Acronym DEPURD
Category
Fisheries
Title Monitoring and decontamination systems for the sustainable exploitation of bivalve molluscs on the portuguese coast Programme Nat. Programme (supported by ESIF)
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source National-European Coordinator Amadeu Soares Coordinator email NA
Coordinator institution
UA - University of Aveiro (Portugal)
Institutions involved
CESAM - Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (Portugal) ,
GEOBIOTEC - Geobiosciences, Geoengineering and Geotechnologies (Portugal) ,
Start year 2021 End year 2023 Funding (€) € 426,959 Website https://www.cesam-la.pt/projetos/depurd-sistemas-de-monitorizacao-e-descontaminacao-para-a-exploracao-sustentavel-de-moluscos-bivalves-na-costa-portuguesa-2/ Summary The consumption of bivalves may pose a risk to public health. The legislation requires the classification of production areas and their regular monitoring, in order to ensure the health of the bivalves. The classification of these zones (A, B, C or D) is based on fecal microbiological contamination (Escherichia coli content and the presence or absence of Salmonella sp.) and toxic metal content (namely mercury, lead and cadmium). The most alarming areas are class C and D: the commercialization of bivalves produced or captured in C zones (not intended for the processing industry) necessarily requires translocation of the bivalves to A zones, a process that is not economically viable; The harvesting of bivalves in D zones is prohibited by law. However, these classification criteria may underestimate the risk that bivalves may pose to public health, because the presence of other contaminants is not assessed. On the other hand, no efforts have been made, nor the necessary synergies created between professionals in the sector and research centers and units, in order to improve existing debugging processes, which are in some aspects obsolete. In this sense, the University of Aveiro has developed, together with professionals in the sector and with the support of the Mar2020 Program, projects that aim to optimize the purification of bivalve molluscs. Some results obtained recently exceeded expectations, having changed the paradigm of bivalve purification, as it was possible to purify bivalves from zones C in 24 hours. These results allowed us to establish more ambitious objectives, based on the recently acquired knowledge. Thus, the DepurD project's general objectives are to develop methodologies and optimize processes that allow the detoxification and purification of bivalves, investigating in depth the presence of microbiological and chemical contaminants, persistent and emerging, particularly in class C and D areas, also modeling a system that is capable of determining, through artificial intelligence techniques and collection of parameters in real time, reliable indicators on the quality of live bivalve molluscs for human consumption. The studies will focus on 2 species with commercial value (Ruditapes decussatus and R. philippinarum) from the Ria de Aveiro, Lagoa de Óbidos, Tagus Estuary, Sado Estuary and Ria Formosa.
Keywords
Grooved carpet shell;
Food safety;
Bivalve;
Shellfish;
Manila clam;
Mollusc;
Toxic substances;
Marine Region
38
Portuguese Waters (27.IXa,27.IXb)
1
Marine Region Map
