TransEurope Marinas are thrilled to be part of a JPI Oceans Scoping Action, exploring potential of marinas as essential infrastructure for ocean observation, ocean science, and citizen involvement.
Thanks to European Boating Industry (EBI), a project idea conceived by EBI and TransEurope Marinas, and developed together with European oceanographers, was welcomed by JPI Oceans as a potential means to establish harmonised environmental data stations at European marina, enabling them to play active roles in the environmental stewardship of their immediate and surrounding waters.
Amongst other actions, the year-long Scoping Action, led by experts from Greece and Italy, expects to explore surrounding coastal dynamics and ocean literacy, pollutants, research topics, business models, and the implementation of low-cost sensors. One of the key values of the initiative comprises a focus on teamwork and collaboration efforts across different industries and stakeholder groups.
With water-based facilities and structures such as floating pontoons that can support sensors, and often managing a strong multi-channel communication platform, marinas offer a very favourable and currently unutilised set of conditions for generating and transmitting environmental data. Given the much smaller nature of marinas compared to commercial ports and being widespread across Europe, they provide plenty of potential locations for data gathering. Marinas could therefore be used to improve observation data quality, coherency and coverage.
This is a very positive result for TransEurope Marinas, an association with marina members across twelve countries and representation in the majority of Europe’s sea basins. Collective cooperation has long been a central tenet of the group, whose members meet regularly to discuss good practice and to support the wider industry.
There are believed to be approximately 10,000 inland and coastal marinas in Europe, many of which provide attractive services and amenities beyond their principal role as a boat haven, becoming vibrant socio-economic hubs. Focal points for boaters, water sports enthusiasts, visitors, and thriving marine enterprises, marinas have a great potential to help tackle marine-related societal challenges.
Based in Brussels, JPI Oceans is a strategic platform dedicated to increasing the value of national investments in marine and maritime research across Europe. In its role as a coordination platform, JPI Oceans focusses on making better and more efficient use of national research budgets, which represent 88% of the research funding within Europe. Its members are the national Research or Sea Ministries.