What can Portugal learn from Norway and Iceland on marine coproducts valorization?

How many coproducts do blue bioeconomy activities, such as aquaculture, generate in Portugal and how can the country monetize them by creating business opportunities and implement circular economy models?

That is what the new EEA Grants project named Roadmap4MarineCoproducts – “Framework design of the Portuguese Roadmap for marine coproduct valorisation – lessons learned from Norway and Iceland” aims to address. Based on the collaboration with key stakeholders from Norway and Iceland – two countries that operate on the vanguard of marine coproduct valorisation – Portugal will identify the best business ideas and circular economy practices and try to implement them in the country’s seafood sector.

The initiative gathers strategic partners and their know-how through cross-border collaboration such as the Norwegian Seafood Innovation Cluster (NCE Seafood Innovation) and the Iceland Ocean Cluster (IOC), and their associates, namely companies and other entities of their innovation ecosystems, and the Portuguese B2E CoLAB on a total of almost 200 entities.

Why Norway Seafood Innovation Cluster and Iceland Ocean Cluster

Norway and Iceland present different and complementary business models and value chains. The NCE Seafood Innovation Cluster, with more than 120 members, brings expertise in sustainable growth of the seafood sector, new circular business models and economic solutions, mainly focused on aquaculture. On the other hand, Iceland is one of the European countries with the highest use of fish coproducts for non-food purposes or biomedical research, with the IOC comprising around 70 companies of different sizes covering most of the ocean value chain in the country, from fisheries to seafood biotech companies.

About the project

Roadmap4MarineCoproducts is a Bilateral Initiative with a one-year implementation period (from January 1 to December 31, 2023) funded by the EEA Grants. This initiative focuses on finding the challenges and opportunities within the marine coproduct valorisation sector, relevant for successfully steering the sector in Portugal. The main outcomes will be key information and partnerships to develop a beta version of a Portuguese strategic roadmap, with recommendations for, among others, new business models, new value chains, new technologies and processes, and new intermediary businesses. The project will include visits and business knowledge exchange, and networking events with the participants’ institutions and innovation ecosystems.

The kick-off meeting of the project took place on January 10, a zoom gathering where the consortium members met and discussed several topics such as scheduling, tasks, responsibilities and KPI, all looking forward to making the most of this project and to accomplish its expected goals.