Pep4Fish is the name of the project that aims to explore innovative solutions to strengthen aquaculture fish production. By 2025, it is expected that diets will be created to increase the robustness of sea bass and sea bream and their resistance to stress and bacterial infections. Part of the ambitious Blue Bioeconomy Pact, the project brings together multidisciplinary partners, from research to industry, and promotes the circular economy.

“The creation of new, more sustainable diets that promote the strengthening of fish, both in terms of their resistance to disease and the final quality of the product sold to consumers, will open up new perspectives for the future of aquaculture,” explains André Almeida, head of the Research Department at the ETSA – Animal By-products Processing Company, noting that disease prevention and control will help minimize economic losses in the sector.

With the growing demand for nutritious, healthy, and safe food for human consumption, aquaculture is becoming increasingly important worldwide. It currently accounts for half of the fish consumed globally.

The Pep4Fish project will respond to this growing demand. Through the use of animal by-products, such as fish, poultry, and pork, and alternative resources such as insects, innovative value-added products (hydrolysates) will be created for the production of feed for sea bass and sea bream, capable of improving fish health and human nutrition, reducing food waste, and preserving ocean resources.

Thus, the Pep4Fish project also plays an active role in the area of environmental sustainability. “It is a clear commitment to the circular economy. We are reducing waste by reusing and transforming by-products into food ingredients, in this case for aquaculture diets,” argues André Almeida.

O projeto Pep4Fish, incluído no Pacto da Bioeconomia Azul e financiado pelo Plano de Recuperação e Resiliência (PRR) no valor de cerca de 21,7 milhões de euros, é liderado pelo Grupo ETSA e conta com a participação de nove parceiros, incluindo centros de pesquisa e empresas: AgroGrIN Tech, B2E – Laboratório Colaborativo para a Bioeconomia Azul (B2E CoLAB), CIIMAR – Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, ITS – Indústria Transformadora de Subprodutos (ETSA); Seaculture (Jerónimo Martins), Savinor e Sorgal (Soja Portugal), Sebol (ETSA) e Universidade Católica Portuguesa.

The Pep4Fish project, included in the Blue Bioeconomy Pact and funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) to the tune of around €21.7 million, is led by the ETSA Group and involves nine partners, including research centers and companies: AgroGrIN Tech, B2E – Collaborative Laboratory for the Blue Bioeconomy (B2E CoLAB), CIIMAR – Interdisciplinary Center for Marine and Environmental Research, ITS – By-product Processing Industry (ETSA); Seaculture (Jerónimo Martins), Savinor and Sorgal (Soja Portugal), Sebol (ETSA), and the Portuguese Catholic University.

In addition to scientific research, the project promotes an open and collaborative approach with industrial applicability, namely with a significant investment in companies to increase the necessary production capacity. Thus, with this project, it will be possible to develop two new diets for the industry, one for sea bass and another for sea bream, based on four new hydrolysates produced in Portugal.

First trials

The first tests are already underway at CIIMAR. Three hydrolysates with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties were selected for an initial trial with sea bass. In this trial, researchers are monitoring the development of the animals, looking for improvements in their health, growth, and resistance to adverse conditions.

At the Portuguese Catholic University, which is responsible for developing new hydrolysates, advances have already led to the production of the first poultry hydrolysates with evidence of antioxidant activity.

Until 2025, the Pep4Fish project will continue to explore and further develop the use of hydrolysates in aquaculture, with the aim of improving the sustainable production of marine fish.