Turning Jellyfish Into Opportunities For Fishing And Science

Fed up pinch worrying astir jellyfish each clip you spell for a swim? A technological task successful nan Costa Blanca is looking to move them from a summertime nuisance into a valuable root of business collagen – while offering caller business opportunities for section fishermen.

The Catholic University of Valencia’s Institute for Environment and Marine Science Research (IMEDMAR-UCV) is starring nan “Jellyfish Collagen” (COLMED) project, an innovative Mediterranean inaugural successful nan section of bluish biotechnology. The sportfishing guilds of Moraira and Javea, some successful nan Marina Alta area, are cardinal partners.

Launched successful 2024 and group to tally until 2026, COLMED focuses connected promoting nan sustainable usage of jellyfish – peculiarly tube jellyfish (Rhizostoma pulmo) and nan fried ovum jellyfish (Cotylorhiza tuberculata), some communal successful Valencian waters – arsenic a root of collagen for biomedical applications.

From problem to resource

The task intends to:

Diversify income for small-scale fishermen by giving worth to jellyfish caught accidentally.

Set up a web for extracting, storing and processing jellyfish utilizing biotechnological methods.

Raise nationalist consciousness astir nan imaginable uses of these creatures and nan value of protecting nan marine environment.

The attack is successful statement pinch information system principles and nan extremity of zero waste.

The Moraira and Javea sportfishing guilds play a important domiciled by collecting and storing jellyfish that go entangled successful their nets during normal sportfishing activity. This transforms an obstacle – jellyfish blooms – into a usable resource. Fishermen person training to guarantee nan value of nan worldly earlier it is sent for processing. Importantly, location is nary targeted sportfishing of jellyfish; nan task makes usage of bycatch that would different beryllium discarded.

Socioeconomic and biology benefits

The inaugural offers respective advantages:

Support for section sportfishing communities done economical diversification without abandoning accepted fishing.

Reduced operational costs and clip losses, arsenic dealing pinch jellyfish successful nets is simply a recurring problem during blooms.

Potential applications successful biomedicine and cosmetics, arsenic jellyfish collagen is highly biocompatible and has debased immunogenicity – perfect for nutraceutical and cosmeceutical products.

Changing life cycles

Researchers person recovered that these jellyfish type are nary longer only coming successful summer. Their big shape now stretches from April to November, a alteration linked to warmer seas and different biology factors. COLMED collaborates pinch national subject platforms specified arsenic Observadores del Mar and nan Medusa Alert Project to amended monitoring of jellyfish populations successful nan Valencian Community and Catalonia.

Funding and partners

The task is portion of nan Pleamar Programme of nan Fundación Biodiversidad, nether nan Ministry for Ecological Transition, and is supported by nan European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF). Partners see nan Spanish National Research Council’s Institute of Marine Sciences (CSIC), nan University of Oviedo and different sportfishing guilds successful Catalonia.

COLMED shows really technological invention tin look from section initiatives, involving coastal communities straight successful nan process. By turning nan expanding beingness of jellyfish into a sustainable earthy material, it opens nan doorway to a much resilient, diversified and environmentally respectful sportfishing model.