SHELLPLANT

Title: Development of a novel production system for intensive and cost effective bivalve farming

Summary: The ShellPlant project proposes to develop a plant for closed production of bivalves (primarily high valued scallops and oysters). The plant will include a cultivating system for bivalves in an innovative rack system, an algae photo bioreactor and a feeding and water exchange system with intelligent controls. The coordinator company Bioframe has done several tests with a floating closed system for the nursery phase and grow-out of bivalves and the project will build on this promising early technology developments.

The proposed project will strengthen the 6,000 SMEs working in the European aquaculture sector and over 50,000 SMEs in our supply chain. The sector has a turnover of more than 2.5Bn pa providing occupation for more than 80,000 people mainly in rural and coastal areas with high levels of unemployment. The ShellPlant project will focus on improving the profit of European shellfish sector and initiate the process of enhancing the level of innovation and exploitation of technology, in order to dissolve the obstacles of today s challenges of intensive shellfish production.

The shellfish farmers and the technology and service providers in the aquaculture industry are experiencing increasing non EU- competition, especially from Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Japan with regards to shellfish aquaculture technology. These high technological countries are focusing on innovation and product development to reduce shellfish production costs and increase the quality, and are increasingly focusing on the European market demand for seafood.

In Europe, the fundamental issue is therefore the improvement and maintenance of competitiveness, productivity and durability of the aquaculture sector as a whole. Further development of the industry must take an approach where farming technologies, socio- economics, natural resources use and governance are all integrated to achieve sustainability.

For more information, please visit EurOcean Knowledge Gate.