The main goals of AQUASERV are to unify, improve, integrate, and customize Research Infrastructure (RI) capabilities, providing on-site, remote, and virtual access to facilities, instruments, databases, and expertise. This initiative aims to advance science and support European policies, including the Common Fisheries Policy, the Farm to Fork Strategy, the Sustainable Blue Economy, and the European Green Deal. AQUASERV will promote system-based changes essential to the EU's objectives for improving policy outcomes and socioeconomic performance, as outlined in these policies. These modifications target food systems, environmental management, extraction, and manufacturing processes, unlocking the blue bioeconomy's potential to enable a fair and equitable socioeconomic transition toward sustainable, green production systems. The success of Europe's shift to blue food and production systems must align with the EU Mission "Restore our Ocean and Waters 2030," which aims to protect and restore ocean and water health through research, innovation, citizen engagement, and blue investments. Ultimately, Europe's economy should be modern, resource-efficient, and competitive, phasing out net greenhouse gas emissions and safeguarding the EU's natural capital. Research infrastructures (RIs) are vital to Europe's research, education, and innovation ecosystem. They play a key role in mobilising critical mass around shared European strategies and goals. RIs have created common platforms, gathered resources and expertise, raised awareness, and provided trans-European access to promote a fair and inclusive blue economy sustainably. They also address increasing interdisciplinarity, scale, and complexity of challenges linked to European policy priorities. AQUASERV has united specialized RIs, experienced in delivering services in aquatic and social sciences. It offers a broad range of advanced, interdisciplinary, integrated, and tailored services—including habitats, bioresources, facilities, instruments, and expertise—to support the implementation of European policies.
These ambitious goals will be achieved through the following objectives:
1. To offer unique, relevant, and cutting-edge integrated and customised services that facilitate interconnected actions connecting society, farms, food, and economic activity.
2. To provide centralised and efficient transnational access via a user-friendly central hub to the service catalogue and data discovery services offered by the contributing RIs, enabling users to browse and search for suitable services.
3. To decrease the time needed to reach destination goals through joint research and training. Building on previous successes in access provision, AQUASERV will further integrate, customise, or combine services and adapt access modalities to support interdisciplinary research aligned with EU priorities.
4. To promote and implement measures to safeguard and ensure compliance with Open Science policies, complementing and synergising with other relevant EU initiatives.
5. To ensure the sustainability of the AQUASERV network and its internationalisation.
6. To develop an ambitious outreach and engagement programme that attracts new and existing users, collaborates with industry and policy stakeholders, and raises awareness of research and innovation to advance the Blue Economy.
