Project description
Jellyfish mucus to combat coastal pollution
Sea and coastal pollution stemming from the presence of jellyfish blooms and microplastics represents a significant environmental concern. The EU-funded GoJelly project aims to tackle both issues simultaneously by developing, testing and promoting a gelatinous solution. The project will focus on creating a prototype microplastics filter using jellyfish mucus as a raw material. This innovative solution will effectively remove jellyfish and microplastic pollution from seas and coastal areas. Additionally, it will create job opportunities for commercial fishermen, generate valuable by-products, and provide a resource for the food and feed industry, as well as organic farming. To ensure the effectiveness of the prototype, the project will conduct tests in the Norwegian, Baltic and Mediterranean seas.
Objective
"The objective of the GoJelly project is to develop, test and promote a gelatinous solution to microplastic pollution by developing a TRL 5-6 prototype microplastics filter (GoJelly) for commercial and public use, where the main raw material is jellyfish mucus. In doing so, the consortium addresses two environmental issues with one approach by removing the commercially and ecologically destructive sea and coastal pollution of both jellyfish and microplastics. This innovative approach will ultimately lead to less plastic in the ocean, municipal demand (and thereby competitive prices) for jellyfish raw material to fill the ""mucus-need"" by filter developers, and in turn more jobs for commercial fishers in off-seasons. The by-products of the GoJelly biomass have other uses as well, ensuring that GoJelly also delivers a green innovation, resulting in novel, valuable resource for the food and feed industry as well as agro-biological fertilizer for organic farming. The GoJelly prototype products will be tested and demonstrated in three different European seas (Norwegian, Baltic and Mediterranean), by a range of stakeholders, including commercial fishers and industry partners. Tying it together, the project will also ensure the possibilities for broader European promotion and utilization of GoJelly at the local, regional and global level by delivering a socio-ecological methodological toolbox for forming and implementing policies. GoJelly will broadly communicate its results in several formats such as traditional social media, open lab ship cruise, and in the form of an experimental online game depicting different management scenarios under different jellyfish- and microplastics combinations. An interdisciplinary and international consortium consisting of technology developers, business analysts, fishing companies, research institutes, and both natural and social scientists will realize GoJelly, and will ensure the uptake of GoJelly products by industry and policy makers."
Fields of science
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesfisheries
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwater treatment processeswastewater treatment processes
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculturesustainable agriculture
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesenvironmental sciencespollution
- agricultural sciencesagricultural biotechnologybiomass
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
IA - Innovation actionCoordinator
5230 Odense M
Denmark