Portugal’s Economy of the Sea is at a decisive moment. The ability to transform knowledge into innovation and production will determine its future, and aquaculture can establish itself as one of its most promising pillars. As the sustainable production of blue protein becomes increasingly important, the challenge is to create the right conditions to turn this potential into sustained growth, competitiveness and economic value.
The available data helps frame both the scale of the challenge and the opportunity. According to the Portuguese National Statistics Institute (INE), aquaculture sales in Portugal generated around €224 million in 2024, continuing a trend of significant growth in recent years. However, the country remains heavily dependent on external markets: also in 2024, total imports of fisheries-related products reached €2.7 billion, almost double the value of exports, which stood at around €1.45 billion.
Aquaculture should therefore be regarded as a strategic sector for the growth of the Blue Economy and for Portugal’s economic autonomy. Nonetheless, significant structural challenges remain, such as complex licensing processes, limited space for new production units, energy and logistics costs, difficulties in attracting investment, and the need for technological innovation. These are compounded by operational challenges such as feed efficiency, automated biomass assessment, the physical robustness of offshore structures and their effective inspection, remote monitoring, data management, animal health and welfare, and species diversification.
It is in this context that technology takes on a central role. Digitalisation, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things make it possible to develop solutions based on sensors, computer vision, predictive models, traceability, automation, and decision-support systems. These tools are essential to increase productivity, improve sustainability, strengthen operational safety, and enable a more efficient and informed management of aquaculture operations. INESCTEC.OCEAN already has several of these technologies in its portfolio and should play a transformative role in this area, as a producer of knowledge and innovation, as well as a driver of market development, capable of connecting science, technology, industry, and finance.
With this objective in mind, last February the INESCTEC.OCEAN team accompanied the Secretary of State for Fisheries and the Sea, Salvador Malheiro, on a visit to SINTEF Ocean in Trondheim, Norway, at the invitation of the Norwegian Embassy in Portugal. This marked another step in the collaboration between INESC TEC and SINTEF, which leads one of the ecosystems that has most successfully translated science and technology into productive scale for the ocean economy.
The mission focused on research and innovation for aquaculture, including visits to leading partners and demonstrations of technological solutions in real operating environments. It also highlighted the need to create dedicated public funding instruments capable of structurally supporting bilateral collaboration between Portugal and Norway, enabling science to be translated into innovation programmes with continuity, scale and impact for the aquaculture sector.
INESCTEC.OCEAN has also been strengthening its connection to the sector through collaboration with the Portuguese Aquaculture Producers Association (APA), contributing to a closer understanding of the industry’s real needs. This interaction has continued and gained greater momentum at the Business2Sea event, where INESCTEC.OCEAN organised a session dedicated to aquaculture, bringing together SINTEF Ocean, APA, and three leading national producers, promoting direct dialogue between research, technology and operational practice on the ground.
The future of Portuguese aquaculture will be built through greater technological innovation, stronger collaboration, and a greater capacity to transform challenges into scalable solutions. INESCTEC.OCEAN has a fundamental role to play on this path towards a stronger, more competitive and more sustainable Blue Economy.
Vasco Figueiredo Teles, Business Developer at INESCTEC.OCEAN and Senior Manager in Digital Technology at INESC TEC
