On June 6, the Leixões Cruise Terminal hosted one of the most important meetings dedicated to the blue bioeconomy in Portugal: Blue Wink-E 2025 – Ocean in Loop, organized by B2E CoLAB. With a program that brought together more than a dozen speakers and participants from different sectors, the event focused on how the country can reinvent its relationship with marine resources through innovation, science, circularity, and regeneration.

The day kicked off with a welcome from Ana Paula Mucha, chair of the B2E CoLAB Board, who emphasized the purpose of the event as a space for “connection between those who research, those who transform and those who consume,” and continued with institutional interventions, including that of Marta Pontes, Councilor for Economic Activities of the Matosinhos City Council, who reinforced the municipality’s role in promoting the marine economy.

Throughout the day, two discussion panels explored the challenges and emerging solutions of the blue bioeconomy. The first, dedicated to 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 it is possible to transform marine waste and co-products into new foods, functional ingredients, or cosmetics with added value. Maria Coelho, coordinator of B2E CoLAB, also participated in this round table, highlighting the role that the blue economy and bioeconomy can have in directly impacting companies, research, and consumers.

In the session dedicated to the macroeconomic vision and global positioning of Portugal, the president of CIIMAR, Vítor Vasconcelos, the president of AICEP, Ricardo Arroja, and economist Hermano Rodrigues shared ideas on how the blue bioeconomy can become a structuring axis for exports and sustainable innovation. There was also time for Nuno Lourenço, representative of the European consortium One Water, to present new integrated approaches to water and marine resource management.

One of the most inspiring moments of the journey was the international keynote speech by Wayne Visser, a renowned researcher and author in the field of environmental regeneration, who issued a clear warning: “The blue economy cannot be just another economy—it must be transformative, restorative, positive.”

Throughout the event, innovative business and scientific projects were also presented, demonstrating the real value of the blue bioeconomy in the market. From pet snacks produced with fish by-products, to eco-friendly leather made from salmon skins, to foods developed with algae and marine collagen, Blue Wink-E was a veritable showcase of solutions that prove that sustainability can—and should—be economically viable.

The presence of national and international startups, research centers such as CIIMAR, companies such as Hailia Nordic Oy (Finland), Searious Fish (Netherlands), and Bake My Dog Happy (Portugal), as well as initiatives such as Fish Matter, showed how the blue bioeconomy ecosystem is alive, growing, and attracting talent and investment.

The closing session was led by Luís Menezes, president of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and the National Commission for the United Nations Decade of the Ocean, the entity that provided institutional support for the event. In his speech, he highlighted the fundamental role that B2E CoLAB has been playing in society, promoting the blue economy and bioeconomy as drivers of innovation, sustainability, and economic development.

For those who were unable to attend, the event is available online: Part 1 e Part 2