News

Observational data play a crucial role in sustainable management and use of the marine environment. This will only increase in the future, because data are the new gold. Nowhere in the world, the sea is measured so intensively as in the Belgian part of the North Sea. The data collected by governments, companies and scientists offer many opportunities for mutual cooperation. The Blue Cluster, Flemish Hydrography (Flemish Agency Maritime Services & Coast) and the Flanders Marine Institute are organizing an information session on Thursday 21 October (15:00-17:00) on public and private datasets of the Flemish coast and Belgian part of the North Sea. (event in Dutch).

On 1 December, the European Marine Board will host its eighth EMB Open Forum. The theme of this edition is "Supporting the Ocean Decade in Europe" and the aim of the forum is to facilitate discussion among stakeholders in the European Ocean Decade, including the scientific community and policy makers. The event can be attended both on-site at BluePoint Brussels and online.

After a long forced break, the Think Tank North Sea will launch its new working group Environmentally sustainable blue growth on Monday 18 October. Interested in developing a future vision together with a diverse group of stakeholders? Participation is still possible!

On 6 September 2021, the EU Commissioner for the Environment, Ocean and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevicius, visited Ostend to learn more about a number of local initiatives within the sustainable blue economy in Belgium. Accompanied by Flemish Minister for Economy, Innovation, Work, Social Economy, Agriculture and Fisheries Hilde Crevits, the EU Commissioner stopped at the Ostend Marine Station and visited the citizen science initiative CoastSnap.

On Tuesday 28 September 2021, the Department of Economy, Science and Innovation (EWI), together with the Coastal Division (Agency for Maritime and Coastal Services), is organising a market consultation for private enterprise on how to tackle floating litter in coastal marinas.

The increasing presence of marine litter in the seas and ocean is one of the major societal challenges of our time. Public organisations, policy makers and the business community are all looking for solutions to tackle this urgent problem. Still, incentives for behavioral change and a smart policy remain the most effective measures to prevent litter from entering the environment. Preventing plastic reaching the ocean by intercepting it from inland waterways, or cleaning up plastic litter accumulated in the ocean can also be part of the solution. In a new policy informing brief VLIZ compares different types of plastic catchers. How do they work and how do they differ from each other? Which type works best in which situation? Where are the gaps in knowledge and development? In short: what opportunities do they offer for a plastic free ocean?

The United Nations Blue Climate Initiative has secured 1 million USD for innovative ideas within the context of marine climate mitigation. Entries can be submitted until midnight on 15 September.

For decades, the North Sea has played a central role in the European energy landscape because of its historical wealth of fossil fuels. However, the North Sea region also has many assets to play a key role - now and in the future - in the fight against climate change. In its latest policy informing brief, VLIZ examined various marine climate mitigation approaches and selected five that can be realised in the North Sea: (1) Offshore renewable energy, (2) Carbon capture and storage (CCS), (3) Marine geo-engineering, (4) Blue Carbon and (5) Marine reserves. While each of the different avenues holds some promise, there also appear to be important ecological and social concerns.

The Blue Economy currently accounts for 5% of Flemish GDP. Nice, but it could be much better. How can we realize that? What challenges does that pose? And what does that mean specifically for you? Innovation is one of the most important building blocks of the Blue Economy. A good approach to IP rights – both within a company or knowledge institution and between innovation partners – is therefore an indispensable but often complex building block of the innovation process.

The recently launched Policy Brief of the European Marine Board focuses on in situ Ocean observations and highlights their benefits, funding and governance challenges, and the investment needed for their transformation and sustainability.

UN delivers the first-ever global assessment report after seven years’ work by 109 experts in 35 countries – including VLIZ support – creating a baseline to detect and gauge the changing distribution, frequency, and intensity of harmful, often poisonous algal blooms. Overexploitation, appears to act as a natural multiplier of HAB effects, leading to an increase in the harm caused in step with growth of the aquaculture industry and marine exploitation and calls for more research on linkages.

This year, the Think Tank North Sea is examining how Environmentally sustainable blue growth can be organised in our North Sea. You too can express your views on this by participating in this new working group. Although the activities will only start as soon as the health measures allow a physical meeting, you can already register now.

The VLIZ yearbook 2020 gives an overview of the highlights for VLIZ in 2020, as well as a focus on the functioning of the institute for the needs of marine science research, policy makers, industry, educators, and the general public. By means of performance indicators (KPIs), a host of figures, and various listings, VLIZ tries to be as transparent as possible about its overall functioning.

On 18 May, the online symposium 'Environmental effects of offshore wind farms' will present the results of the monitoring programme in the Belgian North Sea, which has been running since 2008, to scientists, industry, managers and decision-makers.

In a new note, VLIZ outlines the Belgian expertise with respect to the plastic problem in the Belgian marine environment. This note is part of the VLIZ mandate in the national working group marine litter and in the framework of the Flemish Implementation Plan Plastics 2020-2025 to annually update the scientific information concerning (marine) litter and microplastics in Belgium.

In an online event on 29 March, JPI Oceans will launch its new strategic framework for 2021-25 on pan-European cooperation. In addition to this launch, the event will also feature recent developments in joint actions and projects, and contributions to Horizon Europe, the UN Decade of Ocean Science and other initiatives.

Within the framework of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030, VLIZ, the Blue Cluster and the Department of Economy, Science and Innovation are launching the brochure 'Gearing up our blue knowledge - Tackling ocean challenges in the UN Decade of Ocean Science', which demonstrates the strength, diversity and potential of the Flemish innovation landscape and documents how Flanders is using the sea to achieve its sustainability goal.

From 1 March to 30 September 2021, the Marine Environment Service of the FPS Public Health is organising a public consultation on the draft 'third river basin management plan for the Belgian coastal waters (2022-2027)', in implementation of the Water Framework Directive. Suggestions or comments can be given until 30 September of this year.