Overview   Science and Research

IMDIS 2026 will take place in Split, Croatia, from 30 November to 3 December 2026, organised by the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (IOF) in collaboration with SeaDataNet AISBL, IFREMER, MARIS, NOC and INGV, many of whom are long-standing EMODnet partners. The conference will bring together experts from across the marine data community to showcase advances in data infrastructures, interoperable systems, tools and platforms, and the transformation of marine data into knowledge and decision-support products.

The World Conference on Marine Biodiversity (WCMB) 2026 will take place from 17–20 November 2026 in Bruges, Belgium, with organisation led by the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ). This flagship global event will gather scientists, policymakers, and stakeholders to explore the latest research, innovations, and solutions for marine biodiversity observations, data, conservation and sustainable ocean management. The Call for Abstracts is open until 17 March 2026 (23:59 CET), and registration is now available via the WCMB 2026 registration portal, with early-bird rates valid until 18 June 2026. Find all submission details and updates on the WCMB 2026 website.

The call for abstracts for the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity 2026 (WCMB 2026) is now open until 17 March 2026. Researchers, practitioners, and policymakers are invited to submit abstracts across the conference themes, including a dedicated EMODnet session focused on “Science that makes a difference: supporting knowledge-based policies.” This session will explore how marine knowledge and data can better inform policy and decision-making processes. Find out more and submit an abstract: Call for abstracts: https://www.wcmb2026.org/call-abstracts
EMODnet session: https://www.wcmb2026.org/6-science-makes-difference-supporting-knowledge-based-policiesTitle: EGI Conference 2026: Advancing Digital Infrastructure for Science and Innovation

In August 2026, EMODnet Biology completed its latest data harvest, bringing in 32 new and updated marine biodiversity datasets and more than 576,000 occurrence records. The data span a wide range of topics, from subtidal macroalgae monitoring in the Azores to Mediterranean fish-diet studies and environmental DNA surveys. The same data will also become available through OBIS, GBIF and EDITO as part of the established data flows.

The INFOMAR Conference 2026 takes place on 6–7 October at the University of Galway, Ireland, organised by the Marine Ireland Industry Network in association with the Marine Institute. The conference celebrates Ireland's national seabed mapping programme, bringing together leaders from government, academia, industry and international marine sectors to explore seabed mapping's role in ocean science, policy and evidence-based stewardship.

On 30 September, EMODnet contributed to the LAND-SEA 2026 Conference in Brussels, showcasing how integrated marine, coastal and riverine data can support a source-to-sea approach for managing the land-sea interface. Through a dedicated poster and panel participation, EMODnet highlighted its evolving service offer, including the EMODnet River Data Node, coastal habitat and biodiversity data products, and recommendations from the EMODnet Vision 2035. Discussions focused on sustaining and expanding coastal and land-sea interface observations, improving (observation and data) interoperability and strengthening land-sea environmental data flows into relevant EU data services e.g., EMODnet.

On 8 September 2026, EMODnet’s Head of Secretariat joined EMODnet Geology partners at the EuroGeoSurveys Strategic Research & Innovation Agenda (SRIA) workshop in Brussels. Bringing together geological experts, policymakers and Geological Service for Europe project stakeholders, the workshop discussed future priorities for its Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda. The discussions included the role of geoscience data and information to inform research, innovation and policy implementation in the areas of climate resilience, risk mitigation and adaptation, and the need for interoperable geoscience data and information, interconnected with EU services including EMODnet and EDITO.

From 1–3 September, the EMODnet Secretariat joined a session at the EU Arctic Forum in Brussels on OceanEye and Arctic Ocean Observing, co-organised by the European Commission's DG RTD, alongside speakers from the European Polar Board, EuroGOOS and the EU Horizon Europe project Beyond Arctic PASSION. The discussion explored how OceanEye can build a stronger Arctic and polar component, and where EMODnet's existing partnerships and data practices can help connect a still-fragmented polar data landscape, in line with EMODnet's Vision 2035 to expand its service offer in polar regions.

On 10th September, the EMODnet Secretariat represented EMODnet at the launch of the UN Ocean Decade socioeconomic data sharing guidelines, spear-headed by the Decade Coordination Office for Ocean Data Sharing. The guidelines provide high-level principles and practical resources to support responsible, open and transparent sharing of marine socio-economic data. EMODnet contributed to the guidelines as a good practice for a regional data service delivering cross-border, multi-parametric interoperable data for the European and Global Digital Ocean Ecosystem, also giving examples from EMODnet’s service offer, noting that EMODnet works with thousands of data providers, including Eurostat and also directly with nations, including for EMODnet’s European National Maritime Spatial Plan layer for which EMODnet works directly with Member States to transform MSP information into geospatial data layers. EMODnet also referred to another EU service, the European Blue Economy Observatory which provides further socio-economics data and indicators Explore the Marine Socio-Economic Data Sharing Guidelines:

https://oceandecade.org/publications/ocean-decade-socio-economic-data-sharing-guidelines/ 

https://blue-economy-observatory.ec.europa.eu/index_en 

EDITO has launched the EDITO Academy, a new learning programme designed to help users make the most of the European Digital Twin Ocean, including the in situ marine data that EMODnet feeds into the platform. Free hands-on training sessions, webinars, tutorials and guided walkthroughs are on offer, from general platform familiarisation to the technical "Building with EDITO" series for researchers, data scientists, modellers and developers wanting to build and deploy their own applications. The first course, "EDITO Building Blocks: How to Navigate and Integrate Data in the EDITO DataLab," will take place on 5 November 2026. Register now:

https://www.edito.eu/european-digital-twin-ocean-edito-academy/ 

Abyssal Claims, an independent non-commercial, open-data project, brings together deep-sea mining claims, offshore infrastructure and environmental information on an interactive 3D globe. EMODnet Human Activities and Physics provide harmonised data on offshore licences, wind farms, submarine cables, maritime boundaries and underwater noise, accessed machine-to-machine and automatically synchronised. Read the full use case here:

https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/en/use-case/abyssal-claims-open-map-placing-emodnet-data-beside-deep-sea-mining-claims 

During previous phases of EMODnet Biology, two R packages were created to aid fisheries management decisions. The Btrait and Bfiat R-packages (Soetaert and Beauchard, 2023, 2024) provide a deterministic modelling framework that describes depletion of benthic species density or biomass during a trawling disturbance, and its subsequent recovery between fishing events. The average biomass or level of ecosystem functioning under trawling disturbance, estimated as a fraction of its pre-disturbance state, then provides a quantitative expression of the trawling impact.

On 23 April, the European Commission launched a public consultation to help shape the European Ocean Act, following an earlier call for evidence in January 2026. Open until 16 July, this questionnaire invites stakeholders to share their views, including those from public authorities and administrations, experts, citizens, and coastal communities. Find out more

On 23 April, the European Commission launched a public consultation to help shape the European Ocean Act, following an earlier call for evidence in January 2026. Open until 16 July, this questionnaire invites stakeholders to share their views, including those from public authorities and administrations, experts, citizens, and coastal communities. This is the latest in a series of EC calls for evidence and consultations related to the Ocean Pact, OceanEye, and Ocean Act.

The European MSP Week 2026 will take place in Brussels, Belgium, from 1-5 June 2026, bringing together projects and initiatives from across Europe dedicated to Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP). Organised with contributions from EU-funded projects, the week will feature a range of events, including the first Great North Sea Basin Initiative Stakeholder Conference, fostering exchange and collaboration across the MSP community.

EMODnet's focal role in European Maritime Spatial Planning will be presented at the 2nd European Maritime Spatial Planning Week (1–5 June, Brussels). This includes EMODnet's role as the mandated EU digital ocean platform hosting national MSP plans as open, interoperable geospatial data layers across all regional sea-basins. EMODnet will host a dedicated exhibition booth from 1–3 June, as well as a workshop on the fitness-for-use of EMODnet for MSP on 2 June, organised in the framework of the Northern European Sea Basins project (NESBp).

EMODnet Seabed Habitats joined the international marine benthic habitat mapping community at GEOHAB 2026 (11–14 May, University of Malta, Valletta), presenting a poster on how EMODnet Seabed Habitats products have been developed to inform EU and international policy. The event brought together leading experts in geophysics and habitat mapping, providing a valuable opportunity to showcase EMODnet's contribution to evidence-based marine management at global scale.

EMODnet joined OBIS and other biodiversity data services, monitoring programmes and stakeholders including BIODIVERSA+ between 4-7 May for BioMonWeek 2026. The event took place in Montpelier, France, and included sessions on Essential Biodiversity Variables and wider Ocean Variables, and cross-domain dialogues between freshwater, terrestrial, coastal and marine biodiversity knowledge to support policy implementation, among other applications. EMODnet was also featured in a knowledge transfer session organised by the European project MARCO-BOLO.

EMODnet experts were on the ground in force at the EGU 2026 General Assembly in Vienna (3–8 May), with presentations spanning Geology, Chemistry, Bathymetry thematics and with experts from EMODnet’s Central Portal and Secretariat also showcasing EMODnet’s latest contributions to the EDITO booth showcasing the capabilities of Europe's Digital Twin Ocean.

In 2025, as part of EMODnet Seabed Habitats Phase 5, an updated version of the Seabed Habitats flagship product EUSeaMap was published. Since 2023, this has extended to the Caribbean Region. Progress on the CaribbeanSeaMap has been constrained by access to data and limited stakeholder engagement, affecting data discovery and integration. To address this, EMODnet Seabed Habitats delivered a workshop in Anguilla (22–24 April 2026) bringing together researchers, regional authorities and international organisations, to advance collaboration in seabed mapping. The event highlighted ongoing EMODnet activities, showcased regional initiatives, and enabled knowledge exchange, with strong engagement during discussions on marine spatial planning and governance. Continued workshops are planned in future phases to support further development of EMODnet activities in the region.