Circularity of seafood supply chain

HORIZON-MISS funds Horizon Europe Innovation Actions to demonstrate circular economy solutions in fisheries and aquaculture supporting the Restore our Ocean and Waters Mission, with a total indicative budget of €30.9 million and an expected EU contribution of €7.2–€7.725 millionper project for around four grants. The single-stage call opens 9 February 2027 and closes 21 September 2027 at 17:00 Brussels time, and projects must target TRL 6–8 by completion and demonstrate at least three real-condition use cases in one specified Mission lighthouse basin. Eligible consortia are legal entities from EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries following standard Horizon Europe IA rules, and projects must implement digital monitoring tools, ensure stakeholder co-creation across the seafood supply chain, and respect biodiversity and animal welfare requirements. Proposed activities should focus on by-product valorisation into non-pharmaceutical products or innovative organic feed alternatives, exclude energy and pharmaceutical applications, and demonstrate technical feasibility, economic viability and scaling potential.

Circularity of seafood supply chain — Horizon Europe (Restore our Ocean and Waters Mission)

What it funds

Scope summary

Innovation actions to test and demonstrate solutions that improve circularity in fisheries and/or aquaculture value chains (including seaweeds and algae). Examples: valorisation of by-products and discards into high-value non-pharmaceutical products, organic alternative feed ingredients, digital monitoring and predictive tools for waste and pollution reduction, IMTA and low-trophic diversification. Projects must demonstrate technical feasibility, economic viability and socio-economic benefits, show potential to scale and respect biodiversity and organic aquaculture rules.

Target outcomes:Reduced waste and by-products, higher valorisation of seafood side-streams, lowered barriers to circular practices, improved competitiveness and measurable local socio-economic benefits ¹.

Who can apply

Consortia of legal entities eligible under Horizon Europe (EU Member States and Associated Countries rules apply). Projects should involve cross-sector stakeholders across the seafood value chain (producers, processors, technology providers, researchers) and foster early stakeholder engagement. Check Annex B of the Work Programme for full eligibility.

Budget and size

Topic identifier HORIZON-MISS. Indicative call budget: €30,900,000. Expected EU contribution per project: €7,200,000 to €7,725,000. Indicative number of grants: 4.

Key administrative facts

1. 1Call type: Horizon Europe — Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA), HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based (HORIZON-AG).
2. 2Opening date: 09 February 2027; Deadline: 21 September 2027, 17:00 Brussels time.
3. 3Projects should target TRL 6–8 by project end and address a single Mission lighthouse basin (Atlantic & Arctic, Mediterranean, Baltic & North Sea, or Danube including Black Sea).

Proposals must demonstrate at least three real-world use cases, implement digital monitoring tools where relevant, and coordinate with Mission platforms and relevant EU projects/partnerships (e.g. CBE Joint Undertaking, Sustainable Blue Economy partnership, AQUASERV).

Footnotes

1. 1Full topic description, conditions, eligibility and application templates are in the Horizon Europe Work Programme and on the Funding & Tenders Portal: Topic page.

Circularity of seafood supply chain — HORIZON-MISS-2027-03-OCEAN-02

Programme: Supporting the implementation of the Restore our Ocean and Waters Mission (HORIZON-MISS-2027-03). Type of action: HORIZON-IA Innovation Actions. Type of MGA: HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG]. Planned opening date: 09 February 2027. Deadline: 21 September 2027, 17:00:00 Brussels time. Deadline model: single-stage. Funding and Tenders Portal topic page: Circularity of seafood supply chain EU Funding & Tenders Portal topic page. Work Programme reference: Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027 Part 12 — Missions (section HORIZON-MISS) Work Programme 2026-2027 — Missions.

Expected outcomes

• Measurable improvements in competitiveness and environmental sustainability of EU fisheries and/or aquaculture via circular economy integration.
• Minimised and better managed waste from fisheries/aquaculture; improved reutilisation and reduction of by-products.
• Reduced barriers to circularity in seafood chains, including costs of advanced processing, regulatory hurdles, weak cross-chain collaboration, and limited market demand/acceptance.
• Socio-economic benefits for local stakeholders and communities in the seafood processing chain, including jobs, business opportunities and skills uplift.

Scope and technical focus

Projects must support Mission objective 2 (prevent and eliminate pollution of marine and freshwaters) and Mission objective 3 (sustainable, carbon-neutral and circular blue economy) under the Restore our Ocean and Waters Mission. Seafood includes marine or freshwater edible organisms, seaweeds and algae. Activities are aligned with the Circular Economy Action Plan, EU Bioeconomy Strategy, EU Algae Initiative, EU Action Plan Towards Zero Pollution, the European Ocean Pact, and the Mission’s blue economy objectives.

• Demonstrate technical feasibility, economic viability and effectiveness of innovative circular solutions in fisheries and/or aquaculture value chains, delivering environmental and socio-economic benefits.
• Address at least one of the following: 1) Innovative methods and techniques to extract high-value compounds and valorise by-products and unavoidable discards/waste (e.g. fish sludge, manure, trimmings, viscera, shells, seaweed/algal residues) into inputs for sectors such as animal feed, food, fertilisers, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, biotech, bioplastics and bio-based packaging. Applications in alternative energy sources or pharmaceuticals are explicitly excluded. 2) Innovative organic feed ingredients replacing fish meal and fish oil, supporting good growth and feed conversion ratio tailored to species needs, enabling sustainable future organic aquaculture development in Europe.
• Demonstrate effectiveness, feasibility and efficiency in real conditions with at least three use cases per project.
• Implement digital tools and predictive models to monitor pollution and improve waste management from aquaculture and/or fisheries, and to measure circularity impacts (e.g., waste reduction).
• Each proposal must cover only one Mission lighthouse basin and tailor activities to basin-specific needs: 1) Atlantic and Arctic sea basin; 2) Mediterranean Sea basin; 3) Baltic and North Sea basin; or 4) Danube River basin including the Black Sea.
• Co-create solutions by involving the full seafood supply chain (producers, processing industries, technology providers, researchers) with early stakeholder engagement; foster cross-sectoral cooperation; ensure potential for scale-up and replication.
• Ensure actions respect and benefit ecosystem health and biodiversity and prioritise animal health and welfare; comply with principles and objectives of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 on organic production for organic aquaculture Regulation (EU) 2018/848 (EUR-Lex).
• Build on and cooperate with relevant EMFAF, Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects; coordinate with HORIZON-CL6-2027-01-CIRCBIO-11; liaise with the Circular Biobased Europe Joint Undertaking CBE JU projects and the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership SBE Partnership projects.
• Consider services of European Research Infrastructures relevant to fisheries and aquaculture (e.g., AQUASERV) AQUASERV research infrastructure.
• Establish operational links with relevant Lighthouse CSAs and the Mission Implementation Platform to support progress tracking and coordination in the selected basin.

Technology readiness:Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6–8 by the end of the project (system/subsystem demonstration in relevant/operational environments).

Budget and funding intensity

• Total indicative budget for this topic: €30.90 million.
• Expected EU contribution per project: €7.20 million to €7.725 million.
• Indicative number of grants: 4.
• Action type: Innovation Action (IA). Standard Horizon Europe IA funding rate: up to 70% of eligible costs for for-profit entities; up to 100% for non-profit legal entities, as per Horizon Europe General Annexes.

Eligibility, consortium, and geographic coverage

• Eligibility of countries: As described in Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Includes EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries; certain non-associated third countries may participate without EU funding unless specific provisions exist in the Programme Guide.
• Consortium: Horizon Europe standard minimum for IA applies. At least three independent legal entities, each established in a different EU Member State or Associated Country. Strongly encouraged to include the full seafood value chain and basin-relevant stakeholders.
• Portfolio balance criterion: To ensure coverage of all four Mission basins, at least the highest-ranked proposal per basin that passes thresholds will be funded, subject to overall ranking and thresholds.

Open science, data, and legal-financial setup

• Beneficiaries collecting in-situ data and marine observations must make them openly available through EMODnet, based on FAIR data principles.
• HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based model grant agreement applies. Financial and operational capacity, exclusion and other conditions per General Annexes.
• Proposal admissibility, page limits and layout: defined in Annex A and E and the Application Form Part B in the Submission System.

What the project should deliver and demonstrate

• At least three real-world use cases per project in the selected basin demonstrating improved circularity and sustainability outcomes in fisheries and/or aquaculture.
• Validated methods for by-product valorisation into higher-value applications in permitted downstream sectors (animal feed, food, fertilisers, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, biotech, bioplastics, bio-based packaging) with quantifiable environmental and socio-economic impacts.
• Innovative organic feed ingredients replacing fish meal/oil, achieving robust species-specific growth and feed conversion performance consistent with organic aquaculture development pathways.
• Operational digital monitoring and predictive tools that quantify waste streams, track pollution indicators, and evidence waste reduction and circularity gains across the chain.
• Stakeholder engagement plans and co-creation processes across producers, processors, technology providers and researchers; demonstrated local skills enhancement and job creation.
• Scalability and replication pathways beyond project sites; articulation of investment cases and regulatory pathways for market deployment.
• Compliance with ecosystem health and biodiversity protection, and robust animal health and welfare safeguards.

Positive and excluded application domains

• Positive domains: by-product extraction and fractionation technologies; protein, lipid, collagen, chitin/chitosan, bioactive compounds; bio-based materials and packaging; organic aquafeed ingredients from fisheries bycatch, agricultural side-streams, low-trophic species and algae; integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA); digital twins/models for waste and pollution management; circular processing and logistics.
• Explicit exclusions: applications in alternative energy sources and pharmaceuticals under this topic.

Lighthouse basin focus

Proposals must choose exactly one Mission lighthouse basin and tailor activities to its regional specificities: 1) Atlantic and Arctic; 2) Mediterranean; 3) Baltic and North Sea; 4) Danube River basin including Black Sea. Member States/Associated Countries are considered part of a basin if they have a coast/riverbank or contain river basins flowing into the relevant sea.

Synergies and coordination

• Cooperate and exchange with EMFAF/H2020/HE projects; coordinate with projects funded under HORIZON-CL6-2027-01-CIRCBIO-11.
• Engage with Circular Biobased Europe Joint Undertaking projects CBE JU projects.
• Engage with Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership projects SBE Partnership projects.
• When relevant, use services from European Research Infrastructures (e.g., AQUASERV) AQUASERV research infrastructure.
• Establish operational links with Lighthouse CSAs and the Mission Implementation Platform for progress tracking and activity coordination in the basin.

How to apply and evaluation

• Application type: Open call, single-stage submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
• Templates and guidance: Use the application form available in the Submission System; see examples of standard application forms and the Standard Evaluation Form (HE RIA, IA) in Reference Documents on the Portal.
• Evaluation criteria, scoring and thresholds: per Horizon Europe General Annex D. A basin-balance portfolio condition applies as described above.
• Submission and evaluation processes and indicative timeline: per General Annex F and Online Manual.
• Legal and financial set-up: per General Annex G.

Indicative topic budget positioning within the 2027 Mission call

Categorisation and structured details

Eligible Applicant Types:Startups, SMEs, mid-caps, large enterprises; universities and higher education institutions; research and technology organisations; nonprofit organisations and NGOs; public authorities and agencies; clusters and industry associations; technology providers and equipment manufacturers; aquaculture and fisheries producers and cooperatives; feed and ingredient companies; food, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, biotech, bioplastics and packaging firms; digital and data/AI companies; testbeds, pilot sites and research infrastructures. Participation must comply with Horizon Europe eligibility rules.

Funding Type:Grant (Horizon Europe Innovation Action).

Consortium Requirement:Consortium. Standard Horizon Europe minimum for IA: at least three independent legal entities, each established in a different EU Member State or Associated Country. Strong encouragement to include full seafood value chain stakeholders and basin-relevant actors. Each proposal must focus on one lighthouse basin.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries per General Annex B are eligible for funding. Certain non-associated third countries may participate without EU funding unless special provisions apply (see Horizon Europe Programme Guide). Basin focus must be within one of: Atlantic and Arctic, Mediterranean, Baltic and North Sea, or Danube River basin including the Black Sea.

Target Sector:Blue economy; fisheries and aquaculture; circular economy and bioeconomy; waste management and valorisation; bioproducts and biomaterials; animal nutrition and feeds; food and ingredients; nutraceuticals and cosmetics; bioplastics and bio-based packaging; digital tools, data, and predictive modelling for pollution and waste; innovation and demonstration.

Mentioned Countries or Regions:Regions/basins explicitly mentioned: Atlantic and Arctic, Mediterranean, Baltic and North Sea, Danube River basin including the Black Sea. No specific countries are named in the topic text. Geographic eligibility follows EU and Associated Countries per General Annex B.

Project Stage:Demonstration and validation in operational environments, aiming at TRL 6–8 by project end. At least three real-condition use cases are required.

Funding Amount:Expected EU contribution per project: approximately €7.20–€7.725 million. Total topic budget €30.90 million with around four projects expected to be funded.

Application Type:Open call, single-stage submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

Nature of Support:Money. Beneficiaries receive EU grant funding under Horizon Europe IA rules. Additional non-financial collaboration is expected with Lighthouse CSAs and the Mission Implementation Platform.

Application Stages:1 stage (single-stage proposal and evaluation).

Success Rates:Not published for this forthcoming topic. The Work Programme provides budget and expected number of grants but no historical success rate for this specific topic.

Co-funding Requirement:Yes for most for-profit participants. Horizon Europe Innovation Actions typically fund up to 70% of eligible costs for for-profit entities; up to 100% for non-profit legal entities, in line with General Annexes. Projects should also plan matching resources and leverage additional investment for scale-up and replication where relevant.

Templates: Application Form Structure:Use the standard Horizon Europe IA application in the Submission System. Part A is administrative (participant data, budgets, ethics/security questionnaires). Part B typically includes: 1) Excellence: objectives, relation to the scope, methodology and innovation, TRL at start/end, state of the art, and interdisciplinary aspects; 2) Impact: expected outcomes and impacts, KPIs and quantification, measures to maximise impact including dissemination, exploitation and communication, market analysis and business model for circular solutions, scaling and replication plans, regulatory considerations, contribution to Mission objectives and to basin needs; 3) Quality and efficiency of the implementation: work plan with work packages, deliverables and milestones; use case design and demonstration sites; risk assessment and mitigation including regulatory, supply chain, animal welfare and biodiversity risks; consortium capacity and roles across the seafood value chain; resources, budget justification and access to research infrastructures; data management and open science including EMODnet data pathways for in-situ and marine observations; 4) Ethics and security: compliance with animal welfare, environmental protection, and ethics; 5) Letters/commitments: lighthouse links, stakeholder endorsements where applicable. Page limits and layout follow the instructions in Part B of the Application Form as referenced on the Portal.

Key compliance and implementation notes

• Animal health and welfare must be ensured and prioritised. Ecosystem health and biodiversity impacts must be positive.
• Organic aquaculture-related solutions must respect the principles and objectives of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 on organic production.
• Applications in energy or pharmaceuticals are out of scope for valorisation activities under this topic.
• Digital tools should produce measurable indicators for waste reduction and pollution monitoring, supporting FAIR data and open access via EMODnet when relevant.
• Only one lighthouse basin per proposal; align demonstrations to basin-specific conditions and policies.
• At least three real-life use cases per project are mandatory.
• Cooperate with related Horizon and Partnership initiatives to avoid duplication and amplify impact.

General summary

This Horizon Europe Innovation Action funds large-scale demonstration projects that make Europe’s seafood value chains more circular, competitive and sustainable, while delivering measurable environmental and socio-economic benefits in one of the Mission’s lighthouse basins. Projects must prove, in at least three real-world use cases, how innovative solutions reduce and valorise waste and by-products from fisheries and aquaculture, or how organic feed alternatives sustainably replace fish meal and fish oil without compromising species-specific growth and feed conversion. The topic requires robust digital monitoring and predictive models to quantify waste and pollution reductions, strong stakeholder co-creation across the supply chain, clear scale-up and replication pathways, and adherence to ecosystem, biodiversity, and animal welfare safeguards. Pharmaceutical and energy applications are excluded. Activities should reach TRL 6–8 and connect with Mission structures, including Lighthouse CSAs and the Mission Implementation Platform, and coordinate with complementary EU initiatives like the Circular Biobased Europe Joint Undertaking and the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership. Projects selected under this single-stage call typically receive around €7.2–€7.725 millionin EU funding, within a basin-balanced portfolio. Eligible consortia, built under Horizon Europe rules with partners from EU or Associated Countries, should align to General Annexes for funding rates (including co-funding where applicable for for-profits), open science obligations for in-situ marine data via EMODnet, and the standard IA evaluation criteria. Overall, this opportunity aims to operationalise circular economy principles in seafood by unlocking high-value by-product markets, deploying sustainable organic feeds, digitalising waste and pollution management, and strengthening local economies and skills throughout Europe’s blue economy.

Circularity of Seafood Supply Chain - HORIZON-MISS-2027-03-OCEAN-02

This call for proposals under the EU Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030 supports innovative solutions to enhance circular economy principles in the EU fisheries and aquaculture sectors. It aims to improve competitiveness, sustainability, waste management, and socio-economic benefits while addressing Mission objectives on pollution prevention and a sustainable blue economy.

Key Dates and Budget

Planned opening:9 February 2027

Deadline:21 September 2027 at 17:00 Brussels time (single-stage submission)

Total indicative budget:€30.9 million

Expected EU contribution per project:€7.2 million to €7.725 million

Indicative number of grants:4

Expected Outcomes

• Measurable improvements in competitiveness and environmental sustainability of EU fisheries/aquaculture by integrating circular economy principles.
• Minimized and better managed waste/by-products from fisheries/aquaculture with improved reutilization.
• Reduced barriers to circular principles (e.g., processing costs, regulations, collaboration, market demand).
• Measurable socio-economic benefits for local stakeholders in seafood processing chains.

Scope and Objectives

Proposals must demonstrate how activities contribute to Mission Objective 2 (prevent/eliminate pollution) and Objective 3 (sustainable, carbon-neutral, circular blue economy). Focus on improving EU seafood industry competitiveness via optimal resource use and minimal environmental impact. Seafood includes marine/freshwater edible organisms, seaweeds, algae. Relevant to Circular Economy Action Plan, EU Bioeconomy Strategy, EU Algae Initiative, Zero Pollution Action Plan, European Ocean Pact.

Key approaches: waste reduction/management, by-product valorisation for other industries, sustainable practices like IMTA, low-trophic species diversification, innovative organic feeds from bycatch/agriculture/low-trophic species to reduce wild stock dependency.

Mandatory Elements

• Test/demonstrate technical feasibility, economic viability, effectiveness of innovative circular solutions via at least 3 real-condition use cases per project.
• Implement digital tools/predictive models for waste/pollution monitoring to measure circular solution effectiveness.
• Address only one Mission lighthouse basin: 1. Atlantic/Arctic; 2. Mediterranean; 3. Baltic/North Sea; 4. Danube (incl. Black Sea). Tailor to regional specificities.
• Foster cross-sectoral cooperation with seafood supply chain stakeholders (producers, processors, tech providers, researchers). Early stakeholder involvement required.
• Show scaling/replication potential; respect ecosystems, biodiversity, animal health/welfare; comply with EU Organic Regulation 2018/848.
• Achieve TRL 6-8 by project end.

Specific Issues to Address (at least one)

• Innovative methods for extracting high-value compounds from by-products/discards (e.g., sludge, trimmings, viscera, shells, seaweed residues) for animal feed, food, fertilisers, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, biotech, bioplastics, bio-packaging. Exclude energy/pharma applications.
• Innovative organic feed alternatives to fish meal/oil supporting growth/FCR for organic aquaculture.

Eligibility and Who Can Apply

Open to legal entities from EU Member States, Associated Countries (see General Annex B). Type of Action: HORIZON-IA (Innovation Actions). Proposals must follow standard Horizon Europe eligibility (Annexes A-E). Balanced portfolio across 4 basins: at least one highest-ranked proposal per basin if thresholds met.

Encouraged: cross-sectoral consortia with all seafood chain actors; cooperation with EMFAF/H2020/HE projects, HORIZON-CL6-2027-01-CIRCBIO-11, CBE JU CBE Projects, Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership Blue Partnership Projects, ESFRI RIs like AQUASERV AQUASERV. Links to Lighthouse CSAs/Mission Implementation Platform.

Evaluation Criteria

Standard for HORIZON-IA: Excellence, Impact, Implementation (Annex D). Thresholds apply; ranking with basin balance.

Funding Rates and Duration

Funding rate:Up to 70% of eligible costs for Innovation Actions (standard HE rate).

Expected duration:Typically 48-60 months to reach TRL 6-8.

Application and Documents

Single-stage submission via Funding & Tenders Portal. Use templates from Submission System. Key docs: HE Work Programme 2026-2027 (Missions), General Annexes, MGA (HORIZON-AG). Official topic page: EU Funding Portal. Work Programme PDF: HE WP 2026-2027. Organic Reg: Reg 2018/848.

Additional Requirements

• Open science: In-situ/marine data via EMODnet (FAIR principles).
• No Chinese universities linked to MIIT.
• Partner Search available on Portal.

Primary source: EU Topic Details. ¹

Footnotes

1. 1All details from official EU Funding & Tenders Portal and Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027.