Amadeu Soares, Director of CESAM, participated in the CNN Portugal Summit “The Sea of Opportunities”, held on 28 November 2025 at the Cais Criativo da Costa Nova, in Ílhavo. Organised by CNN Portugal, the event brought together national and international experts to discuss the future of the ocean and Portugal’s strategic role as an Atlantic nation, in a context in which the sea is increasingly seen as a driver of economic, environmental, and geopolitical development.
Portugal has an Exclusive Economic Zone of approximately 1.7 million km²—over 18 times the area of its mainland territory—which reinforces the central importance of the ocean in national development. Throughout the day, the conference addressed topics such as the role of ports as sustainable hubs, defence and security in the Atlantic, the challenges of decarbonisation, and the various dimensions of Portugal’s blue economy, including energy, transport, living resources, and blue biotechnology. The programme featured opening and closing sessions with representatives of the Government and public entities, as well as several roundtables with port authorities, private-sector leaders, and research centres focused on marine and maritime issues.
CESAM was represented in the roundtable “The Blue Economy in Portugal”, where Amadeu Soares emphasised the contribution of scientific research to informing public policies and investment decisions, particularly in risk assessment, the conservation of marine and coastal ecosystems, and the reconciliation of these goals with the diverse stakeholders of the blue economy. He also highlighted the promotion of sustainable resource-use models. As a Research Unit with the status of Associate Laboratory, CESAM reinforced, through this intervention, its role as a reference partner for companies and State institutions in the transition towards a competitive and resilient blue economy aligned with climate-neutrality objectives.
Holding the Summit in Ílhavo—a territory with a strong maritime identity and historical links to fisheries and nautical activities—added a local and regional dimension to the debate on the major global challenges facing the ocean. CESAM’s participation contributed to bringing science closer to public discussion on the sea and highlighted the importance of the knowledge produced at the University of Aveiro in creating new opportunities for Portugal in the Atlantic. Amadeu Soares also noted the partnership between CESAM and IPMA, which includes strengthening the capacities of IPMA’s Aveiro Delegation and CESAM’s participation in SNMB (the National Bivalve Mollusc Monitoring System) within the area covered by this Delegation. He further highlighted the provision of a new analytical virus-testing service aimed at regional and national aquaculture producers, contributing to a sustainable, knowledge-based blue economy.