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The value chain presented in Section 2.1 could be useful when considering the Blue Biotechnology sector. Given that the focus for classifying the sector is on the source of the material, a Blue Biotechnology sector would not necessarily encompass the whole of the biotechnology value chain. A Blue Biotechnology sector could align itself with elements and activities that are specific to the marine components of marine biotechnology such as bioprospecting for marine organisms, marine R&D, and to some extent product development. The “blue” in Blue Biotechnology denotes marine and it is important to keep this mind. Once the stages or processes in the value chain become specific to other industry or biotechnology sectors they become, by their very nature, separated from the marine component and should no longer be considered part of a Blue Biotechnology sector. At this point the processes, actors, products, services etc. become part of a biotechnology or industry sector. The cross-over from a Blue Biotechnology sector to other biotechnology or industry sectors may not be clear-cut and overlaps will inevitably occur, but it is important to work towards a distinction between the marine biotechnology activities/processes that are blue and those which belong to other biotechnology and industry sectors. Figure 2.3 presents this approach to the definition of the Blue Biotechnology sector and shows the overlap between sectors. Figure 2.3 Visual representation of the Blue Biotechnology sector in Europe A Blue Biotechnology sector could also be defined by assessing the type and area of activity of current marine biotechnology stakeholders. Building on the value chain approach towards a definition of a Blue Biotechnology sector the position of key stakeholders (identified above) in the marine biotechnology value chain and/or the types of activity they are involved with (i.e. R&D, production, services and marketing) is considered. Based on the concentration of key stakeholder activity along the value chain a picture begins to develop of what a Blue Biotechnology sector could look like as shown in Figure 2.4. Study in support of Impact Assessment work on Blue Biotechnology 11

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