Objective
The global demand for seafood is in a period of exceptional growth, making up 16% of all consumed animal protein, or 119m tonnes annually, expected to increase to 152m tonnes by 2030. Wild stocks, are near or beyond their sustainable limit, resulting in an annual production shortfall of ca. 30m tonnes by 2030. Farmed seafood provides a clear, viable alternative and consumer demand can thus drive a striking growth in aquaculture, if current technological and regulatory barriers can be
overcome.
Currently marine aquaculture uses net-based open aquaculture systems (OAS) concentrating high numbers of fish in a confined area, leading to disease outbreaks (and transmission to wild stocks), pollution by fish sludge and chemicals used against diseases and algae growths, and from fish escapes, all threatening wild stocks and the local environment. The regulatory response varies but tends towards strict limits on production capacity, expected to tighten further in coming years, which, combined with the shortage of appropriate, sheltered in-shore seasites, act as a major barrier to further expansion and growth for European and global marine aquaculture.
To unlock aquaculture’s potential for Blue Growth and jobs creation, alternative technologies must be brought to market; technologies that limit or eliminate the environmental impact of OAS in a cost-efficient way to preserve the environment while boosting the competitiveness and profitability of European marine aquaculture by allowing expansion. With NEPTUN, we will bring to market a cost-effective, closed-cage aquaculture system that combines an impermeable and durable fibreglass enclosure with an innovative hatch technology, optimising day-to-day management and operational control. The durable construction eliminates fish escapes while enablning a far higher degree of control of pathogens thus significantly lowering the need for pharmaceuticals and pesticides as well as reducing the economic risks from disease outbreaks.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesfisheries
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologyphycology
- engineering and technologymaterials engineering
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculture
- agricultural sciencesagricultural biotechnologybiomass
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Programme(s)
- H2020-EU.3.2. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy Main Programme
- H2020-EU.3.2.5. - Cross-cutting marine and maritime research
- H2020-EU.3.2.3. - Unlocking the potential of aquatic living resources
- H2020-EU.2.3.1. - Mainstreaming SME support, especially through a dedicated instrument
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
5555 FORDE I HORDALAND
Norway
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.