, Norway to launch the EU funded AquaVitae project.
Over the next four years, they will work to increase aquaculture production of low-trophic species in and around the Atlantic Ocean in sustainable ways.
AquaVitae is a new research and innovation project funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme. The project consortium consists of 36 partners,from 16 different countries, spread across four continents. In addition to Europe, partners are situated in countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean, including Brazil, South Africa, Namibia, as well as in North America.
“It’s an exciting challengeto bring together industry and research partners from across the length and breadth of the Atlantic to address relevant societal challenges,” says project coordinator Philip James.
James is a senior scientist at Nofima – the Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research. With a total budget of €8 million, thisis the second largest EU project ever coordinated by Nofima.
Aquaculture value chains
The project’s purpose is to introduce new low trophic species, products and processes in marine aquaculture value chains across the Atlantic. The five chosen value chains include macroalgae, Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA), echinoderm species (e.g. sea urchins), shellfish and finfish. IMTA is a process that farms several species together using waste from one species as feed for another.
“The value chains were selected because of their promising contributions to sustainable food and feed production. There is a lot of potential in these value chains and we wish to discover new ways to improve them,” says James.
This correlates with recommendations made in the Food from the Oceans report (2017), which highlighted the need to expand low- and multi-trophic marine aquaculture as an ecologically efficient source of increasing food and feed.
Cross-cutting activities
To complete the objectives, 11 case studies will be conducted across the Atlantic, with emphasis on developing new products from low-trophic species (e.g. macroalgae and sea urchins), optimising production in existing industries (e.g. shellfish and finfish) and moving towards zero waste and a circular economy in aquaculture (e.g. IMTA and Biofloc).
Some of the cross-cutting activities involve research into biosensors, Internet of Things (IoT), product characteristics, market potential, sustainability, environmental monitoring, as well as conducting risk assessments, analyses of value chains, studying profitability and the legal framework.
Furthermore, the project will implement a multi-actor approach to ensure stakeholder involvement in all phases of the project. Companies act as partners of the consortium together with researchinstitutes and universities, which will also help to establish a durable aquaculture industry and research network around the Atlantic Ocean.
About AquaVitae:
- Tagline: New species, processes and products contributing to increased production and improved sustainability in emerging low trophic, and existing low and high trophic aquaculture value chains in the Atlantic
- Horizon 2020 Programme: H2020-Blue Growth-08-2018C
- Funded under grant agreement: 818173
- Coordinator: Dr Philip James, Nofima (NO)
- Duration: 4 years (June 2019 – May 2023)
AquaVitae ´s Policy Brief was officially launched to DG-MARE on April 15th.On April 15th AquaVitae held a Policy
AquaVitae ´s Consortium in Galway, Ireland, during the Final Conference where the final results and impact of the
The AquaVitae Consortium warmly invite you to join us physically or online at our Final Meeting and Conference
AquaVitae and ASTRAL in booth 148 at EAS23 in Vienna, AustriaThe AquaVitae project is presenting some of its
All early career professionals and their mentors at the 10 years of the Galway Statement event. On Tuesday 5th July
Bio7000 by BIOLANSulphites are antioxidant agents widely used for extending food product´s shelf life or to maintain the
Abalone produced at France Haliotis and tasted during AquaVitae´s presentation during the EMD2023. AquaVitae was present at European Maritime
Illustration for the SALTS MOOC: A.Kochanska, 2023.Sustainable Aquaculture for Low Trophic Species (SALTS) MOOC was officially launched at
AquaVitae partners in the UFSC ´s marine lab in Florianópolis, Brazil, during its 4th annual meeting. Photos: CETMAR
CETMAR representing AquaVitae at AquaFuture Spain 2023. The AquaVitae partner CETMAR (Spain) attended the II International Aquaculture Fair, AQUAFUTURE
AquaVitae project members joined representatives from the European Commission, advisory councils, industry and NGO´ at DG MARE, Brussels,
AquaVitae roundtable will gathered important organizations to discuss the state of art of the low trophic aquaculture in
On the left, a green sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) under normal light; on the right, excitation lighting. Note
Group picture of the network, including the mayor of Tromsø, Gunnar Wilhelmsen, in the middle. Tromsø (Norway), January
ASTRAL & AquaVitae teams in front of their shared booth at Europe Aquaculture, Rimini, September 2022 The Belém Statement
Camera and filmmaker: Rafael Méndez The AquaVitae project started in 2019. Since then, scientists and experts in different fields
Wagner Valenti´s laboratory at the UNESP.AquaVitae´s partner Professor Wagner Cotroni Valenti was featured in Stanford’s List of the
Philip James, AquaVitae´s coordinator, featured on the AtlantECO podcast broadcasted on November 16th There are important collaborations in
Members of the AquaVitae Consortium in South Africa. Pictures by Pietro Di Modica. Thirty members of the AquaVitae consortium
Whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) - Photos: Stef Claessens By Stef Claessens, master student at the University of Algarve (Portugal) The
Abalone and sea urchin, the favourite species at the masterclass (pictures by Björn Suckow, AWI, and Yolanda Irawan,
From left to right: Nolwenn Corre, chef invited to the Masterclass, and abalone (picture by Simon Cohen), one
Bas Wensveen fieldworking - Photos: Bas Wensveen By Bas Wensveen, master’s degree in Sweden at University of Gothenburg The
From right to left: ALGAplus CEO, Helena Abreu, at the outdoor facilities. An employee working in the maternity
IMTA site in in Sørvágsfjørður, Faroe Islands - Photos: Mayleen Schlund By Mayleen Schlund, student at Leibniz University Hannover Integrated-Multi-Trophic-Aquaculture
Speakers at AquaVitae´s workshop at EMD. From left to right: Philip James, Ólavur Gregersen, Ann Wu, Sylvain Huchette,
EU Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius, CEO of Nofima Øyvind Fylling-Jensen, AquaVitae coordinator Philip James & sea urchins at Nofima While
Speakers at AquaVitae´s workshop at EMD. From left to right: Ann Wu, Cliff Jones, Sylvain Huchette, Gercende Courtois,
AquaVitae Consortium travelled from Europe, South Africa and Brazil to meet in Portugal. Photo: © Rafael Méndez Peña. 70
From left to right up and down: seaweed, abalone, shrimp, blue mussels, oyster, sea cucumber, pirarucu and sea
Nyiko Mabasa in her IMTA backyard - Photos: Nyiko Mabasa By Nyiko Mabasa, PhD researcher at Rhodes University, South Africa Aquaculture
A Whiteleg Shrimp (Litopeneaus vannamei) - Photos: Andressa Cristina Ramaglia da Mota By Andressa Cristina Ramaglia da Mota, PhD
Collage with women partners in AquaVitae Today we celebrate the incredible women without whom the AquaVitae project would not
Seaweed forest in the ocean, a natural carbon sink that mitigates climate change Climate change is not something we
Abalone shells, a low-trophic species from the Atlantic Ocean By Ben Opara, masters' degree in Marine Biotechnology from UIT Aquaculture
EATiP, ASTRAL and AquaVitae organized a side event in order to show what their collaboration might bring How can
From left to right: Philip James (coordinator of AquaVitae project), Brian Tsuyoshi Takeda (CEO and Founder of Urchinomics)
Funchal, in the island of Madeira (Portugal) was the place where Europe Aquaculture celebrated 2021 edition By Gercende Courtois
AquaVitae project provided some presentations and posters during Aquaculture Europe 2021 in Madeira, Portugal Once again, the European Aquaculture
Mayleen Schlund, apprentice at the research station Fiskaaling, Faroe Islands - Photos: Mayleen Schlund Last summer Mayleen Schlund took
Biosensor to monitore sulphite process in shrimp aquaculture - Photos: BIOLAN By Jone Garate, (PhD in Chemistry), Development
DTU and Open Mode team over a floating connectable module - Photos: DTU and Open Mode The EMFF project
Blue mussel farmers, industry and NGOs joined DTU in a discussion on blue mussel production in Denmark on
Left to right: cultivation of oysters on floating pillows at the Primar Aquacultura farm in Brazil and Márcia
Norwegian aquaculture strategy to the left. Minister Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen and AquaVitae coordinator Phil James about to go
Tambaqui fingerlings. Jefferson Christoffoletti, EMBRAPA. Arapaima gigas, known locally as pirarucu, is the largest scaled freshwater species in the
Oyster clasification by image analysis. Photos by Åsa Strand, IVL.By Jens Wilhelmsson, engineer at IVL. One of the most
Screenshot with Elisa Ravagnan - ASTRAL, Philip James - AquaVitae and David Bassett - EATiP. What are the challenges
Collage with promotional images. Each month a young researcher in the AquaVitae project gets to show their work on
Urchin barren in California, USA. Photo by Urchinomics. By Urchinomics Urchinomics helps restore kelp forests by removing overgrazing sea urchins
A novel IMTA feed pellet for abalone. Photos by Emmanuel A. Falade and Marifeed. By Emmanuel A. Falade, PhD
Mangrove oysters production in Cananeia, Sao Paulo, in Brazil. Photo by Patricia Moraes-Valenti. By Patricia Moraes-Valenti, professor at the
Blue mussels at Bohus Havsbruk covered by fouling. Photos by Kristina Svedberg. By Kristina Svedberg, marine biologist at Swedish
Shrimp water demands in a conventional versus a biofloc system. Slide by Esmeralda Chamorro. By Esmeralda Chamorro Legarda, postdoctoral
The Ocean Rainforest team. Photo by Ocean Rainforest. “The ocean is my business model and my designer partner, and
Field work by IVL team focused on native oyster production. Photo: Åsa Strand. Seafood is the future. It is
Tanks for the culture of shrimp using biofloc technology at the Marine Shrimp Laboratory of the Federal University
Lobster traps in Prince Edward Island, by Martin Cathrae. By Professor Barry Antonio Costa-Pierce, Program Coordinator In 2018, the University
A figure showing the seaweed role in IMTA systems. Slide by Stefany Almeida Pereira, of UNESP. By Stefany Almeida
A dish with IMTA products: a shrimp hamburger, with Salicornia mayonnaise and an IMTA beer. Photo by Felipe
A part of the UiT MOOC development team. Left to right: Adrianna Kochanska, Michaela Aschan, Kåre Nolde Nielsen,
Screenshot from the AquaVitae project movie. With a focus on sustainability and the possibilities of low-trophic species aquaculture,
Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen (Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs) and Philip James (Scientist, Nofima) with their wetsuits on,
Photo collage with SDGs logos and photos of algae (AlgaPlus), abalone (Rhodes Univ.), mussels (CSIC), sea urchins (Nofima),
Habitat surveys with Connemara Shellfish Co-Op at Cill Ciaran Bay Co. Galway, Ireland. Photo by Colin Hannon. Author: Colin
Aerial view from Primar Aquacultura area. Photo credit: Erich Matos Rodrigues. From Northwest Brazil, Primar Aquacultura farms oysters, shrimp
Photos in collage: Jefferson Cristiano Christofoletti (man with tambaqui), Sylvain Huchette (abalone), ALGAplus (algae). Over 100 new prototypes
A team made up by Swedish aquaculture company Bohus havsbruk,the research Institute IVL and the Native Oyster Restoration
In February 2020, the Alfred-Wegener-Institute (AWI) attended a booth at the Fish International to disseminate AquaVitae to fish
On Tuesday 25 February the Bellona Foundation held a workshop in Oslo on the evaluation of the social
Photo by Åsa Strand. On January the 28th, representatives from 13 different companies joined Dr. Åsa Strand, of IVL
Last month of December AquaVitae partner Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria (EmBraPa) organised the kick off meeting of
The Atlantic Ocean acts as common resource for Europe, Africa, North and South America, functioning as a platform
AquaVitae partner, ALGAplus, won the 2019 Millennium Horizons Award in the Tourism, Sea and Forests category. This is
Group photo of participants in the workshop in offshore aquacuture, in Sweden on October 16th-18th 2019. Authors:
Photograph: Gareth Yearsley Leaders and participants in the case studies focused on land-based, sea-based Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) and
AquaVitae officer and Matís researcher, Valur N. Gunnlaugsson participated in the Marine Microbiome Workshop organised by AORA in Reykjavík
AquaVitae, a new and innovative EU funded project, will have its own stand (#82) and participate in discussions
Over 70 scientists and industry professionals from 16 countries gathered in Tromso, Norway to launch the EU funded
