The 4th symposium, to be held in Granville, Lower Normandy, North West France, on the 4th and 5th October, taps into the growing trend for natural cosmetic and personal care products incorporating marine based extracts.
The symposium is open to researchers, manufacturers and producers, and concentrates on the potential health-giving properties of marine extracts.
Santé Mer will also provide a dedicated area for business meetings in an attempt to foster scientific, industrial and commercial cooperation initiatives.
The Symposium has invited Ireland as its guest of honour, a title held by the Nordic countries in 2005, and Quebec in 2003. The event will begin with an overview of the country's animal and vegetal marine resources and its research plans for the next few years.
In addition, presentations will be given on the health applications of algal, bacterial and animal marine resources from, amongst others, researchers at the Institut des Sciences de la Mer de Rimouski (Quebec), Bergen University (Norway), and the Institut Pasteur in Lille (France).
The cosmetics industry has seen a significant increase in marine-based ingredients, particularly as the natural cosmetics market is growing, with an influx of product launches over the past few months.
A significant proportion of these actives come from algae and algal derivatives, often used in anti-ageing formulations due to their antioxidant properties.
In addition, extracts derived from marine animals are beginning to make their mark on the industry, such as the recent release of a derivative from a fish hatching enzyme zonase, by Norwegian based Aqua Biotech.
A third category of note are seaweed extracts and Biotechmarine, based in Brittany, France, recently released a hair care range using marine extracts sourced from the region.
Indeed Northern France is something of an industry leader in this area, making it an appropriate location for the upcoming symposium.
However, while demand for this type of product grows, environmental issues may limit future supplies. Improved international policies are thought to be needed in order to conserve aquatic genetic resources, according to the Food and Agricultural organisation of the United Nations (FAO).
A paper published by the FAO in June this year, discusses the need for a successful transition to 'more responsible, sustainable, and productive aquaculture and fisheries'. This will in turn lead to effective management of fish resources, whilst also protecting the marine culture that a lot of the natural cosmetics market relies upon.