North Sea Aquaculture
Mussels, seaweed, oysters and scallops grown in our own sea?
Two consortia of companies and research institutes join forces for the development of aquaculture in the North Sea. The research projects address three challenges: innovative cultivation techniques for shellfish and seaweeds, efficient use of space of the Belgian North Sea and development of a market for new local marine products.
In the spring of 2017, two ambitious demonstration projects were set up at two test sites: the Value @ Sea project near the Nieuwpoort coast (with combined cultivation of oysters, seaweeds and scallops) and the Edulis project in the Belgian wind farms (mussels). Both projects are financially supported by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund.
Within two years, the partners expected to be able to comment on the biological and technical feasibility of shellfish and seaweed cultivation in the Belgian part of the North Sea, on the potential for co-location with wind farms, on the potential for upscaling and profitability, on the potential for marketing the end products and on the possible positive impact of extractive aquaculture on water quality.
ILVO presented the project results in September 2020.
Partners: Belwind, Brevisco, Sioen Industries, Colruyt Group, C-Power, DEME, ILVO, RBINS - Directorate Natural Environment, Lobster Fish and Ghent University.
