The 7th Atlantic Stakeholder Platform Conference 2020 (ASPC2020) has celebrated the 2020 Atlantic Project Awards, where SAFER project has been awarded under the ‘Atlantic Ports and Blue Economy’ category. Due to the travel restrictions, the ASPC2020 and the award ceremony have been fully online!

This year, the Atlantic Project Awards sought to identify and showcase projects on the 5 pillars of the revised Atlantic Action plan: 

• Atlantic ports and blue economy

• Blue skills and ocean literacy

• Marine renewable energy

• Healthy ocean and resilient coasts

• International Cooperation in the Atlantic area

The Awards, organized by the Atlantic Strategy Group (ASG) with the help of the Assistance Mechanism for the Atlantic Action Plan, aim to showcase and promote individual winners and highlight the incorporation and scaling up of best practices at regional, national, European and international level.

Jose Manuel San Emeterio, SAFER project lead partner, received the award during the online ceremony. “We are delighted to receive this award and want to thank the Atlantic Stakeholder Platform for it. Also, to Interreg Atlantic Area for their support and specially to the SAFER partnership for their great cooperation and dedication to overcome the challenges faced during the project” he stated.

He also took the opportunity to present the project’s achievements and explained the next steps that will focus on the capitalisation of the project results. They will be put to the disposal of other interested regions with the aim to grow and expand the SAFER network aiming to drive innovation within the seafood sector across the Atlantic.

After the Atlantic Awards ceremony, SAFER project partner Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe – CPMR organized 'A SAFER approach to innovation in aquaculture: How cooperation can support ports to become hubs of the blue economy' workshop. Attendees got an overview of a SAFER approach on innovation in aquaculture and demonstrate how transnational cooperation and a small amount of seed funding can stimulate innovative businesses and play a role in building an innovative port ecosystem to foster a sustainable blue economy. Some SAFER pilots like the ones implemented in Derry and Strabane to support oyster farming were also showcased.