Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a bacterium that is present in the marine environment and can be found in seawater, shellfish (such as oysters and mussels) and in crustacea (such as crab). This bacterium is the leading cause of seafood associated gastroenteritis worldwide. The bacterium can be destroyed during the cooking process, thus infection is generally associated with eating raw shellfish or cooked seafood products that have been cross-contaminated by raw shellfish or contaminated water. V. parahaemolyticus infections peak in the summer seasons, when sea temperatures are optimum for its growth. In the last 10 years the number of V. parahaemolyticus outbreaks has increased worldwide and has been as a result of rising sea temperatures. Climate change, globalisation and other drivers have also made Europe a hot spot for emerging infectious diseases including infections by V. parahaemolyticus. At present, detection of V. parahaemolyticus is not required under EU Food Hygiene legislation for testing of shellfish harvesting areas and ready to eat seafood products. Furthermore, disease associated with V. parahaemolyticus is not notifiable in the EU but in recent years there have been a number of outbreaks associated with contaminated seafood in Europe including Spain, Italy and Norway that have begun to change the significance of this pathogen in Europe. In the past it has been shown that when bacteria were incubated in sea water, the cells remained 'alive' but could not grow on culture media. However, they sometimes retain the ability to cause disease. These bacteria have been called 'viable but non-culturable' (VBNC) cells. The VBNC cells allow the bacteria to survive, until more favourable conditions arise. Cells in the VBNC state have low metabolic activity but, following environmental stimuli such as temperature upshift or nutrient supplementation, they can 'resuscitate' and restore their ability to grow on media. VBNC cells are not just important in a medical context because of their capacity to remain virulent and resuscitate in favourable conditions but they are also important in food safety. If VBNC cells are present in food samples and cannot be detected by conventional techniques, then the number of bacteria in food samples could be underestimated. In this project we will investigate the potential risk of V. parahaemolyticus VBNC present in seafoods and the risk they may pose to the seafood industry. We will also try to understand what genes present in V. parahaemolyticus cause this bacterium to enter the VBNC state and help in its resuscitation. Our aim is to help the seafood industry come up with ways to help manage the risk VBNC cells pose to the industry.

The 3SIP2C project is focused on quantifying the types and amount of plastic waste entering the coastal margin of Vietnam, and understanding the pathways and destination of that plastic into the wider environment and marine life, and how this plastic impacts upon business activities such as aquaculture, fisheries, tourism and coastal communities. Vietnam's 3260 km coastline stretches across 28 coastal provinces and supports rural livelihoods that are engaged in coastal tourism, fisheries and aquaculture industries that are between them worth more than US$17 billion per year. These industries are themselves contributors to the plastic waste problem, but are also impacted by that waste, such that it represents a risk to civil society and business performance, health and safety. Our project will focus on plastic waste comprised of large (>50 mm), macro- (5 - 50 mm) and micro-plastics (<5 mm). The project is organised into five work packages, with Capacity Building and Engagement acting as the unifying theme throughout our proposed science, policy and governance programme. Our work packages flow from a fundamental understanding of the physical processes that transport plastics into coastal areas using 3 dimensional particle tracking models that account for seasonal changes in transport processes, and that account for the effects of tides, waves and freshwater inundation on these processes. We will couple this with a broadscale sampling strategy designed to gain insight into the characteristics and quantities of those plastics and the contaminants that are transported into the coastal system. This will be linked to a work package focused primarily on understanding the impacts and causes of large plastics on businesses and civil society associated with coastal communities, which will involve engaging citizens in collection of data on the distribution of large plastic through 'fishing for plastic' and the use of App technology. We take a deeper dive into the pathways by which macro and micro-plastics interact with the environment and interact with organisms, particularly those relevant to businesses such as fisheries and aquaculture. We will use experiments to understand how those plastics and their associated contaminants relate to health and disease threats in e.g. coastal aquaculture systems. We will interrogate the existing national and international legislations and policies that address the issue of plastics in supply chains and investigate where shortcomings in the integration of policies leads to shortfalls in their successful implementation. Finally, using a broad suite of techniques such as discourse analysis, focus groups, round-table discussions, gamification and citizen science, we will greatly increase awareness of the issues associated with plastic pollution and the effective solutions that could reduce its occurrence or its impacts on society. This engagement will interface with citizens at local, regional and national levels, and with managers and Government officials in relevant ministries. This proposal is ambitious with a multidisciplinary team from 8 research institutions and 7 partners in Vietnam covering all regions of the coastline, and HWU in the UK. Our engagement, impact and delivery are further strengthened by strategic partnerships with the wider non-academic collaborations through retailers (The Cooperative, UK; Sainsbury's), major seafood importers and processors (Labeyrie Fine Foods - Lyons Seafood) and a Vietnamese business consortium (IDH-Vietnam) and Vietnamese NGOs Centre for Marine Life, Conservation & Community Development (MCD), and global NGOs the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) and Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA). These partners provide the necessary access, expertise and impact translation to realise potential solutions that deliver demonstrable reductions in the causes and consequences of plastic waste in the environment.

Terrestrial farming is the greatest driver of biodiversity loss, a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution, and faces its most transformational reform in 50 years to improve both environmental and economic sustainability. The new Agriculture Act, 25YEP, has commitment to net zero carbon emissions and policies to enhance environmental stewardship, sustainability and support the production of public goods. This project aims to demonstrate the socio-economic benefit of a world-leading 'terrestrial blue economy', contributing multiple public goods to reform UK agriculture. Combining high value shrimp aquaculture with farm-based renewable energy will provide a novel home-grown output with considerable but poorly understood economic and health potential. The public goods benefits of a switch from beef/sheep production to shrimp include lower greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, and land use, freeing land for other public goods such as trees, biodiversity, biodiversity net gain, and recreation. Furthermore, co-locating self-contained, indoor shrimp production units with UK farm anaerobic digesters (AD) will maximise use of their (otherwise wasted) heat energy, enhancing sustainability and circularity of both industries. Extra income will also boost the farm-based renewable energy sector, helping the UK meet emissions targets. Shrimp is a healthy seafood with high protein, low calories, low fat, rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, promoting brain and heart health. Warm water shrimp is already highly popular seafood in the UK, with 22,852 tons (UK retail £319M) imported annually from Central America and SE Asia. However, traditional overseas production is vulnerable to climate/disease crises, has high transport-related CO2 emissions, and often uses environmentally unsustainable practices, e.g., destroying up to 80 % of nations' mangrove forests which absorb and trap more CO2 than any other of Earth's ecosystems. They also provide coastal protection against storms and coastal erosion. There is also the problem of illegal use (or just misuse) of chemicals such as pesticides and antibiotics resulting in contaminant residues in some of the shrimp exported to the UK, EU and US that can cause health issues. This proposal aims to completely avoid these problems and ensure a risk-free, healthier and sustainable supply chain of this heart- and brain- healthy seafood for UK-consumers, by facilitating a major expansion of UK's shrimp RAS production sector which currently supplies equivalent to <1% of imports. We aim to co-locate RAS production with renewable energy sources on UK terrestrial farms. We conservatively estimate that if only 20% of the UK's current Anaerobic Digestor (AD) plants were adapted for shrimp farming, we could sustain 960 shrimp production units and harvest 5,520 tonnes of shrimp per year (~25 % of current UK warm water shrimp imports). With the rapid growth of AD plants across UK farms (10-fold increase since 2010), there is clear potential for truly sustainable, healthier, home-grown shrimp to provide the majority consumed in the near future, in addition to enhancing environmental stewardship, sustainability and supporting the production of public goods from UK agricultural practices. Importantly, this project will generate data to evaluate the true potential of sustainable UK shrimp production using renewable energy technology, as well as providing this shrimp industry with the necessary world-class scientific support. This project will therefore address 3 goals to transform the UK Food System: 1) increased environmental sustainability of farm practices (e.g., sustainable use of existing waste heat from ADs), 2) economically sustainable expansion of UK land-based aquaculture production & employment, and 3) establishing the UK as a leader regarding capability, expertise and innovation in co-reforming agriculture and aquaculture.