Biscay Bay Environmental Biospecimen Bank (BBEBB)

What is the BBEBB?

The Biscay Bay Environmental Biospecimen Bank (BBEBB) offers access to past, present and future marine samples and specimens suitable for biotechnological and biomedical applications, as well as for biological-effects assessment in environmental monitoring. Since 2010, BBEBB is part of the International Environmental Specimen Bank group (IESB).

IESB promotes the worldwide development of techniques and strategies of environmental specimen banking and the international cooperation and collaboration among national Environmental Specimen Bank (ESBs). We are, at present, leading the update of ESBs to face the biological-effects assessment challenge.Our contribution has been pioneering and we have leaded discussions and activities to promote the changes needed to transform chemically driven ESBs into those Environmental Biospecimen Banks required for advanced biological effects assessment suitable to respond to the demand of 21st century’s environmental policies.

Marine biospecimen collections at PiE-UPV/EHU

The BBEBB contains frozen and histological samples from different monitoring campaigns all over the World. However, the crown of the BBEBB is the archive of samples of the Bay of Biscay stored since 80´s.

In general, the BBEBB contains the following groups of organisms:

  • Fish
  • Marine mammals (in collaboration with AMBAR)
  • Molluscs
  • Sharks (in collaboration with AMBAR)

Sample acquisition

All samples can be searched at the following database

As PiE-UPV/EHU is part of the ASSEMBLE Plus, which integrates over 30 marine biological stations and installations from various regions of the world’s oceans and seas, we provide scientists from academia, industry and policy makers with the services of the BBEBB. Prospective users could apply for funding to use BBEBB samples trought  Transnational Access research projects, accessing remotly or on site to our PiE-UPV/EHU BBEBB intalations.

Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) regulations derived from the Nagoya Protocol. Click the link. You will be redirected to the European BlueBiobank (EBB) webpage where you could find practical guide to fulfill the ABS regulation (French, English and Spanish version).

In any case, you are interested in acquiring information of any of the collections please contact to:

Dr. Xabier Lekube
Post-Doctoral Researcher
Scientific Manager BBEBB
CBET CRG
Tln.: +34 946018444
@mail: xabier.lecube@ehu.eus