Create a sustainable tuna industry - huge potential for EU

NT will close the reproductive cycle of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (ABT) in a environment- friendly, land-based recirculating aqua system (RAS) facility and produce ABT juveniles. These will be soldto existing grow-outfacilities in the Mediterranean Sea - their production to date fully
depends on wild catch from the Mediterranean Sea. Tuna is the most appreciated seafood item in the EU with 3.14kg consumed per capita and year. Global market volume is EUR 36 bn. The whole market is based on unsustainable wild catch, as reproduction in aquaculture has not yet been achievedat commercial scale. We have entered into a cooperation agreement with Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and other industry players to allow consumers an informed choice for our sustainable product. In this 2 year project, we will: Scale and adapt the existing technology for land-based ABT reproduction to industrial scale in cooperation with the Centro Nacional Instituto Español de Oceanografia (IEO-CSIC) and Seafarming Systems AS. Develop a breeding program and a protocol for infertile fish with Wageningen Livestock Research and IEO-CSIC. Prepare marketing and sales of the product and achieve ASC certification for the product. Start construction of the world`s first industrial-scale ABT production facility to provide certified sustainably produced ABT juveniles to existing grow-outfarms in the Mediterranean Sea.

Next Tuna: Creating a Sustainable Tuna Industry – will create the first sustainable European source of tuna by reproducing Atlantic Bluefin Tuna in a land-based, eco-friendly recirculating aquaculture system. The project will contribute to the preservation of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna and more widely, protect the wildlife of our oceans and seas. Project Consortium: Next Tuna GmbH (Germany), The Spanish Institute of Oceanography (Spain), Wageningen Livestock Research (The Netherlands) and Seafarming System AS (Norway) Dr. Paul-Daniel Sindilariu, Co-Founder of Next Tuna, said: “We want to take the great progress made in Atlantic Bluefin Tuna reproduction research to the final step of commercialization. We will revive the European tuna industry and provide healthy, sustainably produced Atlantic Bluefin Tuna to European consumers. We thank EIT Food for sharing and supporting our vision – let’s get to work!”

www.nexttuna.com