FishEUTrust Month 30 Progress Meeting and Demo Day in Olhao
The FishEUTrust Consortium Members met from the 12th and 14th of November in sunny Olhao, Portugal, at the facilities of our partner IPMA. The meeting comprised the main General Assembly project review meeting, a cross-polination workshop for the Living Labs, and a Demonstration Day showcasing some of the project innovations to stakeholders. More information is given below. You can also watch our video here.
Day 1: The Project Review
The first day of the meeting encompassed an extensive recap from each partner on the status of their work at the 30-month point. The project is entering an important phase as increasingly important exploitable results, such as sensors and testing methods, are emerging. The Coordinator, Nives Ogrinc, shared her vision for the project as well as where the project needs to focus its attention, for example on the Living Labs.
The Consortium reconvened after the meeting at a tradional Portuguese restaurant, where the local dish Bacalhau (salted cod) was served.
Day 2: Innovation Radar and Cross-pollination Workshop
As mentioned above, the project is entering an important phase in terms of exploitation of key project results and innovations. Consequently, Day 2 started with a detailed discussion on Intellectual Property as well as specific talks around partner innovations that are on the project Innovation Radar and how these may be exploited.
In the afternoon of Day, a Cross-pollination workshop was held to discuss best practices for the Living Labs within FishEUTrust. Facilitated by REDINN, presentation were made from each of the Living Lab partners and also included a remote presentation from the Ozean Living Lab in the Basque Country. The workshop ended with a discussion on the next steps for the implementation of the Living Labs and also on how to sustain them beyond the end of the project.
Day 3: IPMA Tour and FishEUTrust Demonstration Day
The Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), is a public institution that carries out the duties of the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. It focuses its research efforts on projects that have direct application in operating activities for commercial use or public service and in particular directed towards the safeguarding of people and property. On the third day of the FishEUTrust project review, the partners were treated to a comprehensive tour of the IPMA facilities, where it strives to support sustainable seafood through comprehensive research and development in aquaculture and marine biology.
The facilities at IPMA include rearing systems located indoors and outdoors that use flow-through, RAS and IMTA, and laboratories to assess fish nutritional and physiological conditions or pollutants in the water. Moreover, in post-production, an array of analytical technologies are available to analyze nutritional value and ascertain the authenticity and absence of contaminants in farmed seafood products. You can find out more by visiting www.ipma.pt
As FishEUTrust enters its third year, it is an important goal to demonstrate the project innovations to potential stakeholders and end-users in order to create pathways to market after the project completes in 2026. Co-Creation Living Labs have been created in order to facilitate this critical activity.
Members of the FishEUtrust consortium showcased a range of project innovations. Demonstrations included:
● Sensors for fish freshness and presence of antibiotics, where participants were invited to try out the cell-phone-based sensors for themselves.
● Sensors to detect toxins in mussels.
● Sensory tasting experiences of cold and hot smoked fish.
● Genetic extraction methods for traceability of fish.
● Consumer engagement tools via a virtual reality 3D supermarket.
The day ended with interactive presentations on life cycle analysis and internet-of-things. The project is planning further demonstration days at its other living labs from next 2025.
