EMODnet workshop: "Ocean Observation and Marine Data for the Blue Economy" at European Maritime Day 2021

EMODnet was during European Maritime Day (EMD) which was held in an online format on 20-21 May 2021 by the European Commission, active in organising a workshop on “Ocean Observation and Marine Data for the Blue Economy”. More than 136 participants attended the workshop and panel discussions with input from representatives; Conceiçao Santos, deputy Director General for the Ocean Policy in Portugal (DGPM), David Bassett from the European Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Platform (EATiP), Iryna Makarenko (Black Sea Commission) and Alessandro Pittito EMODnet Human activities coordinator. The workshop focused on exploring the value of ocean observation and marine monitoring for the blue economy, from the perspectives of marine and maritime industry, port authorities and government agencies. EMODnet was also very active with the European Atlas of the Sea during EMD covering the topic of “Ocean literacy”.

Key outcomes of the workshop included;

• EMODnet and Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS) are key services delivering open access Marine Data and Knowledge in support of EU Green Deal;
• EMODnet collaborates widely with the Blue Economy for the use of marine data and data products and offers a public service for data sharing and ingestion;
• The Blue Economy Observatory is a key resource for human activities and socio-economic data related to the Blue Economy and there are opportunities for further collaboration with EMODnet e.g. in the context of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD);
• EATIP collaborates with EMODnet for workshops connecting aquaculture industry with marine data services e.g. EMODnet and CMEMS;
• EATIP also welcomed the opportunity through EMODnet to incentivize the aquaculture industry to engage and share data;
• EMODnet Human Activities is a key resource for national and cross border MSP efforts in Europe;
• EMODnet’s Marine environmental and human activity data offer the chance to track the impact of COVID-19 on blue economy operations e.g. fishing activities;
• EMODnet welcomes new partnerships and dialogue with the Blue Economy and Business sectors e.g. through the EMODnet Associated partnership scheme;
• EMODnet is used by the Black Sea Commission as an important source of marine data and information for regional seas assessments and plans e.g. in the Black Sea;
• The Black Sea Commission recognizes the important collaboration with EMODnet Chemistry and would like to extend this cooperation to other EMODnet thematics e.g. Biology and Human Activities.