Frederick Research Center and partners announce research initiative to create value from marine fish biomass.

The project, called VASEACAD - Valorising Seafood Side Streams, Residues, Unwanted Catches and Discards, is co-funded by the European Commission and the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership (SBEP-2024), with national co-funding from participating countries.

The project's kick-off meeting was held at the Technological University Dublin on 6-7 November 2023. 

With a total funding award of €1.6 million, the VASEACAD project brings together a consortium of 10 partners from across Europe with the aim to transform fish processing by-products; materials that are typically discarded into bioactive protein hydrolysates and other high value biomolecules through state-of-the-art bioprocessing techniques. The goal is to create functional and sustainable ingredients for commercial use, supporting a sustainable, circular and resource-efficient bioeconomy.

Over the next 3 years, the consortium will:

- Develop skin and muscle health products from species such as bluefin tuna, seabass, seabream, sprat, and blue whiting
- Create fish feed ingredients from solid biorefinery residues to support zero-waste aquaculture
- Pilot SINTEF’s Mobile Sealab in the Mediterranean for localised side-stream valorisation
- Evaluate the economic, environmental and social impacts to support industry-scale adoption

Dr Mihalis Menikou, Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Frederick University's School of Engineering and a member of FRC's research staff is coordinating the project on behalf of FRC, which will provide the economic viability analysis, LCA and environmental sustainability assessment of project products.

This project is a great opportunity to create sustainable solutions for marine by-products by using bioprocessing to develop ingredients with both practical and commercial value. 

VASEACAD reflects the Frederick Research Center's commitment to conducting research with real-world impact by combining academic expertise, industry collaboration, and sustainability-driven innovation to contribute to a resilient and circular blue economy.

By closing the loop between the seafood industry and side-stream biomass production, VASEACAD aims to contribute to waste management, create new bioproducts, and turn a costly side stream into a resource - transforming a linear problem into a circular opportunity.

Ten partners from seven countries bring expertise across the entire value chain:

• Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (Greece)
• Technological University Dublin (Ireland) 
• Frederick Research Center (Cyprus) 
• Blue EcoTech LTD (Malta) 
• Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (Spain) 
• SINTEF Ocean (Norway) 
• Karadeniz Technical University (Turkey) 
• Blue Island (Cyprus)
• KIMAGRO FISHFARMING LTD (Cyprus) 
• BioAtlantis Limited (Ireland)