The BalastIN project aims to protect the Adriatic Sea from the spread of invasive, alien and potentially hazardous organisms carried in ship ballast water. 

The biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea is under increasing threat from legacy and emerging contaminants, marine litter, noise and light pollution, invasive species and habitat destruction -all of which are driven by growing human activity and intensified by climate change.

In response to this challenge, MIRAMAR is bringing together fragmented knowledge to develop an integrated, cross-border approach to managing multiple environmental stressors. The project aims to generate robust, evidence-based insights to support long-term ecological stability and shared Mediterranean priorities.

The MuMiFaST project gathers European expertise on the value chain related to undersized non-uniform mussel biomass compared to mussels produced for human consumption. As either a new industry utilizing undersized mussels, or as one focused on maximizing production of heterogeneous mussel biomass, this marine bioresource can be produced sustainably, and exhibits promise in use as a high quality animal feed and in nutritious value-added food products. The primary needs for innovation in this industry are related to post-harvest preprocessing and processing of large volumes of heterogeneous mussels to a quality standard suitable for the aquaculture feeds industry. In this project the partners will develop advancements in the supply system of blue bioeconomy value chains of mitigation mussels between TRL3-6, providing proof of concept of new perspectives on waste reduction and utilization of the entire biomass towards production of highly quality ingredients for the aquaculture feed industry. Application of this undersized mussel model in a wider European context will be explored through the partner organizations here and broad stakeholder engagement.

1/ to enhance CC adaptation capacity in coastal areas developing homogeneous and comparable data

2/ to improve knowledge, capacity and cooperation on climate change observing and modeling systems

3/ to develop advanced information system, tools and indicators for optimal CC adaptation planning 

The general objective of the project is to implement concrete and joint interventions that allow to address the phenomenon of marine Litter from different points of view and methods of intervention. The project therefore puts into effect concrete actions of monitoring, management, prevention and removal of the marine litter without neglecting the normative aspect within which these actions are framed. Finally, it proposes innovative and experimental actions aimed at treating plastic waste in a circular economy perspective.