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Fisheries cooperation vessel Intermares. (Photo:MARM)
Advances in marine research and maritime innovation
SPAIN
Friday, May 21, 2010, 16:50 (GMT + 9)
The latest advances and emerging ideas in the field of marine research, maritime innovation and the evaluation of the marine medium were at the forefront of the debates in the conference Euromares 2010, held from 18 to 19 May in Guijon.
Some 200 scientists, managers, politicians, authorities related to research and planning of the marine medium, NGO, the maritime industry and leaders of the maritime industry of all the Member States of
the European Union (EU) participated in the event.
The conference, set within the framework of the Third edition of the European Maritime Day, allowed all the sectors implicated in the research of the sea and its availing to advance in the analysis and development of marine and maritime policies of the EU.
The research dedicated to the knowledge of marine habitats, the study of the effect of polluting agents, the analysis of the impact of the climate change and the use of mathematical models were some of the subjects analysed.
The main conclusions of Euromares 2010 were:
- The research on renewable marine energy represents a great opportunity, as much economic as environmental;
- Maritime navigation is the most ecological form of transport. However, the improvement of its environmental yield must involve all the sectors implicated;
- The research on fisheries and aquaculture is evolving towards the approach based on the ecosystems. The development of integrated marine research will serve as the basis of the convergence between
the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and
the Directive Framework on
Marine Strategy;
- Marine biotechnology is a novel field, full of great possibilities for scientific research. The obtaining of new drugs, alternative fuels, food components and marine genetic resources obtained by means of marine biotechnology will be of great social, economic and environmental value in the future, which must be made compatible with the conservation of those resources;
- Technology and innovation applied to marine and maritime infrastructures have a notable effect to progress in the knowledge of the sea. For example, they use robots to explore the marine depths, and remote sensors are developed to evaluate the quality of the marine medium and new techniques on-site and continuously to know more about the effects of human activities on marine biodiversity;
- The development of
the Holistic Marine Policy of the EU since its approval in 2008 by the Parliament and the European Council, as well as the application of
the Directive Framework on
the Marine Strategy, constitutes a great opportunity to create a standing platform of research, destined to offer long-term support to the petitions of the EU and its Member States.
The inter-regional coordination and cooperation with third party countries must be integrated in this research structure.
Attendees also agreed that an effort should be made to increase circulation and furnishing of research on the sea to increase its implication on society.
The Conference was organised by
the Directorate-General for the Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea – a dependency of the Ministry of Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs (MARM), the Spanish Oceanography Institute (IEO) and the Ministry of Science and Innovation.
In addition, it relies on the auspices of
the European Commission, the Principality of Asturias and the City Council of Gijon.
By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
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