ASTRAL will develop new, sustainable, profitable and resilient value chains for integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) production within the framework of existing, emerging and potential Atlantic markets. The proposal gathers four IMTA labs including open offshore (Ireland, Scotland), flow-through inshore (South Africa) and recirculation inshore (Brazil) systems and one prospective IMTA lab (Argentina), focusing on a regional challenge-based perspective, including fish, mollusc, echinoderm, crustacean and algae species. ASTRAL will increase circularity by 50-60% compared to monoculture baseline aquaculture and will provide a circular business model, boosting revenue diversification for aquaculture producers increasing profitability by at least 30%. New and improved innovative technology will be developed, including biosensors, sensors, IoT and an AI data analytics platform to be validated at IMTA labs at TRL 5. Potential environmental and climatic risks for Northern and Southern Atlantic regions will be addressed, delivering a monitoring programme and recommendations for Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), pathogens and microplastics. ASTRAL will deliver an ambitious and gender-sensitive human capital development plan (HUCAP) which will improve professional skills and create a highly trained workforce. ASTRAL will share, integrate and co-generate knowledge, technology, practices and efforts with and for society, oriented towards pro-poor and gender-sensitive development. A collaborative ecosystem will be provided within the project framework bringing together and connecting industrial partners, SMEs, scientists, policy makers, social representatives and other relevant stakeholders promoting data exchange, knowledge sharing and business opportunities.

The overall objective of AquaVitae is to increase aquaculture production in and around the Atlantic Ocean in a sustainable way by developing new and emerging low trophic species and by optimising production in existing aquaculture value chains. The value chains that AquaVitae will focus on include macroalgae production, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture, and production of new echinoderm species as well as existing shellfish and finfish species. A series of cross-cutting Work Packages (WPs) will include research on biosensors, Internet of Things (IoT), product characteristics, consumer attitudes, market potential, sustainability, environmental monitoring, risk assessment, analysis of value chains, profitability, and other socioeconomic aspects. AquaVitae will contribute to various policy dialogues and produce briefs on policy and governance issues. The AquaVitae consortium consists of 36 full partners from Europe and countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean, in addition to an Industry Reference group, a Policy Advice Group, and an External Advisory Group. AquaVitae supports extensive communication and outreach activities, employs a multi-actor approach to ensure stakeholder engagement in all phases of the project, and will set up a durable aquaculture industry and research network around the Atlantic Ocean. Industry partners are present in all case studies, and they have a special responsibility for exploitation and commercialization of the project research results and outcomes. AquaVitae will have a lasting impact on society through the introduction of new species, and through the development of new processes and products based on a circular economy / zero waste approach with improved sustainability. AquaVitae will produce Good Practice standards, facilitate industry apprenticeship and student exchange, support extensive training programs for industry, academia, and the public, and contribute to the implementation of the EU-Brazil-South Africa Belém Statement.

The ambition of AtlantECO is to develop and apply a novel, unifying framework for providing knowledge-based resources to design policies, support decisions making and engage with citizens to encourage responsible behaviour to manage the Atlantic system and protect its Ecosystem Services (ES) provision. The aim of AtlantECO is to determine the structure and function of Atlantic microbiome in the context of ocean circulation and presence of pollutants, e.g., plastics, to assess its role in driving the dynamics of Atlantic ecosystems at basin and regional scales; its potential of being used as a sensor of ecosystem state and the mechanisms by which it drives the provision of 5ES. This is key to improve our predictions on future provision of ES in the basin and to favour the establishment of a sustainable Blue Growth strategy for an All-Atlantic community. To realise this vision, AtlantECO has four objectives which are to 1) Assess dynamics of Atlantic marine ecosystems, their ES provision and the interplay of both with socio-economic activities; 2 increase knowledge and data on microbiomes, plastics, the plastisphere and carbon fluxes that support ecosystems at basin scale using best practices and integrative sampling strategies, novel genomics, imaging and biogeochemical methods, bioinformatics and modelling approaches; 3) Assess and predict the cumulative impacts of multiple stressors on ecosystem status and dynamics and ES provision, identifying their drivers and role on tipping points, assessing their changes in recovery of ecosystem structures, functions and services, and developing eco-socio-economic models to predict future trajectories and 4) Deploy a systemic strategy to build capacity and transfer knowledge for a seamless engagement between science, industry, policy, and society. To achieve these objectives AtlantECO brings together experts and pioneers from Europe, South America and South Africa with the relevant resources, knowledge and experience.

Sustainable management of human activities affecting Atlantic marine ecosystems is critical to maintain its health and to support the blue economy of the bordering countries. TRIATLAS will contribute to this by delivering knowledge of the current state and future changes of the Atlantic marine ecosystems. We achieve this through a basin-wide approach integrating research from the North and South, that closes critical knowledge gaps in the Tropical and South Atlantic which impede an understanding of the entire basin. We bring together an interdisciplinary team of marine ecologists, physical oceanographers, climate researchers, and social scientists from 34 different institutions in Europe, Africa, and South America, together with multisectoral and regional stakeholders. We will enhance knowledge of the marine ecosystems in key areas of the Atlantic using existing and pivotal new (physical, biological, societal) observations. Earth system, ecological, and socio-economic models and observations will be used to assess the cumulative impacts of (climatic, pollution, and fishing) pressures driving fluctuations in the marine ecosystem, and the potential for tipping point behavior and regime shifts. We will develop the first predictions of the marine-ecosystem for the next 40 years for the whole Atlantic, by combining state-of-the-art climate prediction and ecosystem models, with Shared Socioeconomic Pathways, and by conducting socio-economic vulnerability assessments services, with stakeholder engagement. TRIATLAS will enhance capacity in marine ecosystems, oceanography, and climate research in countries bordering the South and Tropical Atlantic Ocean. There will be close cooperation and alignment with relevant European Commission services and the South-South Framework for Scientific and Technical Cooperation, as well as other relevant initiatives in the field. We will contribute to upscale cooperation around the Atlantic.