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Ufm Mediterranean pavillion stand with people passing by at an exhibition

UfM and Interreg NEXT MED renew commitment to tackle regional challenges together

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12 March 2025, Barcelona – The Union for the Mediterranean and Interreg NEXT MED, the largest EU-funded transnational cooperation programme promoting socioeconomic development and environmental initiatives in the Mediterranean Basin, have reached an agreement formally extending collaboration between both parties for at least another three years.

The Memorandum of Understanding, which highlights how both Euro-Mediterranean institutions strive to reinforce political, socioeconomic, and cultural ties in the region, was signed by UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel and Director General of the Interreg NEXT MED Programme Giovanna Medde. The agreement, significantly, foresees mutual participation in events and conferences and, when relevant, extends invitations to participate in internal meetings as observers. It will also see the organisations continue to exchange information on projects of common interest, identify joint coordination actions and raise awareness of regional challenges together.

“The UfM and Interreg NEXT MED are united by the common goal of enhanced dialogue and cooperation between Mediterranean countries. The indisputable success of our partnership over the years is a positive sign for the future,” said UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel. “The UfM remains convinced of the long-term constructive influence of this alliance and looks forward to three more years of shared accomplishments.”

The long-standing partnership between these Euro-Mediterranean institutions has resulted in a multitude of impactful actions including Interreg NEXT MED’s participation in the UfM-sponsored Mediterranean Pavilion at the latest three United Nations Climate Change Conferences, its commemoration of the anniversary of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, and involvement in thematic UfM forums on youth empowerment or the blue economy, among others.

“The UfM-Interreg NEXT MED agreement has been instrumental in enhancing coordination between both institutions,” said Giovanna Medde, Director General of the Interreg NEXT MED Programme. “It is essential for developing and implementing jointly-owned solutions to the complex challenges our region faces. I am confident that renewing it will help us move closer to achieving our common goal of a more integrated, peaceful and prosperous Mediterranean.”

Source UfM website

2nd call for experts WestMED stakeholder Group on Susttainable tourism incl beach with kayak

2nd Call for Experts: WestMED Technical Group on Sustainable Tourism | Deadline 31 March 2025 (EOB)

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Deadline to register for this 2nd Call for experts: 31st March 2025 (EOB). Only applications submitted within the deadline will be accepted. In case of  too many applications, prioritization will be given to experts from Southern shore countries of the Western Mediterranean region.

About the Technical Group on Sustainable Tourism

Given the fact that tourism plays such a significant role in the Western Mediterranean as one of the key contributors to both the upside gains as well as the downside risks of the blue economy, there is an urgent need for enhancing eco-tourism in the region. In order to address the challenges of the sector in the Mediterranean, we should enhance EU and external territorial cooperation (including non-EU WestMED countries as partners such as Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia) and promote active knowledge sharing amongst stakeholders from both the northern and southern shore, to multiply results.

The Westmed Initiative has set up a technical group on Sustainable Tourism, the objective of which is to serve as a technical forum to discuss trends and opportunities towards sustainable tourism within the region and to provide support to participants to develop project ideas around the topics already set at EU level with regards to the tourism-related topics of green transition, digitalization, promotion of social inclusion, governance, and skills.

In 2024 we issued a call for experts and we are reissuing a second call, calling for experts particularly in the Southern shore countries of the Westmed.

We are looking for technical stakeholders of tourism initiatives including: partners of the Interreg Euro MED Sustainable Tourism Mission; partners from previous EU tourism projects; Mediterranean Tourism Stakeholders from the public and private sector; Non-EU Associated Partners; Travel Foundation; Associations; Networks; Tourism businesses; research and innovation centers; technological centers; universities; ports and their representatives; townhalls; yachting/small cruising; nautical sector, etc.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU

Role: This expert group will suggest project proposals and be the main contact point for establishing consortia and projects for future EU funding opportunities around sustainable tourism. The expert group will also serve as the main forum to discuss specific topics of interest to the group.
 Participants in the WG are currently in the process of setting up project proposal.

Requested involvement: This group will gather periodically to be informed about opportunities, recent developments and discuss specific topics of their choice. We envision to have 3-4 online meetings with the expert group per year.

Application

For questions: contact Marta Pascual from the WestMED National Hub Spain or Stephanie Vella from the WestMED Nation Hub Malta

Check the dedicated Sustainable Tourism Technical Group page

coastline Mediterranean with sea and olive tree on the rocks

 

 

 

group pucture decarbonisation conference Valencia port February 2025

WestMED participates in the Fundación Valenciaport conference “Innovation initiatives for decarbonising the Mediterranean”

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On 11 February 2025, Fundación Valenciaport organised the conference “Innovation initiatives for decarbonising the Mediterranean” in Valencia. The main objective was to present the many initiatives in which it participates, related to energy transition and decarbonization.

The event brought together more than fifty representatives of the port community with national and international speakers specialised in port sustainability.

During the opening, Antonio Torregrosa, general director of Fundación Valenciaport, welcomed the attendees and Leonardo Manzari, representative of the WestMED Initiative in Italy. Mr Manzari presented the main challenges of decarbonization in the Mediterranean port logistics sector.

Alternative fuel for maritime transport
The first block of the day was focused on alternative fuels for maritime transport.

Manolis Annetis, research engineer at the Maritime Risk Group of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), presented the objectives and progress of the GREENMED project; an initiative that aims to promote green shipping in the Mediterranean basin by analyzing the energy demand of the currently operating fleet and evaluating transition scenarios towards a sustainable future. He also presented a techno-economic analysis of the current bunkering system in the region and the actions needed to promote decarbonization in port logistics.

Next, Aurelio Lázaro, Senior Project Manager of Fundación Valenciaport, presented the progress and first results of the POWER4MED project. This project aims to develop tools to facilitate the path towards carbon neutrality of three sectors; fishing vessels, commercial vessels and marinas.

This session was concluded with a roundtable discussion focused on new fuels in the maritime industry. This roundtable was moderated by Francisco Tinaut, Professor of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) in the CMT- Clean Mobility&Thermofluids. Daniel García (POSEIDON), Jan Octavio Wilske (SEAFAIRER), Marta Pascual (WestMED), Manolis Annetis (GREENMED) and Aurelio Lázaro (POWER4MED) participated in this roundtable.

Decarbonising Ports
Marina Arroyo, Project Manager of Fundación Valenciaport, began the second block of the day with the presentation of the SEANERGY project. SEANERGY seeks to move towards “Zero Emissions” ports. During his speech, he highlighted the Catalogue of Technologies for Port Decarbonization, one of the main tools of the project to facilitate the energy transition.

Next, Ignacio Benítez, Senior Project Manager of Fundación Valenciaport, presented the BLUEBARGE project, whose main objective is to develop a barge designed to supply electric power to docked and anchored ships, through the use of batteries of different technologies, contributing to the reduction of emissions and the promotion of more sustainable infrastructures in the port logistics sector.

Subsequently, the SEANERGY workshop was held by Marina Arroyo and Sandra Roselló, deputy director of Fundación Valenciaport, where they explained the main resources developed by the project to help port organizations to develop their energy transition strategies.

Adaptation to Climate Change in Spanish Ports
The last block of the day focused on the adaptation of ports to climate change, which began with the intervention of Begoña Pérez, from the Department of Climate Change and Prediction of Puertos del Estado, who presented the strategies to improve the resilience of Spanish ports against the environmental impacts of climate change.

The conference concluded in the afternoon with the presentation of the ARSINOE project, an initiative that studies the impact of climate change on ports with the aim of developing strategies to mitigate its effects.

Noemí Monterde, Senior Project Manager of Fundación Valenciaport, shared the functioning of the Climate Change Observatory of the Port Authority of Valencia, created within the framework of this initiative, with the aim of analyzing the effect of climate phenomena on port infrastructures and operations.

For his part, José María García-Valdecasas, head of Coastal Services at NOW Systems, presented Clevertool, a tool designed to evaluate these impacts and support the definition of adaptation measures.

 

For more information about this event, contact Marta Pascual (National Hub Spain)

Leonardo Manzari presenting the WestMED project during decarbonisation workshop in a conference room (Feb 2025)

 

slider poster with vector of project people holding puzzle pieces

Regular updates on WestMED (Technical) thematic stakeholder group activities

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The WestMED Assistance Mechanism (WM-AM) has initiated several thematic discussion platforms. Current and future maritime developments are being discussed with lead stakeholders from the participating countries under the guidance of  WM-AM  facilitators, with a focus on concrete actions – often in the form of joint project development.

To provide insights in the objectives and activities of these stakeholder groups, regular updates will be provided in the form of short presentations. These presentations can be found as a pdf file on the respective thematic stakeholder group pages:

If you are interested to know more or consider joining, just get in touch with the respective WestMED National Hubs that are mentioned on each of these pages

white blue city sidibou-said,tunisia with blue sea in the background

Tunisia assumes co-presidency of the WestMED Initiative

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The Republic of Tunisia, represented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians abroad and the Secretariat General for Sea Affairs is assuming the co-presidency of the WestMED Initiative for a Sustainable Blue Economy in the Western Mediterranean from January 2025 until December 2026.

Taking into consideration its strong commitment to the principles and values of peaceful coexistance and sustainable development among the peoples of the region, Tunisia will co-preside the initiative with Portugal during 2025 then with Spain in 2026, fully in line with the Initiative’s rotating co-chairmanship. Tunisia has taken over this responsibility from Mauritania who has held this role for the past two years.

Tunisia’s co-chairmanship will be an opportunity to reflect the concerns and expectations of the southern state members of the Initiative through cooperative strategies and policies in favour of a sustainable blue economy with the aim to harmonize the development between the two shores of the western mediterranean region, particularly in the fields of green transport, blue skills, sustainable tourism, sustainable fishing and aquaculture, as well as the preservation and the empowerment of the coastal areas and communities.

In this regard, Tunisia intends to work with its WestMED Initiative partners on issues aimed at:

  • Highlighting the need for stronger cooperation between the members of the initiative to achieve the objectives of decarbonization and the green maritime transport.
  • Creating synergies between northern and southern mediterranean countries to ensure a smooth energy transition of the commercial and fishing fleet.
  • Promoting sustainable fishing practices and mitigate the impacts of aquaculture on the marine environment
  • Addressing the disparities in port infrastructure development between the northern and the southern mediterranean countries.
  • Ensuring the transition to more sustainable practices in the tourism sector.
  • Developing blue skills training programs and facilitate cooperation between the two shores of the western mediterranean to share know-how and strengthen capacities and careers in the blue economy, particularly in terms of sustainability and decarbonization.
aerial from container ship at sea with TG Green shipping logo

Launch of S3 Thematic partnership “Shipbuilding Propulsion Systems Alliance” with 26 partners from 3 EU sea basins

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Maritime transport and Ports probably represent the core sector, to win the challenge of sustainability of the Blue Economy, considering its impact in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA) and jobs creation across the EU and its neighbouriung regions.

Greening the EU maritime transport is therefore pivotal to ‘green’ the EU blue economy at large (including tourism, aquaculture, biotechs, marine renewable energy).

But a green transition for the EU maritime transport sectors requires a common vision to equip ports and fleets in a coherent way, within a network capable to ensure their operativity.

Therefore, within the work of the WestMED Technical Group on Green Shipping,the strong need emerged to re-configurate the shipbuilding supply chain and create the production capacity to equip the fleets with propulsion systems, using alternative fuels.

Shipbuilding Propulsion Systems Alliance
For this reason the WestMED Technical Group on Green Shipping, the EU Seabasin Assistance Mechanism, promoted by CINEA and DG Mare, have supported a dedicated Smart Specialisation (S3) Thematic Partnership in this area, encountering the interest of the impacted territories where shipbuilding operations are mostly located, and involving different stakeholders – authorities, research and innovation centres, businesses and investors.

 The newly launched S3 Thematic partnership “Shipbuilding Propulsion Systems Alliance”, led by Region Liguria, Região capital de Portugal, Region Attica, brings together 26 partners – including Regional Bodies, Businesses, Cluster Organisations, Research & Innovation Centres and Civil Society Organisations – from 5 EU Member states  and 4 non EU partner countries spread across 3 EU Sea basins (Mediterranean Atlantic, Black Sea).

 The initiative, more specifically, aims at:

  • Speeding  up the modernisation and renewal of the supply chains related to the production/refitting of propulsion systems, as well as to the delivery of the fuel, for each type of alternative fuel.
  • Accelerating the replacement/refitting of traditionally propelled fleets to diversify, renew, revitalise the sector across Europe and its neighbourhoods;
  • Fostering the adoption of innovative fiscal and financial schemes, to allow shipowners, shipbuilders and related stakeholders to achieve greater impact and sustainability for their investments.

 

For more information on this Partnership, visit the  S3 Community of Practice page of the European Commission

group picture with all participants from the WestMED Hackathon 2024

WestMED Hackathon 2024: Crafting Sustainable Blue Economy Projects

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On 3 October 2024, 87 practioners and policymakers from 15 countries met in Vilamoura, Portugal to discuss project ideas and possible funding sources. This was the 3rd WestMED hackathon after previous succesful sessions in Palermo (2019) and Malta (2022).

This year’s Hackathon with the title ‘Crafting Sustainable Blue Economy Projects’ was hosted and co-organised by Portugal, Mauritania and DG MARE/ European Commission.

After the opening remarks by the Sea Basins Assistance Mechanism Team Leader from Ecorys (Javier Fernández), the Portuguese and Mauritanian co-presidencies (Lídia Bulcão and Demba Diawara) and a welcome word by the European Commission (Christos Economou), WestMED’s project coordinator (Celia Murcia) took the floor to explain the proceedings for the day and introduced the speakers that each detailed different EU financial instruments with current and upcoming funding opportunities such as Interreg NEXT MED, EMFAF, BlueInvest and Erasmus+.

These instruments have proven to be a vital part to support the implementation of ideas, projects and creation of partnerships that promote co-operation, collaboration and co-ordination between the economic agents of the countries that are part of the WestMed Initiative. This funding part was completed by a presentation detailing 2 practical Portuguese examples that have been supported by the WestMED National Hub and can be replicated: MEDBAN (Mediterranean Blue Acceleration Network) and HUBAZUL.

After the funding part, six blue projects took the stage to tell their story, five of whom have received EMFAF funding.  These projects (CALLMEBLUE, WeMED NA_TOUR, WINBIG, GREEN MARINE MED , BlueAquaEdu and Blue Skills) served as an inspiration for the five Project Development Labs that followed shortly after.

Each lab consisted of approximately 15-20 stakeholders with two moderators and were focused on some of the main themes that have been prioritised within the WestMED Initiative:  Aquaculture, Blue Skills and careers, Maritime clusters, Green shipping and ports, and Sustainable tourism.

The outcomes of these discussions were presented in a plenary session and the next steps briefly outlined with enough ideas to be further explored.

The day was concluded by Marisa Lameiras da Silva, Director General for Maritime Policy in Portugal who shared her reflections and conclusions noting the remarkable amount of energy that she had found with the participants engaging in the different Labs.  Manuel Pleguezuelo Alonso from DG MARE brought this event to an end by highlighting how some of the ideas from the hackathon 2 years ago have now come to fruition, emphasising the importance of “policies through projects,” and thanking all participants who have made this possible. 

Download the hackathon report

Download the agenda

Watch all WestMED Hackathon ’24 presentations: dedicated playlist on WestMED’s YouTube channel

WestMED Hackathon 2024conference room filled with stakeholders

WestMED Hackathon 2024. people discussing Sustainable Tourism project ideas

WestMED Steering Committee members sitting around a larfge conference table in Portugal, October 1, 2024

WestMED Stakeholders gather in Portugal for a 3-day agenda on the Blue Economy

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Three full days have been dedicated to enhancing synergies among key actors in the Mediterranean basin: The WestMED Steering Comittee (SC) on October 1, The UfM Regional Platform on the Blue Economy on October 2, and the WestMED Hackathon on October 3, 2024.

WestMED Steering Committee
The WestMED Steering Committee (SC) was hosted by the Region of Algarve and the Portuguese Co-Presidency.

The meeting gathered representatives from the WestMED countries, as well as the Observers, DG MARE, CINEA, UfM and the team of the Assistance Mechanism.

A key milestone was presented at the SC meeting in terms of cooperation and clustering within the Mediterranean region. On 29 September 2024, the first maritime cluster has been officially established in Libya with the support of the WestMED Initiative. This maritime cluster will be rolled out in the coming months. (see article on this announcement).

Updates on the WestMED Technical Groups (TGs) were presented by the Assistance Mechanism, in particular to the recently approved TG on Sustainable Tourism. There has been a call for Tourism experts to join, and there has already been a stakeholder group meeting on September 6 and an advisory group meeting on September 18 to prepare for the official launch at the Sun&Blue Conference on November 21.

The WestMED countries are fully committed  towards a more sustainable and resilience tourism section in the Mediterranean. Some countries are working to promote more environmental-friendly tourism alternatives such as pesca-tourism and sustainable scuba diving at artificial reefs.

In view of the willingness of the WestMED Initiative towards enhancing more synergies and cooperative dialogue with the African countries, DG MARE presented the Strategic Dialogue on the Africa-Europe Ocean Economy. A scoping report has been produced outlining way to strengthen cooperation between Africa and Europe on ocean governance and blue economy, from which to forge a mutually beneficial roadmap for the two continents in line with the 2030 UN Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

UfM Regional Platform on Sustainable Blue Economy

Back-to-back to the WestMED Steering Committee, the UfM Regional Platform took place on 2 October 2024

The UfM Secretariat introduced the most recent advancements on the update of the Roadmap for the implementation of the 2021 UfM Ministerial Declaration on Sustainable Blue Economy. On the monitoring, reporting and evaluation mechanism, an exhaustive exercise is being done based on 657 actions, activities and projects of regional cooperation in the Mediterranean.

The UfM is going to shortly launch the new edition of the UfM Sustainable Blue Economy Publication, which provides an update on the status of the key blue economy sectors in the Mediterranean, including transversal aspects such as blue skills, marine research and funding frameworks. The previous edition of this 2021 publication can be found here.

On this occasion, the UfM Regional Plan for Transport was presented by Francesc Carbonell. Further synergies are being sought between the WestMED Technical Group on Green Shipping and Ports and the UfM Regional Plan for Transport, to address the common challenges of the sector in the Mediterranean.

Further updates were presented in terms of the Community of Practice on MSP (Smart Specialization Strategies – S3, Mission Restore Our Oceans by 2030 and BlueMissionMed, Interreg Euro-Med and strategy dialogue on the Africa-Europe Ocean Economy.

On the funding opportunities, updates were presented in the Blue Mediterranean Partnership, Interreg Next-MED and the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership.

WestMED Hackaton 2024

On 3 October 2024, 85 stakeholders from more than 20 countries met in Vilamoura, Portugal to discuss project ideas and possible funding sources. This was already the 3rd hackathon after previous sessions in Palermo (2019) and Malta (2022).

Read the full article

Download the agenda

Watch all WestMED Hackathon ’24 presentations: dedicated playlist on WestMED’s YouTube channel

 

Marisa Lameiras da Silva (Portugal) and Demba Diawara (Mauritania) co-chairing the WestMED Steering Committee | Copyright photos: DGPM

WestMED Libya Blue economy event at Al-Mukhtar University - 29 sept 2024

WestMED Libya announces the country’s first Maritime Cluster at the Omar Al-Mukhtar University, during ‘Blue Economy Research & Innovation’ workshop

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Today on September 29 2024, at the Faculty of Agriculture Hall, the Omar Al-Mukhtar University hosted a workshop titled “advancing  the Blue Economy in Libya through Research and innovation” with the support of the Al-Mukhtar Center for Research, Consulting, Educational Services, and Training.

This workshop was organized in collaboration with the WestMED Initiative for the Development of the Blue Economy and the Marine Biology Organization.

The workshop was led by Dr. Masauda Abouarousha, the Libyan National Coordinator for the initiative, and was attended by prominent figures, including the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, and a number of faculty members from the Faculties of Science, Agriculture, and Natural Resources. Additionally, the event saw the presence of the Director of the International Cooperation Department at the University and the Director of the Environmental Sanitation Department at the Ministry of Environment.

The event also included notable participation via online platforms from:

  • Eng. Ali Al-Shaqrouni, Head of the Libyan Maritime Cluster
  • Captain Ezzedine Kacem, Head of the Tunisian Maritime Cluster
  • Mr. Leonardo Manzari, Italian WestMED National Hub

During the workshop, the formation of the Libyan Maritime Cluster was officially announced. This entity will serve as an umbrella organization uniting all stakeholders engaged in various maritime activities related to the blue economy, with a particular focus on research and innovation (see presentation)

The workshop played a pivotal role in engaging researchers at Omar Al-Mukhtar University with international research platforms specializing in the blue economy, enhancing Libya’s participation in regional and global initiatives.

There will be a series of seminars, workshops and focus groups emanating from this workshop.

At the conclusion, several recommendations were made:

1- Urging Omar Al-Mukhtar University to partner with the steering committee initiative represented by the Al-Mukhtar Centre for Research, Consultancy, Scientific Services and Training, as Libya is a member of this initiative.
2- Establishing a unit within the Mukhtar Centre for Blue Economy, which is concerned with spreading awareness of the importance of the blue economy through seminars, workshops and meetings as an alternative economy.
3- Holding qualification courses for interested parties and stakeholders and preparing human cadres capable of engaging in this field.
4- The Mukhtar Centre adopts the idea of establishing a special board for research in the various fields of the blue economy and distributing it to colleges as houses of expertise containing academics, researchers and interested parties, and then selecting distinguished research proposals and through the Centre and its agreements, financial support is provided for these researches through donor agencies and organisations for funding.

 

With this workshop, the path is paved for more strategic partnerships and capacity-building initiatives, ensuring that Libya contributes actively to the regional blue economy agenda.

Download the analysis framework paper detailing the Libyan Maritime Cluster

For more information contact Masauda Abuarosha: libya@westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu

WestMED Libya Blue economy event at Al-Mukhtar University - 29 sept 2024

 

alberto Pulizzi, Regione Sicilia Fishery Dept at G7 in Siracusa on 27 sept 2024

WestMED Italy 2024 Roadshow on Innovation and Internationalisation for Sustainable Fisheries during the G7 in Siracusa, Sicily

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On 27 September 2024,  thanks to the Regione Sicilia Fishery Department (represented by Director General, Alberto Pulizzi) and the Sicilian Fishery and Blue growth cluster COSVAP (represented President Nino Carlino), the WestMED National Hub organised a roadshow focused on Innovation and Internationalisation for a new Sustainable model for Fisheries.

This roadshow was programmed as a side event to the  G7 Ministerial meeting on Agriculture and Fisheries  that was held in Syracuse from 26 to 28 September 2024 with a great Exposition and many activities on agriculture and fishing throughout the city.

Prof Franco Andaloro, a world renown international expert on sustainable fisheries kicked off with an inspiring introduction. He mentioned the need for a complete new approach and model to Fisheries, focusing on the role of fishers, as protagonist and not as problem.  He also detailed the main challenges to be tackled, if we really want to promote Sustainable Fisheries model(s).

This was followed by multiple experts who shared their views and experiences: Giovanni Borsellino ( FLAG GAC Il Sole e l’Azzurro ) presented its traceability system for fishery. Leonardo Manzari then presented his experiences as part of the WestMED Assistance Mechanism with a focus on  Technological innovation and internationalisation as indispensable tools to propose solutions and apply technologies and systems at the service of a new sustainable model for artisanal fishing, deep sea fishing, and aquaculture.

Luca Mirabelli from AS Labruna presented its hybrid Power systems for small and large fishery vessels and Prof Concetta Messina explained the contribution of INTERREG NEXT Italie-Tunisie ARIBIOTECH to the extraction of bioelements from fish waste and the network of specialized labs developed between Sicily and Tunisia.

DuWo presented its smart fish packing boxes, equipped with RFID traceability chip and their box washing machines

For more information contact Leonardo Manzari (WestMED National Hub italy): italy@westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu

 

Leonardo Manzari, WestMED Italy moderating session at G7 in Siracusa on 27 sept 2024