MPA Europe is a project co-funded by the European Union (EU) that will map a network of locations representative of biodiversity in European seas (Atlantic Exclusive Economic Zones of the EU and its neighbours, and all the Mediterranean, Baltic, and Black seas). This network will indicate where to prioritise placement of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) for biodiversity protection and how Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) can maximise blue carbon benefits. By using a holistic set of biodiversity measures, from species to ecosystems (including habitats), and environmental data including carbon storage, water currents, and climate change velocity models, it will be possible to quantify and map both the present and future connectivity within the proposed MPA network. The multiple scenarios provided will support wider and improved MSP by policy makers, industry, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The inter-disciplinary approach of MPA Europe is supported by a diversity of partners. These include Nord University (Norway), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (Belgium), the Scottish Association for Marine Science (Scotland, UK), the Centre of Marine Sciences (Portugal), the Ocean University of China (China), Science Crunchers (Portugal), the University of the Ryukyus (Japan), Aarhus University (Denmark), and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (England, UK). The partners include experts in marine biology, taxonomy, ecology, oceanography, biogeochemistry, and biogeography, MPA network design, benthic habitat mapping, carbon dynamics, species distribution, climate modelling, and MSP compose the MPA Europe team.

The Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) is leading the delivery of short advanced professional education and entrepreneurship courses within the UK and EU sustainable and restorative food and aquaculture sectors. We lead on two key courses 1: INSPIRE Restorative Aquaculture and 2: Algal Biotechnology for Sustainable Food production. The Inspire Restorative Aquaculture Course encourages talented recruits to create innovative solutions, which increase the productivity and profitability of the aquaculture sector. The course will provide training and theory in seaweed farming, rural social science, finfish, shellfish, algae biology, culturing, growth, molecular and metabolite analysis; entrepreneurial content and support to develop innovative solutions and business propositions for the aquaculture sector; and a final pitch event. The programme also aims to facilitate stakeholder engagement and partnerships through access to academics, leading companies in the industry and startups working to overcome challenges in the aquaculture sector at the live online events. The course is led by The Seaweed Academy at SAMS, UK in partnership with the University of Cambridge and the Polish Academy of Science. The Seaweed Academy is the UK’s only dedicated seaweed industry facility offering a complete package of training, education, and business development, supporting expansion and skills development for the seaweed aquaculture industry. The courses will be in-person at SAMS in Oban in the West Coast Highlands. The aim of the Algal Biotechnology professional development programme is to provide introductory training and theory in algal biology, culturing, growth and biotechnology under laboratory and small scale pilot facilities. The course will also offer insights and examples from an industrial and entrepreneurial perspective, that can help the participants to found or improve their own algal-based business. The delivery of both online and in-person will ensure that new and re-established networks will occur for all delegates across an international sector and attendees. No formal qualifications are required, but attendance is made on the application where you will need to describe your reasons for attending the courses. The course is open to anyone with a Bachelor, MSc or PhD degree or substantial experience within the aquaculture sector or food system, especially those within the EU and EU and EIT Food associated countries. The course is hosted by the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) in partnership with the University of Cambridge Algal Innovation Centre (AIC) (UK), Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB (Germany) and Matis (Iceland).

The Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) is leading the delivery of short advanced professional education and entrepreneurship courses within the UK and EU sustainable and restorative food and aquaculture sectors. We lead on two key courses 1: INSPIRE Restorative Aquaculture and 2: Algal Biotechnology for Sustainable Food production. The Inspire Restorative Aquaculture Course encourages talented recruits to create innovative solutions, which increase the productivity and profitability of the aquaculture sector. The course will provide training and theory in seaweed farming, rural social science, finfish, shellfish, algae biology, culturing, growth, molecular and metabolite analysis; entrepreneurial content and support to develop innovative solutions and business propositions for the aquaculture sector; and a final pitch event. The programme also aims to facilitate stakeholder engagement and partnerships through access to academics, leading companies in the industry and startups working to overcome challenges in the aquaculture sector at the live online events. The course is led by The Seaweed Academy at SAMS, UK in partnership with the University of Cambridge and the Polish Academy of Science. The Seaweed Academy is the UK’s only dedicated seaweed industry facility offering a complete package of training, education, and business development, supporting expansion and skills development for the seaweed aquaculture industry. The courses will be in-person at SAMS in Oban in the West Coast Highlands. The aim of the Algal Biotechnology professional development programme is to provide introductory training and theory in algal biology, culturing, growth and biotechnology under laboratory and small scale pilot facilities. The course will also offer insights and examples from an industrial and entrepreneurial perspective, that can help the participants to found or improve their own algal-based business. The delivery of both online and in-person will ensure that new and re-established networks will occur for all delegates across an international sector and attendees. No formal qualifications are required, but attendance is made on the application where you will need to describe your reasons for attending the courses. The course is open to anyone with a Bachelor, MSc or PhD degree or substantial experience within the aquaculture sector or food system, especially those within the EU and EU and EIT Food associated countries. The course is hosted by the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) in partnership with the University of Cambridge Algal Innovation Centre (AIC) (UK), Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB (Germany) and Matis (Iceland).

We will map the optimal locations for Marine Protected Areas (MPA) in European seas using measures covering the range of biodiversity from species to ecosystems, including habitats. The contribution of these measures to carbon storage will be quantified and mapped. The top 10% and 30% of the area that includes most species, habitats, and ecosystems, and maximises blue carbon benefits, will be prioritised as an MPA network. The geographic scope is the Atlantic Exclusive Economic Zones of the EU and its neighbours, and all of the Mediterranean, Baltic and Black Seas. Feedback from Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) stakeholders in the regional seas on the proposed MPA network and methodology will be reported. A first data-driven classification of ecosystems in European seas will use environmental data from Copernicus and EMODnet. Environmental niche models will map thousands of species and biogenic (fauna and flora structured) habitat ranges and add to existing seabed habitat maps in EMODnet. Analyses of spatial relationships between biodiversity measures and evidence of carbon storage will support the prioritisation analyses. Parallel modelling of current connectivity and the velocity of climate change will map connectivity within the proposed MPA network and how it will accommodate species distribution shifts due to anthropogenic climate change. All data and maps will be freely available through EMODnet, the Ocean Biodiversity Information System, EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity, and the project’s online atlas. The atlas will provide transparency, traceability and enable reproducibility of the results. Itssynthesis willshow stakeholders(MSP, NGO,students, researchers) why areas have been prioritised. The use of decision support software will enable alternative network designs based on stakeholder preferences and could thus support wider MSP beyond the subject and study area.

The seaweed sector is a huge global industry worth over $11billion per year, however it is still in relatively early stages of development in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. The industry in the UK has significant potential to deliver products for UK and international markets, from fresh seaweed for use in gourmet restaurants, to high-end pharmaceuticals, as well as large volume markets such as animal feed. All of this can be done with minimal carbon footprint and very nearly at net zero carbon, using no fresh water and only minimal land-based infrastructure. However, the growth of UK seaweed industry has struggled as a result of high input costs for seeded material (juvenile seaweed), which is traditionally done using a hatchery technique to produce a 1-2mm twine and then wrapped around ropes at a farming site. The issue is that this process can be highly time and labour intensive and therefore expensive both in terms of hatchery and farm deployment. SAMS have been involved in projects to develop an innovative solution to this problem, with a direct-seeding method, whereby the seed is attached straight onto a deployable rope and is held in a gel substrate until it has had time to bind onto the rope. Although this process will be ground breaking for the seaweed sector, the current barriers have been formulating the hydrocolloid gel to bind the seaweed and provide it with required nutrients while it goes through initial growth phases, and also developing a mechanised way of spreading the gel onto the rope substrate. The Binder2020 project will use the world-renowned seaweed expertise at the Scottish Association of Marine Science (SAMS), combined with the UKs leading rope manufacturer and hydrocolloid developer, to address both of these key issues. The hydrocolloid chemistry will be refined through expert input and assessment, and a new technology will be developed -- the Seaweed Binder Solution (SBS) The initial development of the Seaweed Binder Solution (SBS) through Binder 2020 will have an immediate impact for SAMS through knowledge gained. However, it is also hoped that a successful proposal will proceed through Phase 2 to allow further development and enable growth of the sector as well as contributing to recovery from economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.