Seafood is one of the pillars of global food systems, with aquaculture, fishing, frozen products, and seafood processing industries generating large volumes of co-products. Many of these resources remain underutilized, despite their potential to drive innovation, sustainability, and competitiveness across the blue bioeconomy.

To bridge this gap, B2E CoLAB is developing Fish Matter, a digital matchmaking platform designed to connect co-product generators, processors, and technology providers. The goal is to facilitate collaborations that can give rise to new value chains, ensuring that materials currently treated as by-products find their way into higher-value applications.

Presentation at Aquaculture Europe 2025

The progress of Fish Matter will be presented at Aquaculture Europe 2025, one of the leading global events for the aquaculture sector, which will take place in Valencia in September.

September 24 | 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. — Session 2A: Knowledge Transfer for Fostering Innovation in Aquaculture – Hotel Gran Pinedo, 2nd Floor
In the Presentation Session “Research and Innovation Results with High Impact Potential,” João Reis will highlight the innovative and scalable potential of the platform in a five-minute presentation.

September 25 | 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. — Market Economy and Value Chain Session – VCC, 1st Floor – Room SM 1B
In a 15-minute lecture, João Reis will discuss how Fish Matter can strengthen sustainability and competitiveness across all seafood value chains.

Why is this important?

Fish Matter illustrates how digital solutions can bring together science, industry, and technology, creating the conditions for co-products to be channeled into more sustainable and valuable uses. The initiative reflects the growing focus on circular approaches in the seafood sector, supporting the development of new value chains and strengthening the role of the blue bioeconomy in a more sustainable future.