News

The 20^th anniversary edition of the VLIZ Marine Science Day will take place on Wednesday 3 March 2021. Due to the Corona pandemic, this event will exclusively be held online. Registration is now open and runs until Sunday 28/2.

The Belgian North Sea and adjoining estuaries are home to an increasing number of non-native species that in limited cases exhibit invasive behaviour. This was the conclusion of the 'VLIZ Alien Species Consortium', a cooperation of the institute with 14 national and international knowledge institutes. Currently (2020) some 79 species are thought to be non-indigenous to our saline and brackish waters. Newcomers find their way to our region mainly through maritime transport and aquaculture practices. Information on these species and more can now be consulted via a brand-new website and in the book "Niet-inheemse soorten in de Belgische Noordzee en aanpalende estuaria" (Dutch).
 

Sustainable use of ocean resources must be based on sound scientific knowledge. UNESCO-IOC has just released a new report on the state of ocean science, which gives us a global context for the situation in Belgium. https://gosr.ioc-unesco.org.

On Friday 20 November 2020, the USV 'Adhemar' was the first Belgian unmanned vessel to enter and leave the seaport of Ostend. The voyage is part of a research mission at sea set up by VLIZ. With this achievement, the institute, together with the government partners FPS Mobility and the Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre (MRCC), takes an important new step towards the full operational deployment of unmanned (research) vessels in our North Sea.
 

Every year, within the framework of the Compendium for Coast and Sea, the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) reports on the current state of marine research in Flanders and Belgium in the form of a policy informing brief. Elements such as, the research capacity as well as the scientific output are mapped next to a detailed analysis of the degree of international collaborations, the geographical focus of the research and the use of research vessels.

A Brilliant Marine Research Idea scholarship is aimed at PhD students or junior postdoctoral researchers to further explore and elaborate a unique research idea that could provide added value for ongoing research. The BRMI scholarship is an initiative of VLIZ philanthropy and has a maximum value of 5,000 sponsored by DEME and ANTEA Group.

To help meet the EU's goal of climate neutrality by 2050, the European Commission today presents the EU Strategy on Offshore Renewable Energy. The Strategy proposes to increase Europe's offshore wind capacity from its current level of 12 GW to at least 60 GW by 2030 and to 300 GW by 2050. The Commission aims to complement this with 40 GW of ocean energy and other emerging technologies such as floating wind and solar by 2050.

On March 3, 2021 VLIZ organizes a digital VLIZ Marine Science Day. Abstracts for an online presentation or digital poster (video) presentation can be submitted before December 16.

The European Commission is holding a public consultation until 7 December on ways to make the Blue Economy more sustainable within the framework of the EU Green Deal.

The Interreg project Sustainable And Resilient Coastal Cities (SARCC) organizes a panel discussion on 18 November on how to build a resilient coast by working together with nature.

A brand new interactive timeline provides a convenient overview of the main strategies, processes and laws that have shaped ocean policy since the beginning of this century.

Ostend (2020.08.19) – Anno 2010, 0.17% of the global ocean surface layer is impacted by microplastic pollution, posing a threat to the marine ecosystem. Under the worst case scenario, this fraction will increase to 1.62% of the ocean surface layer by 2100, an area as big as ten times the size of France. In particular, the Mediterranean Sea and the Yellow Sea, two enclosed basins facing high human pressure, are under serious threat. In the worst case, by 2100, 69% of the water surface of the Mediterranean and 54% of the water surface of the Yellow Sea will show unfavourable conditions for marine life due to the pollution with microplastics.

Until 4 October researchers can apply for the latest transnational call of ASSEMBLE Plus. Through this program, researchers can make use of marine research infrastructure from more than 30 international research institutes for a maximum of 30 days.

With the latest edition of the European Atlas of the Seas, citizens across Europe now have access to stunning sea charts and interactive ocean information in their own language, making the Atlas an even more accessible and useful educational tool. From now on, visitors can navigate the Atlas in the 24 official languages of the European Union and explore a wide range of popular marine topics such as tourism, litter, the environment, energy, aquaculture and many more.

The Think Tank North Sea, a bottom-up driven think tank that develops thematic visions for the Belgian North Sea with a time horizon of 2050, presents two working group reports after a first vision development cycle. At the same time members of the quadruple helix (policy, private, research and interested public) are invited to commit themselves to a new theme.

The Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) recently launched the renewed ScheldeMonitor portal. On this platform you will find a wide range of data, visualizations, maps and literature on all kinds of Scheldt-related themes. The new portal now also offers many possibilities for non-experts with an interest in the Scheldt.

Within the Wier en Wind project, a consortium of Belgian and Dutch partners is striving to set up the largest and furthest offshore seaweed farm in the world. The farm will be built on land as of September, after which it will be installed between the wind turbines of the Norther Wind Farm in October.

The Environment Department of the Government of Flanders, together with the team of Vlaamse Bouwmeester and various government agencies, has brought together the various climate and environmental factors that play a role at the coast in a handy guide. The booklet makes a plea not to take a fragmentary approach to the climate challenges on our coast, but to continue to look for solutions in an integrated way.

The SUMES project (September 2020-August 2023) aims to develop a model to assess the impact of man-induced changes on the ecosystem, its structure (e.g. biodiversity) and function (e.g. food chains, biogeochemistry), its capacity to deliver goods and services to marine ecosystems (e.g. carbon sequestration) and the resulting impacts. The aim is to use this insight to explore how economic activities at sea can be made more sustainable, also a framework will be developed to support the decision-making process.