by Dr Elisabete Matos, Assistant Professor, Egas Moniz School of Health & Science, Portugal
We are approaching the end of a remarkable chapter: the implementation of the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), created to help Member States recover from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic while strengthening their economies for the future. It has been particularly on my mind these past few weeks as I finalise reports for several projects supported through this funding mechanism. Looking back, I cannot help but reflect on how these projects began – as ideas held together by little more than the enthusiasm, expertise and entrepreneurial spirit of the people behind them. Some never progressed beyond the drawing board, while others evolved into ambitious initiatives that, I believe, will continue to generate scientific, economic and societal value long after the funding has ended.
I still remember one of the first in-person events I attended after the lockdown, in October 2020, at a meeting of the Portuguese Collaborative Laboratories in Porto. During a coffee break, my then director quietly told me that I needed to start meeting with potential partners to discuss how we would use the funds that were about to become available under the PRR. My first thought was simple: What is PRR? My response, naturally, was: Of course. Within a matter of weeks, I had met with numerous stakeholders to discuss future collaborations and the Portuguese Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) had become headline news – the fund that promised not only to support post-pandemic recovery but also to accelerate innovation across virtually every sector of the economy.
My own work focused on the blue bioeconomy, with projects ranging from the valorisation of fisheries co-products to the development of novel foods and innovative aquafeed ingredients. Among the initiatives that received funding, two stand out: Pep4Fish and InsectERA, both addressing one of aquaculture’s greatest challenges—developing more sustainable, functional and resilient feed ingredients.
Pep4Fish focused on producing innovative protein hydrolysates from fisheries co-products to improve fish health and nutrition, particularly for European seabass and gilthead seabream. One tangible outcome was the establishment of a new production facility dedicated to producing these ingredients, strengthening Portugal’s technological capacity in this field. Feeding trials demonstrated that several hydrolysates exhibited promising antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, illustrating how ingredients derived from what was once considered waste can contribute simultaneously to fish health, resource efficiency and reduced dependence on conventional fishmeal.
InsectERA explored another increasingly important avenue for aquafeed innovation: insect-derived ingredients. The project evaluated black soldier fly oil as an alternative lipid source for aquafeeds, with feeding trials reporting encouraging results, including improved growth performance and lower feed conversion ratios. Together, these projects demonstrate how investment in research can translate into practical solutions that improve both the sustainability and competitiveness of European aquaculture.
Feed innovation deserves particular attention because it sits at the heart of aquaculture sustainability. Feed represents the largest operational cost for most fish farmers and remains heavily dependent on globally traded raw materials whose availability and prices are increasingly affected by geopolitical instability, climate change and competing demands from other sectors. Developing alternative ingredients – whether from fisheries co-products, insects, algae or other circular bioeconomy resources – is therefore not simply a scientific exercise. It is an investment in food security, resource efficiency and the long-term resilience of aquaculture itself.
A missed opportunity
The success of these projects demonstrates what targeted investment in innovation can achieve. Unfortunately, they also remind me of an opportunity that never materialised.
Alongside these research initiatives, a proposal was developed specifically to support the growth of Portuguese aquaculture through investment in production infrastructure. It brought together many of the country’s key stakeholders from industry, research and public institutions. However, during the transition between the first and second stages of the funding process, aquaculture infrastructure was ultimately deemed ineligible for PRR support. The project never moved beyond the proposal stage, despite the considerable effort invested and the broad consensus around its strategic importance.
This decision remains difficult to reconcile with the realities of the sector. According to ‘The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture’ (FAO, 2026), aquaculture now supplies 59 percent of all aquatic animal foods destined for human consumption worldwide. Portugal, however, continues to rely predominantly on capture fisheries, with aquaculture accounting for only around 10 percent of total fisheries and aquaculture production. At the same time, Portuguese consumers eat approximately 55 kg of aquatic products per person each year – well above the European average – while almost 60 percent of domestic consumption depends on imports.
These figures point to an obvious conclusion. Expanding domestic aquaculture is not simply a matter of increasing production; it is an opportunity to strengthen food security, reduce import dependency, create qualified employment in coastal regions, stimulate innovation and support the transition towards a more circular and sustainable blue economy. Research and innovation are essential, but without investment in production capacity and infrastructure, many promising scientific advances will struggle to reach the market and deliver their full impact.
The opportunity to support that particular project through RRF Facility has passed. Yet the ambition that inspired it has not. Across Portugal, researchers, companies and producers remain committed to building a stronger, more innovative and more sustainable aquaculture sector. As Europe prepares the next generation of funding programmes, I hope policymakers recognise that aquaculture is not simply another economic activity competing for resources. It is an essential contributor to food security, climate resilience and the sustainable blue economy.
If Europe is serious about strengthening resilient food systems, then aquaculture – and the innovation that underpins it, including aquafeed development – cannot remain an afterthought. It must become part of the solution.
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