GAIKER Strives for the Protection and Restoration of Marine Ecosystems

The European project TRANSEATION will develop and demonstrate the effectiveness of hybrid blue-grey infrastructures in marine and coastal areas.

The GAIKER Technology Centre, a member of the Basque Research & Technology Alliance, BRTA, is participating in the European project TRANSEATION, whose ultimate aim is to protect and restore the health of marine ecosystems by combining solutions based on nature, social participation and digitalisation.

This research aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of hybrid marine infrastructures combining nature-based solutions (NBS) as a transformative means to preserve marine biodiversity and ecosystem services, while addressing key societal challenges through the implementation of three use cases:

• offshore wind platforms,
• coastal protection infrastructure, and
• aquaculture infrastructure.

Natured Based Solutions (NbS) for Aquaculture

GAIKER is participating in the development of low trophic level aquaculture infrastructures.

In this demonstrator, led by the AZTI Research Centre and in collaboration with the company ITSASKORDA, nature-based solutions for the European aquaculture sector will be implemented through the development of bio-based compounds, technical monitoring of catchment and cultivation systems while in use, the study of compostability, the recycling of biological ropes, and the evaluation of environmental impact.

Image 1. Biobased ropes

Through this work, GAIKER seeks to consolidate its position in the field of sustainable and bio-based materials, in particular, in new applications with potential demand for the elimination of conventional plastic materials.

It also wants to broaden the scope of the results obtained in projects it has previously carried out.

A Horizon 2020 Project to Boost Progress in Ecosystems Management

Driven by the EU Commission and led by the Centro Tecnológico Naval y del Mar (CTN), this research has a duration of 3 years (2024-2027) and involves a network of sixteen partners and collaborators, including research centres, industrial companies and environmental management organisations.

As part of the EU’s Horizon 2020 framework programme, the TRANSEATION project represents a significant advance in ecosystem management through the development and application of hybrid blue-grey infrastructures in marine and coastal areas.