Bring Euro-native clam species from ‘farm to fork’

About this project

<p>As the world population grows, demand for food increases just as much, both in quality and in quantity. Within this context, bivalves which filter-feed on phytoplankton, are the most sustainable source of animal protein. However, few gaps along the value-chain exists that needs to be overcome to increase the shellfish industry standards and to support the production, packaging, and supply of European autochthonous species such as Ruditapes decussatus and Venerupis corrugata.</p> <p>The ATLANTICLAM project aims to bring Euro-native clam species from “farm to fork”, in an integrated, differentiated and consumer-oriented way. The project intends to solve the main obstacles to a wide dissemination and consumption of Euro-native clam species: availability all-year round – addressed by R&amp;D activities in ATI 1; difficulty to match production with market demand – addressed by R&amp;D activities in ATI 2; lack of trust on the source/origin of the clams - addressed by R&amp;D activities in ATI 3; lack of trust on the quality and freshness of the clams - addressed by R&amp;D activities in ATI 4; lack of solutions to increase the in-home consumption of clams - addressed by R&amp;D activities in ATI 5.<br> Thus, the project will achieve the development of: 1) an improved breeding program and production optimization of clam elite stocks; 2) a smart model to predict demand and plan the harvesting and supply chain of European clams; 3) a new QR-code consumer interface, with data about all the product chain and source; 4) new chilled clam line up and new sustainable and innovative packaging; 5) new recipes and commercial concepts.&nbsp;</p> <p>With a consortium between Oceano Fresco, Nofima, Maritech, INL and ESB-UCP, ATLANTICLAM will strengthen both bilateral relations and international cooperation between Portugal and Norway, sharing know-how and disseminating knowledge across borders.</p>

Bilateral cooperation results

Nofima from Norway, the donor project partner, was of utterly importance in the implementation of the project in two relevant stages of the value chain: (i) optimization of production of clam elite stocks; (ii) development of new products and innovative packaging solutions. Concerning the breeding operations, there was close collaboration with Nofima throughout the project, not only in the definition of breeding plans, but also in the development of founder populations for both clams’ species and of genomic tools to improve the selection capabilities. In addition, Nofima shared their expertise and technology on tasks that had not been foreseen. Knowing the arose difficulties with the polychaete infestation at the open sea farm, and having a spectral solution set up for fish, it was carried out a joint study on the application of this technology to clams. Both works will result in an optimised production and in ISI publications that will be available to the scientific community. Beyond this, Nofima has experts in the field of food processing and development of new products, including with other species of bivalves. In this project, this expertise and technologies were applied to the native European species. This knowledge transfer and collaboration resulted in the creation of new products, which allowed diversify the company’s portfolio and reach new markets, and in publications that will be available to the scientific community. The project allowed to solidify the relationship between all Portuguese partners and Nofima at Norway. The bilateral collaboration will be extended beyond the project in both topics addressed

Project partners

• The Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research, Nofima Donor project partner· Norway
• Maritech Systems AS Donor project partner· Norway
• Catholic University of Portugal – School of Biotechnology Project partner· Portugal
• International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory Project partner· Portugal