Santé Mer International Symposium to be held in Normandy

The Santé Mer International Symposium will be held in Granville (in Lower Normandy, north-western France) for the fourth time on 4–5 October 2007. The event will bring together scientists, manufacturers and producers involved in the development of animal and vegetal marine resources. Ireland will be the 2007 event’s guest of honour.

[ClickPress, Wed Sep 19 2007] The Symposium will be chaired by Professor Michel Mathieu from the Laboratoire de Biologie et Biotechnologies Marine (LBBM / Marine Biology and Biotechnology Laboratory) in Caen (France). Following the spotlight on the Nordic countries in 2005, it is Ireland’s turn to be this year’s guest of honour. Quebec representatives, who first attended the event in 2003 as the Symposium’s special guest nation, will also be attending this year and will be organising theme-based lunches, which will offer an innovative technology exchange for the development of marine biomolecules. The lunches will also enable exchanges with representatives from the Discovery and Application of Marine Active Materials project, which is known as DAMAMNet.

During the event, there will be a round table on waste exploitation with the various countries attending, which include Ireland and Spain, as well as the Canadian province of Quebec. There will also be a dedicated area for business meetings in order to promote individual exchanges between scientists and business representatives that can be expected to generate technological, scientific, industrial and commercial cooperation initiatives.

On the morning of Thursday 4 October 2007, there will be presentations by the Irish Sea Fisheries Board, the Irish Seaweed Industry Organisation and the Marine Institute. These presentations will provide an overview of Ireland’s animal and vegetal marine resources sector, its research policy for the 2007–2013 period, and its main players. The afternoon will be devoted to the health applications of animal marine resources, with presentations by researchers from the Institut des Sciences de la Mer de Rimouski (Quebec), the Institut Pasteur in Lille (France), Bergen University (Norway) and Laval University (Quebec). The Gala Dinner will include an award ceremony for young researchers.

On Friday 5 October 2007, the focus will be on the health applications of algae and bacteria. There will also be a round table on waste exploitation opportunities, which will draw the Symposium to a close. Developments in France, described by IFREMER, the LBBM and COPALIS, will be compared with those in Spain, Quebec, and Ireland.

Lower Normandy (Basse Normandie) – France’s Number One region for shellfish and its third most important fishing region – has long been involved in the research, development and enrichment of marine resources. The region accommodates and actively supports many renowned public- (LBBM, SMEL, INTECHMER) and private- (SATMAR) sector scientific organisations. Lower Normandy offers ideal conditions for partnerships between researchers, producers and local economic representatives of the marine sector.

About Santé Mer 2007

The Santé Mer International Symposium is a forum for researchers, manufacturers and producers with an interest in new opportunities for enhancing the value of marine resources. The sea offers many potential applications for both the food and pharmaceuticals industry, as well as for cosmetics. The fishing and aquaculture sectors are also relevant to such projects.

In addition to the Lower Normandy Regional Council, the partners of the 2007 Symposium are the town of Granville, the European Union, IRQUA Normandie (Institute for food quality standards), the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Central & South Manche, and the University of Caen Basse-Normandie.
Santé Mer International Symposium will be held on 4–5 October 2007 in Granville (in Lower Normandy, north-western France).

For further information, please go to: www.sante-mer.com

About the Lower Normandy region

The Lower Normandy region, which stretches from Mont Saint Michel to the Seine’s estuary, actively supports laboratories and manufacturers in their policy to enhance maritime resources. Lower Normandy is a leading region for the French fishing industry and, for some years now, has been involved in R&D into marine resources.

Under the Regional Council's stewardship, and taking the existing potential into account, development of the Health Optimisation of Marine Resources programme began in 2001. Its objectives are to assist in the implementation of new uses for marine resources and their joint products; to increase the region’s appeal by promoting its areas of expertise; to boost job creation in the sectors concerned; to implement inter-regional and international partnerships; and to strengthen positioning at the European level.

For further information, please go to: www.cr-basse-normandie.fr

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Kate AMBLER – Press Officer
French Technology Press Bureau (FTPB)
21, Grosvenor Place
London, SW1X 7TB (United Kingdom)
Telephone: 020-7235-5330
Email: kambler.ftpb@ubifrance.fr
Web site: www.infotechfrance.com/london/

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