Valorisation of marine by-products: towards a more sustainable blue economy

The challenge

According to estimates, up to 70% of resources from fisheries and aquaculture end up as low-value products or even waste. This situation not only represents a loss of food resources, but also generates a significant environmental impact.

The challenge is to develop innovative solutions that enable the full utilisation of by-products and effluents generated by fishing, aquaculture and processing activities, transforming them into high value-added ingredients for food, feed or biofertilisers.

The solution

Through a range of projects with different partners, AZTI has developed advanced technologies and methodologies for the integrated valorisation of secondary streams from the fisheries and aquaculture sectors.

These range from the design of an innovative methodology to recover natural flavouring compounds from liquid effluents generated during mussel cooking; to the development of storage, sorting and decision-support systems that improve the traceability and sustainability of bycatch and aquaculture by-products; and to the transformation of fishery by-products into biofertilisers, giving marine organic waste a second life for agricultural use and closing nutrient cycles within the production ecosystem.

The results

• Natural and sustainable ingredients for the food industry obtained from mussel effluents, with high commercial potential, while reducing discharge volumes by 80% and organic load by 90%.

• A significant reduction in the environmental impact of processing plants by minimising discharges and facilitating regulatory compliance.

• Development of marine biofertilisers that replace chemical inputs, strengthening agricultural sustainability.

• More efficient and traceable management systems in fisheries and aquaculture, driving a responsible blue economy.