The Regional Government, through the Regional Fund for Science and Technology (FRCT), will take part in the second meeting of the European AQUA-LIT project in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, on Wednesday and Thursday.
 
Funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) under the S2 MARINE LITTERO, this project intends to develop preventive measures aimed at preventing the dumping of aquaculture waste at sea.
 
The AQUA-LIT project will provide a set of tools - already existing, under construction or already implemented - to the aquaculture sector and a database for the sharing of information among stakeholder. Hence, they will be able to address the prevention and reduction of waste, the monitoring and quantification of waste as well as their removal and recycling.
 
Moreover, the project will assess policies in force and issue political recommendations for better decision-making, including a plan to transfer results and knowledge acquired.
 
The integration of the Regional Government into this project, through FRCT, will enable the Region to keep up with European developments in aquaculture research, development and innovation, and their impact on the marine environment. Additionally, it is also expected to contribute to the development of tools and to the identification of good practices in the implementation of this economic activity, thus helping the Azores to position themselves at the forefront of the measures against aquaculture waste.
 
As partner of this project, the Regional Fund for Science and Technology will contribute to identification of eventual political shortcomings and the involvement with relevant authorities, providing political guidelines towards better decision-making.
 
With an implementation period of two years and a 587 thousand-Euro budget, this project is coordinated by GEO - Geonardo Environmental Technologies Ltd., a company based in based in Hungary. In addition to FRCT, it has another five partners from several European countries.