SAFE
Bilateral cooperation between Croatia and Norway in the field of sustainable aquaculture and fisheries
Nofima, together with SINTEF OCEAN are working in the SAFE-project where the main goals is to foster bilateral cooperation between Croatia and Norway in the field of sustainable aquaculture and fisheries.
Start
01. Mar 2023
End
31. Mar 2024
Funded by
EEA grants
Cooperation
Sintef Ocean, Zadar country, Croatia., University of Zagreb, Croatia and Ministry of Agriculture, Croatia
Project Manager(s):
Other Participants:
Background
Based on new EU-regulations and landing obligations for fisheries by-catch, representatives from Zadar County and the University of Zagreb, together with researchers from Nofima and SINTEF, have established the SAFE project to assess the possibilities and challenges in valorization of Croatian by-catch and rest raw materials.
Goal
The overall long-term objective of this project is the development of preconditions for sustainable management of aquaculture and fisheries by-products, based on circular economy models (upcycling).
This objective reflects the urgent need to align the aquaculture and fisheries sectors with relevant EU legislation, with focus on marine by-products landing obligation and management, as well as to foster the overall transition of the “blue” sectors towards circular economy models.
Additionally, the project will contribute to the objective of improving self-sustainable models of aquaculture, by exploring potential for raw material and product definition mainly for sustainable fish feed production.
The project will focus on five specific areas of expertise:
- Fish landing obligation – utilisation of discard resources capacity and product definition
- Define opportunities to convert targeted fishery by-products into valuable products (aquaculture, fishing, processing)
- Proposed short and long-term directions, definition of product lines and modules according to capacity, by-product structure, and legislation rules
- Definition of scope of Fish by-product management center and auxiliary solutions for distance by-product handling and logistic
- Product diversification and market
The outcome of the work on said focus areas will be described in the „Report on sustainable management of fisheries and aquaculture by-products“.
To ensure effective knowledge transfer and implementation of know-how and innovative solutions resulting from the project activities and results, the project aims to involve the researchers and experts from the field of fish by-products industry where after assessing the preliminary possibility of creating the centres for by-products management in Croatia
What we do
In October 2023, a visit to Norway was arranged, where the Croatian delegation learned more about rest raw material utilization, both theory and practice. Nofima arranged a visit to Pelagia’s fishmeal factory in Karmsund and held a one-day seminar at Nofima’s premises in Bergen, where opportunities and challenges for the utilization of Croatian bycatch and rest raw material were discussed.
In January 2024, researchers from Nofima traveled to Croatia to continue working on the project. In Zadar , the researchers from Nofima and SINTEF were given a tour of various industries, such as Cromaris, Croatia’s largest producer of Sea Bass and Sea Bream, and the factory “Omega 3”, which refines small pelagic fish (sardines and anchovies). The visit ended with a seminar at Zadar County, where Nofima and SINTEF presented our calculations and recommendations for future process.
The project will eventually result in a final report, commissioned by the Croatian Department of Agriculture, with recommendations for the utilization of bycatch and rest raw materials.
Research facilities