Horizon Europe Mission Ocean: Circularity of Seafood Supply Chain (2027)
Enriched EU · Found: 2026-03-10 20:40
Circularity of seafood supply chain. IA, EUR 30.9M budget, EUR 7.2-7.7M per project. Opens Feb 2027, deadline Sep 2027.
Funding Details
- Funder
- European Commission — Horizon Europe, Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters
- Funding Goal
- Demonstrate innovative circular economy solutions in seafood supply chains (fisheries and aquaculture by-product valorisation, waste reduction, sustainable feed alternatives) to improve resource efficiency and generate local socio-economic benefits.
- Funding Amount
- EUR 7.2–7.725 million per project; up to 4 projects; total indicative budget approx. EUR 30.9 million (7.200.000 € – 7.725.000 €)
- Deadline
- 2027-09-21 (Fixed)
- How to Apply
- Full proposal submission via EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Topic opens February 2027. Single-stage call.
- Target Region
- EU sea basins: Atlantic/Arctic, Mediterranean, Baltic/North Sea, or Danube/Black Sea — each project covers one basin.
- Official Page
- https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/HORIZON-MISS-2027-03-OCEAN-02
- Last Checked
- 2026-05-06 11:28
Application Checklist
Eligibility
Project Scope
Required Documents
Constraints
Summary
HORIZON-MISS-2027-03-OCEAN-02 (Circularity of Seafood Supply Chain) is a Horizon Europe Innovation Action under the Restore our Ocean and Waters Mission, with a deadline of 21 September 2027 and a total indicative budget of approximately EUR 30.9 million for up to four projects (EUR 7.2–7.725 million each). The programme targets circular economy applications within the fisheries and aquaculture sectors across European sea basins. Each project must focus on one Mission lighthouse basin: Atlantic/Arctic, Mediterranean, Baltic/North Sea, or Danube/Black Sea. The thematic scope covers circular economy principles applied to seafood supply chains, including: valorisation of by-products and discards (fish sludge, trimmings, viscera, shells, seaweed/algal residues) into high-value compounds for animal feed, food, fertilisers, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, bioplastics, or bio-based packaging; development of sustainable organic feed alternatives (replacing fish meal and fish oil) to support organic aquaculture; and application of Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) or lower-trophic species diversification to reduce environmental pressure. Energy and pharmaceutical applications of by-products are explicitly excluded. Eligible activities include demonstrating technical feasibility and economic viability of innovative solutions in real-world conditions (minimum 3 use cases per project), implementing digital monitoring tools and predictive models to track waste reduction effectiveness, and fostering cross-sector stakeholder collaboration across the full seafood value chain. Proposals must link to relevant Mission Lighthouse CSAs and the Mission Implementation Platform. Applicants must be consortia of at least three organisations from three EU or associated countries. For-profit entities receive 70% co-funding; non-profit organisations receive 100% co-funding. The call aligns with the EU Circular Economy Action Plan, EU Bioeconomy Strategy, EU Algae Initiative, Zero Pollution Action Plan, the European Ocean Pact, and the EU Organic Aquaculture Regulation (EU 2018/848). Non-EU countries with bilateral Horizon Europe arrangements may also participate with their own national funding. Projects are expected to cooperate with HORIZON-CL6-2027-01-CIRCBIO-11 and the Circular Biobased Europe JU. Target beneficiaries include local fishing communities, aquaculture enterprises, SMEs in seafood processing, and research organisations working on blue bioeconomy innovation. The call is forthcoming (opens February 2027), and represents a recurring pattern under the Mission Ocean annual work programme.
Historical Context
This is the 2027 edition of the Mission Ocean seafood value chain topic. A similar topic appeared in 2025 (toolbox for marine plastics) and 2026 (source-to-sea pollution). Annual recurrence is expected under the Restore our Ocean and Waters Mission through to 2027.
Why it was added
EU Round 8 EU2: Mission Ocean sustainable fisheries