Blue Wink‑E 2025 showcases how innovation is shaping the future of the blue bioeconomy
On 6 June, the Leixões Cruise Terminal hosted one of Portugal’s most relevant gatherings focused on the blue bioeconomy: Blue Wink‑E 2025 – Ocean in Loop, organised by B2E CoLAB. Bringing together over a dozen speakers and participants from diverse sectors, the event explored how the country can reinvent its relationship with marine resources through innovation, science, circularity and regeneration.
The day began with opening remarks from Ana Paula Mucha, President of B2E CoLAB’s Board of Directors, who emphasised the event’s role as a “meeting point between those who research, those who transform and those who consume.” Institutional contributions followed, including from Marta Pontes, Matosinhos City Councillor for Economic Activities, who reaffirmed the municipality’s commitment to promoting the blue economy.
Throughout the day, two major panel discussions explored key challenges and emerging solutions within the sector. The first session, centred on the potential of circular solutions, featured José Maria Costa, former Secretary of State for the Sea, Breixo Ventoso from the Frinsa/A Poveira group, and representatives from companies such as Sonae MC, who demonstrated how marine by-products and residues can be transformed into high-value foods, functional ingredients or cosmetics.
Maria Coelho, coordinator of B2E CoLAB, also took part in this roundtable, highlighting how the blue and bioeconomy sectors can directly impact business, research and consumer behaviour.
The second panel, focused on Portugal’s macroeconomic positioning, featured Vítor Vasconcelos, President of CIIMAR, Ricardo Arroja, President of AICEP, and economist Hermano Rodrigues, who discussed how the blue bioeconomy could become a strategic pillar for exports and sustainable innovation.
Nuno Lourenço, representing the European consortium One Water, also contributed with new integrated approaches to water and marine resource management.
One of the day’s most compelling moments was the keynote address by Wayne Visser, an internationally recognised researcher and author on environmental regeneration, who issued a clear call to action: “The blue economy cannot just be another economy — it must be transformative, restorative, positive.”
Several innovative business and research projects were presented during the event, showcasing the real market potential of the blue bioeconomy — from pet snacks made using fish by-products and sustainable leather produced from salmon skin, to novel food solutions based on algae and marine collagen. Blue Wink‑E 2025 stood as a true platform for sustainable, economically viable innovation.
The presence of national and international startups, research centres like CIIMAR, and companies such as Hailia Nordic Oy (Finland), Searious Fish (Netherlands) and Bake My Dog Happy (Portugal), along with initiatives like Fish Matter, revealed a thriving and growing blue bioeconomy ecosystem — one that is attracting both talent and investment.
The closing session was led by Luís Menezes, President of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and of Portugal’s National Committee for the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, which provided institutional support to the event. In his remarks, he highlighted the pivotal role B2E CoLAB has been playing in society, particularly in promoting the blue and bioeconomy as key drivers of innovation, sustainability and economic development.
For those who couldn’t attend, the full event is available online:
