Sustainable development -

Sustainable development

Digital solutions for sustainable aquaculture production

● The AZTI technology centre is coordinating LIFE AQUAPEF project, an initiative seeking to develop a digital solution to calculate and verify the environmental impact of aquaculture products

● The tool developed in the scope of the project also enables identification of the impact’s causes and origins, so that decision-making based on environmental criteria becomes easier

Derio, 8 February 2022.-

Most of the commercial fish stocks are nowadays highly or overexploited. In this framework, aquaculture can play a significant role to meeting the worldwide demand for animal protein without compromising environmental sustainability. However, the farming of aquatic animal species, as any other human activity, can also have an impact the environment.
To ensure the sector’s long-term sustainability, the AZTI technology centre, a member of the BRTA alliance, is coordinating the European LIFE AQUAPEF project, an initiative aiming to develop a digital solution for the calculation, verification and communication of the environmental impact of aquaculture products in the Mediterranean Sea, in accordance with the European Product Environmental Footprint methodology.
The project was launched in 2018 and will culminate late this year. It specifically created a tool, AQUAPEF tool, that has already been validated for the production of Seabream and European Seabass by three of the aquaculture companies’ partners of the project: the Spanish Culmar and the Greek Skironis and Forkys.
Another aim of the project is to enable more efficient communication mechanisms, both between companies in the sector (B2B) and between producers and end-consumers (B2C). Different dissemination systems are therefore being studied in the project, with the aim of adding value of the sustainable aquaculture products.

“The European union is developing a methodology to assess the environmental impact of any product or service: the Product Environmental Footprint. AQUAPEF aims to meet the need to facilitate application of this new regulatory framework in the aquaculture sector by means of a simple tool that aqua-farmers can use to calculate and verify the environmental impact of their products,” says project coordinator Saioa Ramos, a researcher in Efficient and Sustainable Processes at AZTI.
The technology developed will also help to identify the impact’s causes and origins to promote decision-making based on environmental criteria.
AQUAPEF is financed by the European Commission’s LIFE programme. It counts the participation of seven international partners: AZTI, HCMR technology centre in Greece, KU Leuven in Belgium, the Spanish software development company INGENET and the aforementioned aquaculture producers Culmar, Forkys and Skironis.
“Our involvement in this initiative is linked to our mission to promote an effective implementation of the Product Environmental Footprint. Project and initiatives including all the stakeholders of the sector are of a great of importance to quantify, improve and communicate the environmental behaviour of the food and beverages we consume, thereby encouraging more sustainable production and more responsible consumption,” Ramos explains.

About AZTI
AZTI is a science and technology centre that develops high-impact transformation projects with organisations in line with the 2030 SDGs of the United Nations. Its aim is to promote positive change for people’s future, helping achieve a healthy, sustainable and inclusive society. Specialising in the marine environment and food, it contributes cutting-edge products and technologies with added value, solidly based on science and research.
AZTI has 40 years of experience and a presence in 45 countries. It is based at 3 locations in the Basque Country, with a team counting more than 280 people and a lengthy track record attested by more than 1,300 indexed publications. Its excellence derives from its research personnel, of whom 58% have doctorate degrees.
AZTI is a member of the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), comprising 4 collaborative research centres and 12 technology centres, which aims to encourage collaboration between its member organisations and enhance the conditions for generating and conveying knowledge to companies, to boost their competitiveness, galvanise the industrial fabric and project Basque scientific and technological capabilities abroad.
More information at www.azti.es