Marine Biotechnology securing Environmental Health

Marine Biotechnology is playing an increasingly important role in the protection and management of the marine environment. Achievements in this field have been less substantial than expected during the last decade and most of the applications routinely used nowadays still rely on traditional methods based on chemistry and microbiology. This is mainly the result of the complexity of marine ecosystems on one hand, and the gap between results in marine genomic approaches and the development of derived commercial assays and products on the other hand. However, the potential contribution of Marine Biotechnology for environmental applications is enormous and requires urgent attention.

Examples of Marine Biotechnology research for Environmental Health

• Marine derived antifouling strategies
• Marine habitat restoration
• Bioremediation of marine ecossystems
• Biosensing

Research priorities and objectives

Overarching research target:

Development of biotechnological approaches, mechanisms and applications to address key environmental issues.

Key research priorities:

• Develop automated high-resolution biosensing technologies allowing in situ marine environmental monitoring to address coastal water quality, including prediction and detection of HABs and human health hazards;
• Develop cost-effective and non-toxic antifouling technologies combining novel antifouling compounds and surface engineering;
• Consolidate knowledge on DNA-based technologies for organism and population identification and support the development of commercial tools and platforms for routine analysis.