News

The Blue Economy currently accounts for 5% of Flemish GDP. Nice, but it could be much better. How can we realize that? What challenges does that pose? And what does that mean specifically for you? Innovation is one of the most important building blocks of the Blue Economy. A good approach to IP rights – both within a company or knowledge institution and between innovation partners – is therefore an indispensable but often complex building block of the innovation process.

UN delivers the first-ever global assessment report after seven years’ work by 109 experts in 35 countries – including VLIZ support – creating a baseline to detect and gauge the changing distribution, frequency, and intensity of harmful, often poisonous algal blooms. Overexploitation, appears to act as a natural multiplier of HAB effects, leading to an increase in the harm caused in step with growth of the aquaculture industry and marine exploitation and calls for more research on linkages.

Vorige week stelde het Departement Landbouw en Visserij de nieuwste edities voor van het Visserijrapport (VIRA2020) en het Landbouwrapport (LARA2020), die om de twee jaar verschijnen. Naast de traditionele rapporten werd ook een nieuwe cijferwebsite voorgesteld die moet zorgen voor een betere ontsluiting en zichtbaarheid van cijfergegevens over deze twee belangrijke voedingssectoren.

On 18 May, the online symposium 'Environmental effects of offshore wind farms' will present the results of the monitoring programme in the Belgian North Sea, which has been running since 2008, to scientists, industry, managers and decision-makers.

In an online event on 29 March, JPI Oceans will launch its new strategic framework for 2021-25 on pan-European cooperation. In addition to this launch, the event will also feature recent developments in joint actions and projects, and contributions to Horizon Europe, the UN Decade of Ocean Science and other initiatives.

From 1 March to 30 September 2021, the Marine Environment Service of the FPS Public Health is organising a public consultation on the draft 'third river basin management plan for the Belgian coastal waters (2022-2027)', in implementation of the Water Framework Directive. Suggestions or comments can be given until 30 September of this year.

The Belgian North Sea and adjoining estuaries are home to an increasing number of non-native species that in limited cases exhibit invasive behaviour. This was the conclusion of the 'VLIZ Alien Species Consortium', a cooperation of the institute with 14 national and international knowledge institutes. Currently (2020) some 79 species are thought to be non-indigenous to our saline and brackish waters. Newcomers find their way to our region mainly through maritime transport and aquaculture practices. Information on these species and more can now be consulted via a brand-new website and in the book "Niet-inheemse soorten in de Belgische Noordzee en aanpalende estuaria" (Dutch).
 

Sustainable use of ocean resources must be based on sound scientific knowledge. UNESCO-IOC has just released a new report on the state of ocean science, which gives us a global context for the situation in Belgium. https://gosr.ioc-unesco.org.

Every year, within the framework of the Compendium for Coast and Sea, the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) reports on the current state of marine research in Flanders and Belgium in the form of a policy informing brief. Elements such as, the research capacity as well as the scientific output are mapped next to a detailed analysis of the degree of international collaborations, the geographical focus of the research and the use of research vessels.