Consortium: Mobilizing project with 31 entities; project led by SONAE (H2O led PPS2).

The objectives of the VALORMAR project will be achieved due to the diversity of agents representative of the entire value chain of the marine resources integrated in the project. This mobilizing project is leaded by a reference industrial partner (SONAE, S.A.) with the scientific coordination of CIIMAR, and integrates 31 entities of which 18 are industrial partners.

The main objective of ValorMar is the valorisation of marine resources through the research, development and demonstration of new products and the improvement of the productive processes, proposing innovative solutions that lead to the creation of new healthy food products using innovative, efficient and sustainable technologies. Therefore, this project will allow for the development of innovative technological solutions that will increase the valorisation and efficient use of marine resources through the integration of value chains, based on the circular economy concept, and combining: aquaculture, food industry, biomedical, pharmaceutical and cosmetics.

VALORMAR is organized in 5 main areas (PPS) with the following specific objectives:

1. Research and development of innovative snacks and canned products, proposing news strategies to increase shelf life of fish products (PPS1);

2. Development and optimisation of new products, technologies and processes for aquaculture in Portugal and Europe (PPS2);

3. Marine biorefineries – isolation of bioactive marine compounds to be used in a range of applications, including in the formulation of functional foods and in the biomedical, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries (PPS3);

4. Research and development of a technological platform for supporting the traceability of information, making information available to companies and the end consumer in an integrated way, considering the entire value chain (PPS4);

5. Disseminate the scientific and technical knowledge achieved, and implement mechanisms for promoting the economic valorisation of results. The products, processes and services will be developed in the framework of a transversal mobilization of human resources with extensive knowledge and experience in the development and implementation of R&D projects in the thematic areas of ValorMar (PPS5).

Scientific Publications

Cardoso, PG, Gonçalves, O, Carvalho, MF, Ozório, R, Vaz-Pires, P. 2021. Seasonal evaluation of freshness profile of commercially important fish species. Foods 10: 1567. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10071567

Martins, I, Azevedo, A, Goméz, I, Valente, LMP. 2020. Variation on the standing stock of Gracilaria sp. in a temperate estuary under single-stressor and multiple-stressor climate change scenarios. Algal Research 51: 102079. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2020.102079

Nobre, AM, Valente, LMP, Conceição, L, Severino, R, Lupatsch, I. 2019. A bioenergetic and protein flux model to simulate fish growth in commercial farms: application to gilthead seabream. Aquacultural Engineering 84: 12-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaeng.2018.11.001

Xavier, MJ, Dardengo, GM, Navarro-Guillén, C, Lopes, A, Colen, R, Valente, LMP, Conceição, LEC, Engrola, S. 2021. Dietary curcumin promotes gilthead seabream larvae digestive capacity and modulates oxidative status. Animals 11: 1667. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11061667