EMODnet: Integrated Marine Knowledge to support the European Ocean Pact

EMODnet currently serves more than 120,000 stakeholders per year via its public Portal (emodnet.ec.europa.eu), with concrete applications supporting EU Policy (MSFD, MSP, among others), Research and Innovation and Blue Economy operations towards a sustainable and competitive Europe.

EMODnet is a success story in European marine data sharing, implemented by a large expert network of more than 120 organisations from across EU Member States, offering a public data service for the European in situ Ocean Observation community. EMODnet’s diverse marine knowledge service offer spans parameters across the marine environment and human activities at sea, from coast to open ocean and from surface to seafloor. 

As an early adopter of the EU INSPIRE Directive, EMODnet is an authority on geospatial data and metadata standards in the marine domain, and the fully public and free EMODnet service offers Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) data and data products at European scale and beyond, including the EMODnet Digital Terrain Model (DTM) for harmonised bathymetry, the EUSeaMap broad-scale Seabed Habitat Map, and the pan-European Marine Litter Database. 

Today, EMODnet is a core marine knowledge asset for the Mission: Restore our Ocean and Waters and the European Green Deal,  supporting EU Policy implementation including the standardisation, harmonisation and validation of the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) Descriptor 10 (marine litter), in partnership with ICES, Regional Sea Conventions and Member States, and offering National Maritime Spatial Plans (MSPs) as accessible geospatial data layers on the EMODnet Portal, enabling cross-border MSP activities. EMODnet is also well-placed to offer core marine knowledge in support of new policy including the Nature Restoration Law and the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ). 

In addition, EMODnet is the in situ component of the European Digital Twin Ocean (EU DTO), working in direct partnership with Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS) as a collective contribution to the digital Ocean and water knowledge system for Europe.

EMODnet is ready to support the European Ocean Pact and requires strengthened investment to further consolidate and to evolve its services to meet emerging societal needs.