New sustainable and profitable value chain in IMTA systems will be developed in the Atlantic regions

ELISA RAVAGNAN; TANIA LI CHEN; PAULINE ODONOHOE; TOMÁS CHALDE

Conferencia; Aquaculture Europe 2020; 2021

European Aquaculture Society

New sustainable and profitable value chain in IMTA systems will be developed in the Atlantic regions. ASTRAL (All Atlantic Ocean Sustainable, Profitable and Resilient Aquaculture) is a HORIZON 2020 project recently financed under the Blue Growth programme; the project will contribute to the implementation of the Belém Statement to develop a strategic partnership on marine research and it will participate in building the All Atlantic Ocean Community. The project main goal is to increase value and sustainability for integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) production by developing new, resilient, and profitable value chains. In IMTA production, multiple aquatic species from different trophic levels are farmed together. Waste from one species are used as inputs (fertilisers and food) for another species. The IMTA process will be used at four ?labs? in Scotland, South Africa, Brazil and Ireland; these sites will grow species such as fish, scallops, lobsters, oysters, urchins and seaweed. A prospective IMTA lab will also be assessed for future production in Argentina.ASTRAL goals include the increase of circularity and the achievement of zero-waste aquaculture systems, as well as the creation of appropriated business models to increasing profitability. Potential climate risks and emerging pollutant (microplastics, harmful algae blooms, pathogens) will be assessed, together with the development of innovative technology (specific sensors and biosensors, IoT and AI data analytics), with the final aim to provide monitoring recommendations to policy makers. Sharing knowledge and capacity development are among ASTRAL priorities, to build a collaborative ecosystem along the Atlantic Ocean with industrial partners, SMEs, scientists, policy makers, social representatives and other relevant stakeholders.The ASTRAL consortium assembles a multidisciplinary and multisectoral team of experts as SMEs, industrial clusters, intergovernmental organizations and other relevant stakeholders from several countries along the Atlantic Ocean.