Overview   Policy

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.

On 28–29 October 2026, EDITO and UN Ocean Decade partners will bring together the international digital ocean community for two online dialogues exploring regional perspectives, expectations, opportunities and challenges for Digital Twins of the Ocean (DTOs). Organised as a Side Event of the DITTO Summit 2026, the discussions will explore different approaches to DTO development and opportunities for greater convergence and collaboration towards a global network of interoperable DTOs.

The OceanPrediction Decade Collaborative Centre (DCC), in partnership with the ECOP Programme, will hold its Global Event from 3–5 November 2026, bringing together a dynamic global community working at the forefront of ocean forecasting. The event will showcase regional forecasting innovations and operational systems, explore how ocean prediction supports climate resilience, coastal safety, food security, ecosystem protection and sustainable governance, and highlight OceanPrediction DCC's role in coordination, capacity development and intergenerational knowledge sharing — with regional sessions designed by ECOPs at each Regional Team.

The Atlantic Summit Galway 2026 will take place on 8–9 October at the University of Galway, Ireland, bringing together Europe's leading ocean strategists, researchers, policymakers and innovators to shape priorities for Atlantic Ocean research, innovation and skills. Organised by the Marine Institute, University of Galway and Atlantic Technological University, the Summit is an Associated Event of Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

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.

Blue Tech Europe 2026, held on 21–22 April at Sorbonne Université in Paris, focused on Marine Observing Technologies and strengthening Europe’s autonomy in sensor and marine technology development, while addressing gaps in ocean observation coverage. Following the conference, EMBRC and participating organisations — including MARCO-BOLO, TRICUSO, OBAMA-NEXT, BioGeoSea, SOOP, EMODnet and the European Commission — developed five policy recommendations for strengthening marine observation and technological innovation in Europe, published on 15 September. Read the policy recommendations:

https://www.embrc.eu/documents-and-resources/ 

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 

During the EMODnet Chemistry Project Full Group meeting held on 22 September 2026, the results of the satisfaction survey – designed to collect feedback from participants in the latest EMODnet Chemistry training course – were presented. How helpful and how difficult was the course? Which topics are missing or should be covered in more detail? How can we improve the tools used to manage the data sets? The answers to these questions will greatly help the training organisers to plan the next event and to oil key links in the knowledge value chain, from data providers to data users.

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.

EMODnet’s long-standing Terms of Use was recently updated to extend the existing Disclaimer to provide further clarity on disclaimers of Warranties and Limitation of Liability. This follows dialogue with EMODnet’s Associated Partnership which includes the private sector and with the UN Ocean Decade Corporate Data Group, with the intention to further reduce the barriers to (ocean) data sharing. Specifically, the disclaimer now includes the CC-BY 4.0 Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability (Section 5) and applies to EMODnet data products and all data shared under the CC BY 4.0 license. Read the full EMODnet Terms of Use:

https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/en/terms-use-emodnet-online-services-data-and-data-products 

EMODnet welcomes the launch of the OceanEye International Alliance for the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) on 23 September 2026 at UNGA81 in New York as a major milestone towards reinforcing European and global ocean observation, marine data and knowledge. EMODnet recognizes the key role of the Alliance that brings together EU countries and international partners to strengthen, sustain and expand global ocean data collection efforts and related infrastructures which collectively form the foundation of the EMODnet service and the wider European – and Global - Digital Ocean System. Read more about EMODnet’s Ocean Observation foundation and future service evolution in the EMODnet Community Vision 2035 .

Recommendations from the conference Riding the Wave: Advancing the EU Ocean Pact through Science, Innovation and Cooperation held in May 2026, during which Kate Larkin, Head of the EMODnet Secretariat, contributed to the session From Ocean Knowledge to Policy Impact: Implementing the EU Ocean Pact through Science, Data and Innovation, have been published in Zenodo.

On 10 July 2026, the EMODnet Secretariat represented the network at the Water4All Workshop on ‘Data Sharing in the European Water Sector’ in Brussels, which brought together stakeholders to explore practical solutions to data-sharing challenges across the water domain. Discussions covered topics including data governance, national data portals, standardisation, and the development of a digital water society. EMODnet highlighted its role in supporting EU digital, climate and water policy objectives through the provision of open, free and FAIR in situ data and data products, demonstrating how marine data infrastructures can help address key data bottlenecks and strengthen cross-sector collaboration.

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