Innovative Diets for High Quality Bivalve Aquaculture

The SHELLBLOOM project aims to develop four innovative standardized microalgae-based diets to support bivalve nutrition across the aquaculture value chain and address the needs of the bivalve aquaculture sector. These diets are specifically designed for different developmental stages, including NutriHealth for broodstock, BabyDiet for larvae, PearlDiet for juveniles and finishing phases, and DepuraShell for depuration.

By addressing the specific nutritional requirements of each life stage, SHELLBLOOM contributes to the cultivation of healthy organisms and adds value to the aquaculture of economically important bivalve species. Through the integration of optimized microalgae-based nutrition and probiotic strategies, the project enhances production efficiency, sustainability, and overall performance in hatcheries and depuration units.

ACRONYM:

SHELLBLOOM

PROJECT CODE:

COMPETE2030-FEDER-01193100
LISBOA2030-FEDER-01193100
ALGARVE-FEDER-01193100

PROGRAM/CALL:

MPr-2023-7 – SIID – I&D Empresarial – Copromoção – Outros Territórios

STATUS:

ACTIVE

START - END DATE:

01/01/2025 – 31/12/2027

Leader Institution:

NECTON – COMPANHIA PORTUGUESA DE CULTURAS MARINHAS S.A.

ACRONYM:

SHELLBLOOM

PROJECT CODE:

COMPETE2030-FEDER-01193100

LISBOA2030-FEDER-01193100

ALGARVE-FEDER-01193100

PROGRAM/CALL:

MPr-2023-7 – SIID – I&D Empresarial – Copromoção – Outros Territórios

STATUS:

ACTIVE

START - END DATE:

01/01/2025 – 31/12/2027

Leader Institution:

NECTON – COMPANHIA PORTUGUESA DE CULTURAS MARINHAS S.A.

Project Outputs and Product development

NutriHealth

Commercial microalgae combined with probiotics for the broodstock conditioning.

BabyDiet

Sterilized liquid concentrate of commercial microalgae for bivalve larvae.

PearlDiet

Microencapsulated commercial microalgae for juvenile nutrition and adult grow-out and/or enhancement.

DepuraShell

Sterilized liquid microalgae-based concentrate for bivalve nutrition in ancillary rooms and/or depuration units.

OUR MISSION

Develop microalgae commercial diets to promote a more sustainable, productive, and disease-resilient shellfish aquaculture value chain.

OUR TEAM EXPERTISE

Necton S.A.
Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA)
Aquanostra, Lda. (AN)
Oceano Fresco, S.A. (OF)
Polytechnic University of Leiria (IPL)
University of Algarve (UALG)
University of Aveiro (UA)

The Team

Necton is the oldest company in Europe producing and selling microalgae and, since 2023, is one of the biggest. Since 1997 the company has acquired an extensive scientific, technological, and business know-how in aquaculture sector, but also in microalgae species-specific research, microbiomes, production technologies, and industrial methods for harvesting and processing. The product development in Necton is focused on pragmatic solutions to solve the challenges hatchery managers face nowadays. These objectives are developed through a strong R&D activity, encompassing more than 30 national and European-funded research projects over the years, towards sustainable product innovation. In recent years, R&D projects resulted in 6 innovative products for aquaculture and zebrafish already on the market. The company is considered a pioneer in technology and product development, and it has long been used as a commercial benchmark for newcomers. Necton is one of the European leaders in Microalgae Biotechnology.