iconWorkshop 8: BLUEMED – Building a shared research and innovation agenda for blue jobs and growth across the Mediterranean

Conclusions


  • The BLUEMED Initiative launched in 2015 by some EU Member States elaborated a Strategic Research and Innovation agenda (SRIA). In May 2017 the BLUEMED Initiative was endorsed by UfM and EU Member States. Now it’s time to share the SRIA with non-EU Mediterranean countries and collect inputs for updating it. The main outcomes of the workshop are:
    • A first view of the strategy of some non-EU countries in the field of marine and maritime research and innovation has been provided. It appears that these strategies mostly match the BLUEMED SRIA. The next step will be to continue the dialogue by involving stakeholders from these countries and working at Pan-Mediterranean level to share and align priorities;
    • Some points were particularly highlighted as the importance of fisheries activities, including the tendency to fish in increasingly deep water; the need to design new offshore aquaculture plants; understand the factors that facilitate the entrance and the spreading of alien species in Mediterranean waters; the impact of the plastic debris and garbage patches on marine ecosystems, just to give few examples. The need to develop Marine Spatial Planning was also pointed.

Presentations

Fabio Fava – Chair of the BLUEMED Initiative strategic board

Valeria Fascione – Regional Minister for Internationalisation, Start up and Innovation, Region of Campania

Lucio Sabbadini – President Technological Cluster BIG

Mohamed Salah Azaza – In charge of International Cooperation, INSTM (Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer), Tunisia

Baris Salihoglu – Director of Institute of Marine Sciences, Middle East Technical University, Turkey

Alaa Eldin El-Haweet – Dean of College of Fisheries Technology and Aquaculture, Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime transport, Egypt