The Blue Bioeconomy Forum publishes its European roadmap!
The sea has traditionally been a large source of economic prosperity and it offers large potential to contribute to achieving quite a number of Sustainable Development Goals, including life below water, climate action, decent work and responsible consumption.
Fisheries and aquaculture have been important sources of food for a long time, but outside these sectors the use of renewable aquatic biological resources to make products is still in the infancy stage. In order to speed up the developments and achieve the potential of this so-called blue bioeconomy, the Blue Bioeconomy Forum (BBF) was set up in 2018 as a platform for entrepreneurs, researchers, government officials and other stakeholders. The aim of the BBF is to develop a common understanding of the current status of blue bioecono- my in Europe and to collectively identify strategic developments, market opportunities, appropriate financial assistance, regulatory actions and research priorities. The BFF seeks to exploit synergies between blue bioeconomy sectors which can benefit from the innovative and optimal uses of aquatic biomass, by sourcing biomass for a particular purpose (e.g. for high-value applications such as pharmaceuticals), but also by valorising by-products and ecosystem services.
In the past year and a half the BBF organised a process of interaction with more than 300 stakeholders including a starting event in December 2018 in Amsterdam and a roadmapping conference in Brussels in June 2019. The focus of their activities was on better identifying the wide range of initiatives in the sector, identifying drivers and hurdles for the development of the sector, and defining ways forward. Now they are presenting this Roadmap for the blue bioeconomy that should help the blue bioeconomy fulfil its potential and flourish.