Aquaculture – the farming of aquatic organisms, such as fish, mussels and algae – has been identified by the European Commission as one of the five Blue Growth sectors with the highest potential for sustainable jobs and growth. However, fish farming is also linked to a number of environmental challenges, including negative impact on water quality from fish effluent or the use of wild fish population as fish feed. Algae and mussel aquaculture can not only provide protein and other high-value compounds for a wide variety of biotechnological applications, but also improve water quality.In the South Baltic region, aquaculture is not a widespread established sector with the exception of Denmark, which has a developed fish-farming sector. To turn the sector into a future core growth sector with positive impacts on the regions blue and green economy as well as environment, innovative technological developments and integrated systems are needed. Especially closed land-based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are a promising alternative to traditional aquaculture systems as they allow the cultivation under controlled conditions without affecting the environment. Also there are increasingly innovative and sustainable combinations of RAS with plant production in aquaponic systems and with renewable energy production to be found.In parts of the South Baltic region, there is a high level of know-how and competence with regards to such innovative technologies and combinations. But there is a clear territorial disparity and lack of critical mass for SMEs and start-ups to act on their own within their respective region or country. On this foundation, the idea for the main project is to improve the cross-border development and transfer of innovative and sustainable aquaculture technologies to relevant actors and SMEs in preparation for future production facility establishment, infrastructure and services development. Expected Results: The objective of the main project is to increase the innovation capacity of the blue and green economy in the South Baltic Region by improving the cross-border development and transfer of innovative and sustainable aquaculture technologies and ensuring SMEs all over the region access to know-how and competences in the field. This increased innovation capacity of South Baltic SMEs in aquaculture related sectors will be achieved through two parallel processes: I) Identification and adjustment of available aquaculture technologies to specific conditions of the South Baltic region. This process – realised in close cooperation of practitioners (SMEs) – will include: A) identification of the most promising technologies; B) specification of preconditions and expectations (specificity of physical local conditions, demands, market analysis etc.); C) trial testing and recommendations.II) offering SMEs a number of services which will be developed and tested within the main project for the target group to use and implement, also beyond the project lifetime. These services could e.g. include (indicative information): A) matchmaking events between science and producers, science and constructors and between regional authorities, financing institutions and SMEs; B) the development of business models for commercially viable Aquaponic farms or other forms of innovative and sustainable aquaculture, looking at the whole value chain within the aqua-production; C) Innovation Boosting advisory services taking offset in the SMEs current technical facilities and optimising these with state of the art technology from a holistic angle.The main project will focus on the most appropriate technologies for promoting suitable forms of aquaculture within the participating regions as they have to comply to a multiple set of criteria regarding sustainability, cost-efficiency, legal conditions and marketability of products.