The Sea Tech Week is an international event dedicated to marine sciences and technology, happening every two years in Brest. This year, Pôle Mer Bretagne Atlantique and EMBRC-Fr have come together to work on the organisation of a session dedicated to the access to marine biological resources so-called “Bioresources: unlocking and accessing the potential of the marine environment”, on Tuesday October 9th 2018.
Marine bioresources are at the heart of economic activities in the maritime regions, providing the food we eat, the air we breathe, and to an increasing extent new products and a new frontier to explore in terms of biotechnological advances. Brittany and the surrounding regions have a wealth of expertise and projects valorising biological resources from the sea and continue to drive and innovate the biotech sector. This one-day session gave a flavour of what Brittany has to offer of activities related to marine bioresources in public-private partnerships, industrial R&D, and fundamental research, and how to access the marine ecosystems, its biological resources and related expertise through the international network of research infrastructures present in Brittany
After a welcome speech by Justine Pittera (PMBA) and Nicolas Pade, the session was organized around four major themes:
– Mapping of innovation based on marine biological resources in Brittany and Pays de Loire: emphasis on the main actors (academic and private), trends in the marine bioresources used, etc.
– Biodiversity observation and trends in biotechnology
– Research infrastructures : advanced tools to support fundamental and applied research in marine biology
– How can RI have a role to play in the synergies between fundamental and applied research in order to reinforce the relationship and foster innovation ? This discussion took place under a round table format.
During the third slot dedicated to RIs, Nicolas Pade presented EMBRC-ERIC with a special emphasis on the activity of EMBRC-Fr. UVigo has also participated in this session, with Cristina Secades as speaker, presenting the EBB project: “EMBRC Blue Biobank project: how to facilitate access to marine biological resources“; describing the scope and objectives of the project, presenting the expected outcomes for academic and private researchers.