TransEurope Marinas joins the EMODnet Open Conference 2025

9 December 2025

Contributing to Blue Economy Data

Last week, TransEurope Marinas was invited to participate in the EMODnet Open Conference, joining a panel discussion titled “EMODnet for Research Innovation and the Blue Economy” on the role of the recreational boating industry in Europe’s marine data landscape.

The Conference was also an opportunity to launch the EMODnet Vision 2035, a forward-looking roadmap developed by the EMODnet community, which supports the goals of the European Ocean Pact and aims to strengthen the EMOD-network’s capacity to provide the evidence base for sustainable ocean management.

High-level presenters included members of the Commission such as Dr. Delilah Al Khudhairy, the DG MARE’s Director for Maritime Policy and Blue Economy, who praised EMODnet for their key role in delivering data to support the Blue Economy and enabling a more informed response to challenges such as climate change.

European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet)

A unique and respected resource, EMODnet provides the foundational marine knowledge base for European policy, research, and innovation. The platform offers a diverse and comprehensive collection of marine environmental and human activities data, all harmonised at a European scale. This data covers themes from bathymetry and seabed habitats to a great range of human activities, i.e. commercial vessel density, the location of coastal and offshore platforms, and cultural heritage.

By making its marine data and knowledge free and open for the private sector to use, EMODnet stimulates innovation, helps boosts competitiveness, and reduce costs and uncertainty across the Blue Economy. It serves as the data backbone supporting the development of Maritime Spatial Plans (MSP) and is a key contributor to the European Digital Twin Ocean (EU DTO) initiative.

Despite this comprehensive undertaking, marinas are currently absent from this data network. This lack of visibility complicates efforts by the marina sector to have an active role in international frameworks like MSP, and advocate for navigation access and future development.

Together with European Boating Industry, TransEurope Marinas are working with EMODnet to address this by requesting that national associations contribute basic data to be able to map the sector across Europe.

© Christophe Licoppe

The Strategy: Collaboration and Commitment

TransEurope Marinas was able to share how participation in projects and programmes such as LandSeaLot and the JPI Oceans European Marinas Network Joint Action were helping to transform marinas into platforms for marine observation. Benefits of these efforts include:

• Enabling Science

Marinas are being prepared to deploy and host cost-effective environmental sensors, expanding the European marine observing system into complex, near-shore environments. Integrating this type of in situ data can improve data resolution and accuracy for models and digital twins, which can reduce operational costs for businesses and improve safety and resilience.

• Fostering Ocean Literacy

By leveraging the passion of the boating community through citizen science initiatives (i.e.  Phenomer), marinas can provide berth-holders with the means to become data collectors, helping enable the tracking of algal blooms and improving local environmental awareness.

• Supporting the wider marina community

Using verifiable data via sensors that measure wave action, sea level and sea temperature, marinas can help support their wider communities, such as regenerative projects being carried out in the marina (e.g. oyster beds or salt marshes); creating tools to assist yard operations where knowing channel depth might be critical, controlling water levels in locks, and gauging the robustness of marina infrastructure, particularly as regards extreme weather events.

Challenges still remain, such as developing better data literacy in the marina sector, and facilitating the ease-of-use of ocean sensors, where scientists need to ensure data validation, etc.  TransEurope also mentioned their partnership with navigational service Savvy Navvy who have highlighted the need for higher resolution bathymetry in near-shore areas, where the current provision responds more to commercial shipping, than recreational boats that transit and anchor in shallower waters.

Ultimately, this collaboration marks a positive step, enabling a shift for the marina sector into an active contributor of valuable marine data.

By integrating environmental sensors and fostering citizen science, the sector will be able to assist in closing a key near-shore information gap, supporting sustainable ocean management, and advancing the ambitious EMODnet Vision 2035.