IFREMER is a public body of industrial and commercial nature. It is the only French organisation with an entirely maritime purpose. It operates under the joint auspices of the Ministries of Research, Agriculture and Fisheries, Transport and Housing and Environment. Being involved in all the marine science and technology fields, IFREMER has the capability of solving different problems with an integrated approach. IFREMER scope of actions can be divided into four main areas (1) understanding, assessing, developing and managing the ocean resources, (2) improving knowledge, protection and restoration methods for marine environment, (3) production and management of equipment of national interest and (4) helping the socio-economic development of the maritime world. Moreover, IFREMER undertakes to (5) provide assistance to the government, public authorities and organisations concerned with the scientific, technical or economic research, (6) gather, disseminate and enhance national and international oceanographic information and (7) contribute to the implementation of international cooperation  agreements in the marine field. Three departments of research are involved in SEAFOODplus: (1) The dept. of Seaproduct processing, enhancement and quality is responsible for investigations on seaproduct as raw materials for food and biotechnology purposes; including fish, seaweeds and microorganisms; (2) The department of Microbiology and Phycotoxins is involved in research concerning the behaviour of pathogenic microorganisms (bacteria and viruses) in the coastal environment and of phycotoxins in sellfish.; (3) The department of aquaculture resources (molluscs, crustaceans and finfish) includes the research actions in the field of biology, nutrition, pathology and genetics, as well as technological innovations with the objective of sustainable development. The institution has approximatively 1385 employees and an annual budget of 150 millions Euros.