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Bivalve production, driven by the growing demand for food, is of significant socio-economic importance to many coastal regions. However, challenges such as harmful algal blooms (HABs) that produce toxins can affect food safety.

The MultiALIVE project, funded by FCT (State Budget) and the Portugal 2030 programme (ERDF), aims to develop models to predict HABs in offshore aquaculture systems and anticipate contamination in order to optimise production. To achieve this, the project will integrate multiple data sources, including field data collected through sampling campaigns and continuous monitoring probes, as well as satellite data and numerical and statistical models.

Launched in January 2026 and with a planned duration of three years, the project is led by CIMA – University of Algarve and brings together partners IPMA, S2AQUAcoLAB, IST-ID and NOVA.ID.FCT. An important stage of the project is now underway with the launch of sampling campaigns off the coast of Sagres, near an offshore mussel aquaculture site. The campaign took place during a period of toxin occurrence recorded by IPMA.

Photo by Susan Hatfield, edited by S2AQUA.