On 28 May 2025 EMODnet experts and wider stakeholders gathered in Brussels for the workshop 'Standards and Practices in Ocean Observation' with EMODnet Physics Coordinator Antonio Novellino and EC DG MARE's Zoi Konstantinou amongst the speakers. Multiple EMODnet partners are involved in the European Ocean Best Practices project, building on the ongoing collaboration between EMODnet and in the in situ ocean observation community to streamline the marine knowledge value chain, from data collection to FAIR data management and services, for users.

The newly published 2025 EU Blue Economy Report outlines major developments in Europe’s ocean-based sectors, from expanding renewable energy and innovation to progress in sustainability and emissions reductions. With coastal tourism, maritime transport, and offshore wind leading the way, the report captures how the EU is advancing a resilient and competitive blue economy. Marine data and knowledge are a key foundation and driver for the transition to a more green and sustainable Blue Economy. The report is produced by the European Commission and Joint Research Centre, the publication offers a comprehensive overview of trends shaping Europe’s Ocean industries. Find out more and download the report: https://blue-economy-observatory.ec.europa.eu/news/eu-blue-economy-report-2025-2025-05-22_en

From 21-23 May 2025, EMODnet made a significant impact at the European Maritime Days (EMD2025) in Cork, Ireland. EMODnet had an exhibition booth and welcomed many stakeholders to discuss the latest EMODnet services, data sharing opportunities and use case and EMODnet's Biology Coordinator, Joana Beja (VLIZ, Belgium) spoke at a workshop on biological ocean observation. EMODnet also contributed to presenting EDITO, together with colleagues from Mercator Ocean International and Copernicus Marine. This annual event, organized by the European Commission, brought together around 1,200 marine and maritime stakeholders to discuss and shape the future of Europe’s marine knowledge supporting EU policy and a green and competitive blue economy. Read more and find out about all the highlights of EMODnet's activities during the event:

EMODnet at the European Maritime Days 2025 in Cork, Ireland | European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) 

The UN Ocean Decade has launched Call for Decade Actions No. 09/2025, seeking initiatives that tackle regional and thematic gaps in ocean knowledge while supporting informed policymaking for sustainable development. Anchored in the priorities of the Barcelona Statement and Vision 2030, this call welcomes Expressions of Interest for new Decade Programmes, as well as Decade Projects under 29 existing Programmes. Submissions are now open. For details on eligibility, application forms, and deadlines, visit the Ocean Decade Call 09/2025 webpage. Proponents are encouraged to submit before 31 August 2025.

On Monday, 9 June 2025 (18:30–20:30) at Hôtel Aston La Scala in Nice, a high-level side event at UNOC 2025 will bring together stakeholders from across the public and private sectors to explore the critical role of ocean data sharing including by the private sector e.g., for seabed mapping and bathymetric data sharing. Co-organised by the Ocean Decade Alliance, IOC/UNESCO, International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), GEBCO, the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project, and the UN Global Compact, this session will discuss how ocean depth data can inform science, support marine management, and shape effective ocean policy. It targets actors involved in ocean data acquisition and sharing, including those influencing data governance in national jurisdictions and holding valuable private-sector data. More information:

https://iho.int/en/side-event-global-ocean-data-sharing 

On 12 June 2025 (14:30–15:15 CEST), EMODnet and the UN Decade Coordination Office for Ocean Data Sharing will co-host a workshop at the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) Digital Ocean Pavilion exploring how regional marine data services contribute to building an interoperable global digital ocean data ecosystem. The session will spotlight examples from EU marine data services e.g., EMODnet, including the service’s international partnerships, EMODnet and Copernicus Marine’s key role as data services for the European Digital Twin Ocean and experts from other National and regional data services. The workshop will include a Panel discussion that showcases how regional cooperation and mandates help deliver FAIR data and ocean knowledge that underpin science, policy, and sustainable development worldwide. The event is in-person and open to all who register for the Green zone. More information: The EU & the Marine Observing Infrastructures

At the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) 2025, the European Digital Twin (powered by EMODnet and Copernicus Marine Service) will take centre stage at the European Union’s Digital Ocean Pavilion within the public green zone of UNOC. Through featured video content and its role across the Pavilion’s Engage and Inspire areas, EMODnet will demonstrate how its open, interoperable marine data services are fundamental to building and sustaining the European Digital Twin Ocean. Visitors will discover how EMODnet supports a wide range of users—from researchers and policymakers to innovators and citizen scientists—by providing seamless access to high-quality, FAIR marine data. EMODnet’s presence will illustrate the critical value of regional marine data infrastructures in enabling global digital ocean efforts and advancing the goals of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Registration is open and essential, even for this public area: See here for more details:

https://www.digitaloceanpavilion.eu/ 

The Institute for Sea Studies Almirante Paulo Moreira (IEAPM), under the Brazilian Navy, used EMODnet Biology’s data services—including the Biocheck tool and Data Laundry sessions—to validate and harmonise a large zooplankton image dataset collected with the LOKI (Lightframe On-sight Key species Investigation), an underwater optical camera system. This collaboration supported marine research in the South Brazilian Shelf and advanced the application of FAIR data principles, paving the way for scientific outputs and improved environmental monitoring. Read more:

https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/en/use-case/emodnet-biology-biocheck-tool-aids-harmonisation-dataset-collected-situ-optical-plankton 

Using EMODnet Geology and Bathymetry data, ISPRA has characterized the structural settings of Italy's surrounding seas. The data provided insights into tectonic activity, including earthquakes and submarine volcanoes. This comprehensive information forms a solid basis for future studies on marine geohazard assessment and land management. Read more:

EMODnet Geology helps characterise structural settings of seas surrounding Italy | European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) 

At the General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU GA), EMODnet Chemistry presented its mission and development, as well as the many use cases collected in its 16 years of activity. The EGU GA welcomes international geoscientists working in all disciplines of Earth, planetary and space sciences. In addition to the overview of the project results, the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS), which coordinates EMODnet Chemistry, presented a poster explaining the latest progress in the interoperability of validated data collections via the ERDDAP service. Read more:

Further reflections on EMODnet Chemistry at EGU 2025 | European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) 

EMODnet Seabed Habitats took part in the Marine Geological and Biological Habitat Mapping (GEOHAB) 2025 Conference, held from 12–16 May in Key West, Florida. This long-standing international gathering brought together over 150 global experts in marine geology, biology, and spatial analysis to exchange knowledge on benthic habitats and sustainable ocean management. EMODnet contributed to discussions with a talk on EUSeaMap development in the Caribbean and a poster on coastal wetlands, sharing insights on enhancing data discovery and collaboration in support of marine policy and climate resilience. Read more:

EMODnet Seabed Habitats present at GEOHAB 2025 | European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet)

EMODnet Biology has produced a new product based on the European Seabirds at Sea international database. In this new product, the DIVAnd software tool is used, designed for gridding oceanographic in situ measurements, already applied in several European projects to create climatologies for variables such as temperature, salinity or eutrophication variables. As a partner in EMODnet Biology, the University of Liège developed guidance on how to call DIVAnd (Data-Interpolating Variational Analysis in n dimensions) from within the R programming environment. To demonstrate the tool’s capabilities, a seabird distribution interpolation product was also created. Read more:

https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/en/emodnet-biology-seabird-distribution-maps-using-divand-r 

Collaboration between Edge Hill University (EHU) and EMODnet Geology has enhanced understanding of coastal hazards, paving the way for sustainable coastal management in Europe. The collaboration, involving EHU student interns and an international team of experts, has developed the new EMODnet Geology coastal resilience/vulnerability map. The students used their digital mapping and data analyses skills to produce the map that underpins the data product. EMODnet Geology has provided valuable work experience, in an international setting, helping to train the next generation of geospatial analysts. Read more:

https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/en/emodnet-geology-collaborates-next-generation-geospatial-new-coastal-resilience-and-vulnerability 

On 7-8 May 2025, the EMODnet Steering Committee held its 22nd meeting online. The open session included key updates on EMODnet’s 2025 achievements so far, the latest Portal features and thematic offer, and EMODnet's impact and partnerships. The closed session prepared the ground for the upcoming EMODnet Open Conference and Jamboree (November 2025) as part of a European Marine Knowledge week in Brussels, including the Digital Ocean Forum 2025. Meeting minutes will be publicly available in due course. Read more:

https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/en/emodnet-22nd-steering-committee-meets-online 

A new educational ‘Hide & Seek’ game is available in the Teachers Corner. The game is associated with the map layer ‘European Maritime Day in My Country 2025’. It enables students to learn how to find specific locations on a map based on a set of hints and gain knowledge on marine biodiversity. On 9 May 2025, the Atlas team presented the Atlas to the Young Citizens’ Council for the Ocean during an online workshop on ocean governance. The Atlas was promoted during European Maritime Day. Four Maps of the Week’ were published in the past month: ‘Celebrating Europe Day and Mission ‘Restore our Ocean and Waters’, ‘European Maritime Day in My Country 2025 and a new game!’, ‘European Maritime Day’ and ‘Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction’.

The EMODnet service is proud to announce that its Data Ingestion service is now centralised on the EMODnet Portal. The migration of this final EMODnet component to the Europa domain is a major milestone for EMODnet, building on the extensive centralisation of all seven thematics in 2023. The core EMODnet Data Ingestion service remains the same, with the shift to a centralised service making it even easier to share data with EMODnet.

This final step in EMODnet centralisation consolidates the remaining component (Data Ingestion) into the EMODnet Portal which is already a single, user-friendly gateway for accessing, visualising, downloading and now also submitting marine data. The integration of EMODnet Data Ingestion reinforces EMODnet's commitment to deliver the EU Open Data Directive, INSPIRE Directive and to support in situ ocean observation and monitoring communities to share primary data with EMODnet, which is then transformed into Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) data to make integrated marine knowledge at European scale, upon which thousands of stakeholders depend to support EU policy implementation, boost competitiveness in the Blue Economy and drive Research and Innovation.  120,000 stakeholders depend on sharing, enabling a seamless experience for both users and data providers.

EMODnet’s public Data Ingestion service plays a crucial role in European data sharing, identifying and supporting organisations from across research, public, and private sectors that manage valuable marine datasets to share these with EMODnet to make these data FAIR and have greater impact through EMODnet in situ marine data service.

Explore the EMODnet Portal and Wake up your marine data — share it with EMODnet!

For more information visit: https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/en/data-ingestion 

On 2 April 2025, EMODnet joined the European Marine Board’s 9th Forum in Brussels, contributing to key discussions on coastal and water resilience at the land-sea interface. EMODnet showcased its trusted and interoperable in situ marine data services, supporting integrated source-to-sink approaches. The event advanced dialogue between science and policy and was recognised as a contribution to both the UN Ocean Decade and the EU Mission: Restore our Ocean and Waters.

On 29 April 2025, EMODnet Portal and Biology Coordinator Flanders Marine Institute, VLIZ, hosted a delegation from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) for an in-person meeting, together with the EMODnet Secretariat and other InnovOcean Campus-based organisations, namely EMB, IOC-UNESCO (IODE, OBIS and OTGA) and ILVO. The meeting was a chance to exchange on key EU priorities including the European Ocean Pact and how VLIZ, ILVO, EMODnet and other initiatives are contributing to support the delivery Ocean Observation, Marine Knowledge – including Citizen Science - and the European Digital Twin.

The UN Ocean Decade has launched Call for Decade Actions No. 09/2025, seeking initiatives that tackle regional and thematic gaps in ocean knowledge while supporting informed policymaking for sustainable development. Anchored in the priorities of the Barcelona Statement and Vision 2030, this call welcomes Expressions of Interest for new Decade Programmes, as well as Decade Projects under 29 existing Programmes. Submissions are now open. For details on eligibility, application forms, and deadlines, visit the Ocean Decade Call 09/2025 webpage. Proponents are encouraged to submit before 31 August 2025.

On 12 June 2025 (14:30–15:15 CEST), EMODnet and the UN Ocean Decade Coordination Office for Ocean Data Sharing (ODS) will co-host a dedicated workshop at the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC), EU Digital Ocean Pavilion (Green Zone). This session will explore the crucial role of regional marine data services in shaping a connected, global ocean data ecosystem. Co-chaired by representatives from EMODnet and the UN Ocean Decade Office, a panel of European and international experts will bring concrete examples of ocean data sharing in action. A full programme and speaker list will follow soon.