The IFSEA (Transdisciplinary graduate school for marine, fisheries and seafood sciences) project aims to promote the Graduate School model in France by bringing together Masters and PhD courses with high-level research laboratories in the form of a transdisciplinary University Research School (EUR) for marine sciences, fisheries and seafood. This project is supported by the Université du Littoral Côte d’Opale.

The objective of the EUR IFSEA is to train future generations of researchers and professionals to meet the environmental, societal and economic challenges of the seafood sector. This project benefits from a unique strategic position in Boulogne-sur-Mer (France’s leading fishing port and Europe’s leading seafood processing centre), and takes advantage of the presence of high-level research laboratories attached to universities and research bodies (CNRS, IFREMER, ANSES). IFSEA will federate research forces and local socio-economic partners within a single programme, in a holistic and transdisciplinary approach. It is structured around 4 complementary research and training themes covering the entire seafood sector:

1. Marine ecosystems, from biodiversity to the sustainability of living resources
2. Safety and quality of seafood products
3. Supply chain engineering and international trade
4. Governance and coastal management policies.