On 16–17 June 2026, the SMART4SEA consortium gathered in Dublin, Ireland, for its Biannual Consortium Meeting, hosted by University College Dublin (UCD). The meeting brought together project partners from Spain, Portugal, France and Ireland to review the progress made since the Kick-off Meeting and coordinate the next phases of the project.
Over two days, each work package presented its latest developments and discussed priorities for the months ahead. A key focus was placed on strengthening collaboration between partners to ensure that the project’s scientific, technical and communication activities continue to progress in a coordinated way.
Significant progress has already been achieved within Work Package 1, dedicated to environmental traceability. Partners reviewed the latest developments of the SMART4SEA digital platform, including vessel registration and data management functionalities, as well as ongoing work on the environmental assessment framework and the Plastic Footprint methodology. Discussions also highlighted the challenges associated with collecting and integrating data from fisheries operating with different levels of digitalisation, while identifying opportunities for closer collaboration between partners on data collection and environmental modelling.
Within Work Package 2, partners presented the completion of the Co-creation Guide for Tool Development, which will provide a common methodology for the stakeholder focus groups planned in Portugal, Spain, France and Ireland. These activities, scheduled to begin in September, will help better understand stakeholder expectations regarding environmental traceability and will directly contribute to defining the requirements of the SMART4SEA platform.
Progress in Work Package 3 focused on several key sustainability topics. Partners shared updates on the assessment of marine plastic pollution, the development of methodologies to analyse microplastics in seafood products, the modelling of plastic flows, and the identification of social sustainability indicators for the fisheries sector. Discussions also addressed the challenges of data availability and comparability, while reinforcing collaboration across work packages to support future analyses.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to review the achievements of Work Package 4. Since the project’s launch, SMART4SEA has established its visual identity, launched its website, completed its Communication and Dissemination Plan, and maintained a regular flow of news and LinkedIn publications. Looking ahead, partners discussed upcoming newsletters, scientific publications, participation in conferences and the organisation of future stakeholder webinars to further increase the project’s visibility and engagement.
Beyond the technical discussions, the consortium agreed on several priorities for the coming months: continuing the development of the SMART4SEA platform, improving environmental data collection and integration, advancing the Plastic Footprint methodology, launching stakeholder focus groups across the four participating countries, and maintaining a strong dissemination effort to share project progress with both scientific and sectoral communities.
The Dublin meeting once again demonstrated the value of close collaboration between partners from different disciplines and countries. By combining expertise in digital technologies, environmental assessment, fisheries and stakeholder engagement, the consortium continues to move towards its common ambition: improving environmental traceability and supporting a more transparent and sustainable seafood value chain across the Atlantic Area.
The next opportunity for the consortium to meet will be at the end of the year in Lisbon, Portugal, where partners will review the next project milestones and continue shaping the future of SMART4SEA.
