BIOGEARS aims to provide the European aquaculture sector with biobased ropes, as the sector currently uses 100% non-recyclable ropes.
The biobased ropes developed will be durable to meet industry needs but will biodegrade in a shorter time and can be sustainably managed by local composting facilities. The project will develop prototypes and trial them in the Atlantic basin using Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture with mussels and seaweed. A ‘Blue Lab’ will be developed to support replicability, transferability and scale up of the developed biobased ropes into different regions, creating new value chains and more eco-friendly aquaculture.
BIOGEARS is developing biobased gears as solutions for the creation of an eco-friendly offshore aquaculture sector, in a multitrophic approach, and new biobased value chains. The project launched in November 2019, funded under EMFF-01-2018 Blue Labs: Innovative Solutions for Maritime Challenges by the European Commission’s Executive Agency for SMEs (EASME).