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With DONIA, a free application to download, you can choose anchorages with low impact on the ecosystems, in particular on the Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows. 

Developed by Andromède Océanologie, in partnership with the Rhône-Méditerranée-Corse water board, this application aims to provide a tool to enhance both safety and eco-responsibility: the information it provides means that sailors can choose their anchorage according to the meteorological conditions and above all according to the characteristics of the seabed nearby. It enables them to anchor safe in the knowledge that they will not damage the most fragile ecosystems, in particular the Posidonia oceanica seagrass beds. This as we know is a protected species, but it is in constant decline at many sites. Since last year, its preservation has had the support of several decrees by the French coastal authority, the Préfecture Maritime, focused on controlling anchorages, in particular for larger vessels.

Preserving and sharing

The basic version, completely free of charge and available for smartphones and pads, provides access to accurate marine charts with a wealth of information added, such as diving sites, the nearest harbour, places of interest, fishing regulations in force, and more. The application also enables users to share useful information on possible dangers encountered at sea (obstacles, accidents, jellyfish, SOS alerts, etc.), or to share personal observations by posting pictures, for instance. 

There is too a Premium version, for a fee, for those who want to make use of additional services such as alerts for anchor dragging, entangling or collisions, or recording the route sailed, measuring distances or setting a new course.

Seagrass meadows: now more precious than ever

While the role of seagrass meadows as nurseries and priviledged habitats for numerous species is well known, they are too providers of oxygen and capable of storing carbon. And they are excellent stabilisers for the seabed, and the banks of dead leaves that reappear every winter on our beaches, far from being just rubbish, are a vital rampart against erosion by the waves. In a context of global change and the erosion of the coastline,  the seagrasses are more precious than ever.

Link to the site application website

In the middle of January, the 2021 Driver Conference brought together researchers and representatives of institutions, industry and design engineering firms to take stock of ten years of ecological restoration, and to think about the actions to undertake for tomorrow. The Institute plays a role in this process of cooperation through its research programme.

What are known as the coastal shallow bottoms have for decades been impacted by human activities, urbanisation, discharges and pollution and overfishing. Yet they are of major ecological interest, in particular as concerns the shallow bays and the seagrass meadows, real nurseries, that have been especially hard hit, for example by the construction of harbours.

For ten years, scientists have been trying to find solutions to recreate the lost ecological functions, for instance by devising habitats for juveniles in the harbours by installing biohuts developed by Ecocéan. And it works ! The species are more numerous, the number of juveniles is on the increase, their survival rate is higher.

Seagrass meadows to coralligenous bottoms

A little deeper down, the seagrass meadows that provide oxygen, that are protectors of the coastline and carbon sinks, as well as nurseries, are also in the front line. With the increase in pleasure boating, they too are in decline, even if the new measures regulating boat mooring introduced in 2020 should put a halt to their destruction. Trials of transplantation of seagrass beds have been carried out, for example at Monaco with Andromède Oceanologie, or those carried out by the Institute in the Brusc lagoon (see the SAR-LAB programme).

A bit deeper still, in what is known as the infralittoral zone, many sites have been degraded, in particular by discharges from sewage outfalls. The water quality has perceptibly improved in recent years, and it is today the approach using artificial reefs that is being widely explored. Here it is not a matter of nurseries, but rather of refuge habitats in barren areas.

Extending and sharing knowledge

The aim is really to extend our knowledge, to boost the research programmes and to pool the results. For example, proper standardised protocols must be developed, fully transposable from one site to another. They will provide the means to compare the various tools efficiently, to choose what works best, for example to assess the colonisation time for the different types of reef that are proposed. 

In the harbour nurseries, the way the juveniles pass into the natural population must be validated, probably by the use of transmitters fixed to the fishes, since now we have the means to tag individuals that measure barely ten centimetres.

The conclusions of the DRIVER conference firmly insisted on the need to diversify the solutions, to test them, even if it means giving up on some of them, as nature has been doing for millions of years ! Here again, we should take nature as an example and take inspiration from it.

Taking part in the ICO-Solutions initiative

This year, DRIVER has joined forces with a new initiative baptised ICO Solutions, for Islands, Coasts and Oceans (Iles, Côtes et Océans). The Rhône – Mediterranean – Corsica Water Agency, the Conservatoire du Littoral, the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis Chamber of Commerce and Industry, under the high patronage of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, are jointly organising ICO Solutions to support and promote practicable solutions to tackle the major issues related to the preservation and sustainable development of islands, coasts and oceans. Several workshops and meetings will be held in the first semester of 2020 to encourage public sector organisations, companies, experts, researchers and associations to co-construct solutions. The results will be presented during the Journées des Engagements ICO (Days of Commitment) to be held at the Palais de la Bourse in Marseille in parallel with the IUCN World Congress, planned for autumn 2021.

Link to the SAR-LAB programme

 Link to the ICO-Solutions website (in french)

As we have been doing regularly since the beginning of the epizootic that has affected Pinna nobilis, Professor Nardo Vicente has provided an update on the future perspectives for the species, from pockets of resistance to hopes for larval development.

The news is bleak: at present, the only healthy populations in France are to be found in the lagoons, for instance the Etang de Thau, where recent studies* show that the fan mussels are in good health, or the Diana and Urbino lagoons in Corsica, and in certain coastal zones under the influence of the Rhone river waters. “In the open sea“, confirms Nardo Vicente, “only a few isolated individuals have been reported, mainly at Port-Cros where three fan mussels aged between 2 and 3 years were observed and tagged in September. This is also the case at Les Embiez, and at other sites where one or two are still found alive, in places where previously they were very abundant“. During a dive on Friday 13th November at Port-Cros, the news was more positive: a scientist from the MIO sighted eight living fan mussels. But there is no guarantee that these isolated fan mussels will in the medium term survive the parasite. 

Collecting samples to save the species

In France, and also in Spain, samples have been collected to try to isolate healthy individuals.  Some 200 fan mussels, collected in the Etang de Thau by the team from the CRIOBE (Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l’Environnement) at Perpignan, have recently been put out of harm’s way in the aquarium. José Rafael Garcia March, Director of the IMEDMAR institute at Calpe in Spain, a former student of Nardo Vicente, has also collected a certain number of individuals since the onset of the parasitosis. The primary aim is to conserve fan mussels in good health until the end of the parasitosis crisis, but more needs to be done. Firstly by achieving the reproduction of these individuals, a technique that has today been mastered (PhD thesis by Béatrice de Gauléjac under the supervision of Prof. Vicente in 1993), “but also“, explains Nardo Vicente, “by achieving the development of larvae; we succeeded in doing this in 2014, to the fixed larvae stage” (PhD thesis by Sergio Trigos carried out at the IOPR under the supervision of Prof. Vicente, presented in 2017 at the Universidad Catolica de Valencia).  The researchers at the   CRIOBE are currently carrying out similar experiments. 

The prospect of reimplantations

“If we can manage to obtain young individuals”, explains Nardo Vicente, “we then have to let them grow in controlled environment for at least a year before reintroducing them into the sea, as we have already been doing in the Institute’s laboratories since the end of the 1990s.  But the mortality rate among juveniles is very high“. The reimplantation of these juveniles, once the zootic is over, might be a solution to reconstitute the populations. That at least is one of the tracks evoked in particular by the IUCN, which has included the species on the red list of endangered species and has classified it as ‘in critical danger of extinction’.

Limited larval renewal

“For the time being“, Nardo Vicente reminds us, “the renewal of the larvae can only occur in the coastal lagoons and the Corsican lagoons (Diana, Urbino) where the populations have escaped the zootic and are stable. We are incidentally developing a programme for these lagoons with the support of the OEC (Office de l’Environnement de la Corse – Corsica Environmental Agency)”. And when the epizootic is over, it will no doubt be from these populations that we can envisage a dispersal into the open sea. We might also hope that residual populations may manage to develop a kind of resistance to the virus. But for the moment there is no basis for trying to guess at a time frame.

Nardo VICENTE- La Grande nacre de Méditerranée Pinna nobilis. Un coquillage bivalve plein de noblesse. Sciences Technologies Santé. Ed.Presses Universitaires de Provence (2020).

*Inventaire et état de santé des populations de Pinna nobilis (L.1758) dans l’étang de Thau (Hérault, France), 2020. Mathieu Foulquié, Renaud Dupuy de la Grandrive, Nicolas Dalias and Nardo Vicente.

Read the full article (in French) on the site Marine Life website.

Citeo has become a Société à Mission’  (public benefit entreprise) and Patricia Ricard has been appointed a member of its Comité de Mission (mission committee), along with three other expert personalities. This label has been attributed to the company for its commitment to the preservation of the planet and its resources, for the public benefit.

We all know Citeo without being aware of it: when we sort our rubbish, it’s Citeo that does the recycling ! Set up by companies in the consumer packaged goods and distribution sector to reduce the environmental impact of their packaging and waste paper, the company provides them with systems for reducing, reusing, sorting and recycling waste. Today, some 28 000 companies make use of its services.

What is a ‘Société à Mission‘ ?

The term Sociétés à Mission implies a notion of public benefit, which may be social or environmental, and concerns both companies and members of the public, in metropolitan and overseas France.  For Citeo this involves embedding sustainable development, eco-design and recycling in our daily habits, “to find a response to the ecological emergency and accelerate the transformations that are required”, in order to “preserve our planet, its resources, the biodiversity and the climate”. 70% of household packaging and 57.5 % of waste paper is recycled thanks to the rubbish sorting by people in France that has become the eco-citizen’s first reflex. In phase with this dynamic, Citeo refers to itself as an “accelerator of the circular economy”. 

Five social and environmental goals

Reduce the environmental impact of the products of Citeo’s clients, by embedding the circular economy and eco-design in their practices and strategies;   

Create the right conditions to build solutions for today and for tomorrow combining environmental and economic performance;

Give consumers the keys to reduce the environmental impact of their consumption; 

Co-construct and promote Citeo’s solutions and priorities at local and international scale; 

Foster the commitment of Citeo’s teams in pursuing its mission.

A college of four ‘qualified personalities’ 

Patricia Ricard, appointed to the Comité de Mission in her capacity as president of the Institute, is one of the four members chosen from among ‘qualified personalities’. She will sit alongside Professor Carlos MORENO, an expert on the Smart City, Ms Shu ZHANG, CEO of Pandobac, and Professor Philippe MOATI, Co-founder of the Observatoire Société et Consommation (Obsoco)(society and consumption observatory).

The other members of the mission committee are representatives of the company’s clients, a recycling operator, a non-profit association, an elected official and a member of the company’s staff. The committee will be responsible for monitoring the company’s new role.

Link to the Citeo website

The IUCN World Conservation Congress will now take place in june. Held every four years, the Congress brings together leaders and deciders representing governments, civil society, business and research. The aim is to decide on objectives, priorities and means of action for the conservation of natural spaces and biodiversity. For the first time, the 2020 Congress will be open to the general public.

Organised by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Ministère de la Transition Ecologique and the Agence France Biodiversité, the Congress is expected to bring together more than 1000 participants. “Forum 2020”, say the organisers, “will be the hub of public debate, focused on demonstrating best practices and innovative ideas for the conservation of nature, establishing new partnerships and working out a route map for action”.

6 Congress themes 

The Congress will be organised around six main themes, covering the major issues that must be dealt with: managing landscapes for nature and humans; conserving freshwater to preserve life; restoring the health of the oceans; speeding up mitigation and adaptation to deal with climate change; upholding rights and ensuring effective and equitable governance; leveraging economic and financial systems for sustainability; and finally, advancing knowledge, learning, innovation and technology, in the interests of sustainable development.

Generation Nature Areas

For the first time since its foundation in 1948, the 2020 Congress will be open to the general public, and the organisers are expecting more than 100 000 visitors. Exhibition areas, set up as a ‘village’ concept, will enable everyone to explore the topics dealt with during the Congress. These Generation Nature Areas will encourage visitors to become more aware of the issues of biodiversity, with fun activities focused on its preservation. The aim is also to provide a real showcase for the actions carried out at a practical level by community associations, regions and businesses. 

France and the IUCN, a special relationship

The outstanding natural heritage of France, a founding member of IUCN, gives it a special role and a particular responsibility in the preservation of biodiversity: continental France possesses 57 % of the types of natural habitat tagged as ‘priority’ at European level, and 40 % of Europe’s flora; France’s 54 regional natural parks and 10 national parks, including 3 in the French Overseas Territories, offer a combination of outstanding terrestrial and marine areas. France also possesses, with its Overseas Territories, the world’s second most extensive maritime domain, covering 11 million km², where are found 10 % of the planet’s coral reefs and 20 % of its atolls, more than 16000 endemic species, and 5 biodiversity hotspots: Mediterranean, Caribbean, Indian Ocean, New Caledonia and Polynesia.

Link to IUCN website

Link to World Conservation Congress website

#IUCNCongress #biodiversity #Marseille #MTES #AFB

In the face of the epizootic that has impacted the fan mussel since 2016, several Mediterranean lagoons seem to have offered refuge to this species: a study carried out a few weeks ago in Thau lagoon confirms the good state of health of these large shellfish.

Since 2016, the fan mussel Pinna nobilis (L.1758), a species endemic to the Mediterranean, has been victim to an epizootic (a parasitic disease related to a Haplosporidium), that has spread throughout the Mediterranean basin. A protected species under European legislation since 1992 (directive 92/43/EEC), the fan mussel has recently been recognised and classified as ‘in critical danger of extinction’ on the IUCN world red list of endangered species.   

But as a team of researchers at the Institute had already observed in the Diana lagoon in Corsica a few months ago, it seems that lagoons constitute refuge areas where the populations aren’t impacted by this parasite. 

A population monitored over several years

In the French Occitanie region, the first cases of mortality were reported in 2018, in the Banyuls-sur-Mer area, before the epizootic spread. A new study, carried out in Thau lagoon by Mathieu Foulquié, Renaud Dupuy of Grandrive, Nicolas Dalias and Nardo Vicente, would seem to confirm this hypothesis. The researchers chose to undertake their study at sites where the fan mussel has been monitored for several years, which means they can have a proper basis for comparison. Monitoring surveys were carried out in May and June 2020 among the populations which had already been inventoried.

These new surveys showed that the populations are in a good state of health, with a seemingly natural lower mortality rate, and that they continue to be regularly replenished.

 To read the full article (in French) on the Marine Life website

Inventory and state of health of populations of Pinna nobilis (L.1758) in Thau lagoon. Mathieu Foulquié, Renaud Dupuy de la Grandrive, Nicolas Dalias et Nardo Vicente.

(Ph. M. Foulquié : young fan mussel)

A few months ago, researchers from the Institute carried out a survey of the fan mussel in the Diana lagoon. The population observed is in good health !

Classified by the IUCN on the list of species in critical danger of extinction, following the epizootic infection which has for 3 years impacted the whole of the Mediterranean, the fan mussel’s hope of survival seems to be confined to the environment of lagoons and coastal ponds.

Sites where the bivalve mollusc is showing resistance to epizootic impact

The lagoons and coastal ponds, in particular in the vicinity of major rivers such as the Rhone and the Ebro, are increasingly seen as pockets of resistance where the fan mussel has survived in a good state of health. This is the case at the Etang de Thau lagoon, on the French coast of Languedoc, El Mar Menor in Spain and the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro. In Corsica, where the mortality rate is almost total, even in the Scandola reserve, it was vital to find out whether the coastal ponds there might also offer refuge to the species.  So Professor Nardo Vicente, Dr Sylvain Couvray and Dr Rémy Simide carried out a survey in the Diana lagoon, on the east coast of the island, where the fan mussel populations had already been studied in 1990.

In the lagoon, a dense, healthy fan mussel population

And the observations carried out this year along the shores of the lagoon have revealed a dense, healthy population of fan mussels. The density is in the order of around ten individuals per square metre, about the same rate as that recorded in 1990. And among the fan mussels found there, the researchers detected no sign of recent suspected mortality, which again adds weight to the hypothesis of the existence of pockets of resistance in the coastal lagoons. “It is important to step up the research effort in these areas”, insist the members of the survey team. “The survival of these individuals is vital for the potential introduction in the fairly near future of programmes for restocking or natural reseeding by dispersal of larval flux in the sea.“

Determining whether recruitment is local or of marine origin

It remains to determine the origin of the larvae that have maintained the dynamism of this population: “For the time being”, Nardo Vicente concludes, “we don’t know whether the input of larvae has come from the sea, passing through the entry channel (grau), or whether it is a matter of local recruitment.“  Regular monitoring over time, a new hydrodynamic study of larvae captured in situ and a genetic study of the populations might provide a way to understand the settlement in the Diana lagoon of such large populations of Pinna nobilis, unaffected by the epizootic infection.

Full article available (in French) at the Marine Life website

The fan mussel, Pinna Nobilis, has joined the group of Critically Endangered species on the IUCN Red List. A classification that is sad news, the direct consequence of the epizootic which has affected the largest bivalve mollusc in the Mediterranean over the past three years. 

The massive mortality of fan mussel populations, let us remember, first occurred in Spain at the end of 2016, in the Alicante region and around the Balearics, where the epizootic wiped out 80 to 100 % of individuals. During the summer of 2017, it progressed to the Catalan coast, then the Gulf of Ajaccio, the marine reserve of Cerbère-Banyuls, and the whole of the coastline of Corsica during the summer of 2018. Since then, the phenomenon has continued to spread around the Mediterranean coasts, and only a few isolated populations still survive.

An endemic species protected since 1992

“In the past,” as the IUCN explains “the main threats were very localised, coming from illegal fishing, loss of habitat, boat anchoring, invasive species, and so on”. But since it was afforded protection in 1992, the fan mussel had recovered to a highly satisfactory population status, in particular in the Marine Protected Areas where density sometimes reached twenty individuals per 100 m², as for example in the Scandola marine reserve. Today the fan mussel is up against a formidable parasite, Haplosporidium pinnae, “which does not seem to attack other species,” as Prof. Nardo Vicente points out, “such as Pinna rudis, for example”.

A parasite which benefits from the rise in temperatures

And the parasite’s activity increases as the water temperature rises.  As has already been observed for other parasites and viruses, it may have been dormant. Today, it benefits from more favourable conditions owing to the global climate change on the planet and the rise in temperature of the Mediterranean waters: the water does not cool down enough in winter, and reaches record temperatures each summer, sometimes even from the end of spring, which enable the parasite to spread and prosper. In practical terms, we cannot prevent it from spreading, even if several laboratories in Mediterranean countries are currently working to better understand its functioning.

Hope lies in a few resistant populations

“The natural recovery of impacted populations”, emphasizes the IUCN communiqué, “will depend solely on resistant individuals and on recruitment”. It is thus indispensable to maintain constant surveillance of the populations, as the Institute has been doing in several Marine Protected Areas, such as the Scandola reserve and the Port-Cros National Park; or through the monitoring network for the French part of the populations, from Monaco to Banyuls, managed and coordinated by Prof. Nardo Vicente: researchers and also scuba diving clubs and environmental protection associations continue to help develop it with their observations.

“Since the natural recovery of the populations will depend on recruitment, it is recommended to monitor colonies of larvae at the impacted sites and not affected by means of larval collectors”, according to the communiqué. “We have already been doing that”, explains Nardo Vicente, “by installing larval collectors since 1996 at various sites on the French Mediterranean coasts (Port-Cros, Scandola, Côte Bleue marine park, Les Embiez archipelago). These collectors enable us to record the changes in the marine biodiversity at a given site”.

In the future, should we transplant fan mussels ?

Among the approaches suggested to save the Mediterranean fan mussel, the IUCN also raises the question of the transplantation of individuals, but stresses the risk of displacing “healthy carriers” which might in turn contaminate populations that had hitherto been spared.  Another idea is to implant “juveniles from larval collectors and from breeding operations off site“.

Link to the PinnaSpot programme

For its fortieth birthday, the scientific journal of the Institut Océanographique Paul Ricard — http://marinelife-revue.fr— has a new look.

Originally published in paper format, the journal Vie Marine (Marine Life) was launched in 1979 by Professor Nardo Vicente, the scientific director of the Institute, and currently Chair of the Editorial Board. The purpose of the journal was to publish the work of researchers at the Institute’s research centre on the Ile des Embiez.

Over the years, Vie Marine moved on to include scientific articles by researchers from other organisations, in phase with international standards, under the impetus of Professor Lucien Laubier, a corresponding member of the French Académie des Sciences. Renamed Marine Life/Vie Marine in 1992, the priority for the journal was to continue to meet the requirements of researchers who were eager to publish their findings as soon as possible. Since 2010, the journal has been exclusively available on the Internet.

As soon as they are accepted by the Editorial Board, articles are immediately available online with free access. 

The focus of the journal is still the ‘knowledge and sustainable management of the Mediterranean and its living resources’. It is a valuable tool at the service of scientists for whom the Mediterranean is at the heart of their priorities.

Further information. Instructions to authors

In the coming battle to find a way of dealing with climate change, the Ocean is a key ally. By absorbing much of the carbon in the atmosphere, it offers the planet another chance to go on breathing.

Three experts tell us all about Blue Carbon:

Laurent Bopp, Director of Research CNRS (French National Scientific Research Centre) at the Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD, Laboratory of Dynamic Meteorology), Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace (IPSL), Paris, explains the mechanisms which give our oceans this ability to store carbon.

Dorothée Herr, Manager, Oceans and Climate Change, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), explains how blue carbon can play a role in the international policies for combating climate change.

Finally, Chloë Webster, Marine Environment Scientific Consultant, a Mediterranean specialist, explains how the MPAs are key management tools for the preservation of biodiversity and one of the responses to climate change.

Ocean, climate, biodiversity: the vital equation

Everything is linked. And we must at all costs preserve the fragile equilibrium of the interactions between Ocean, climate and biodiversity, as Patricia Ricard, President of the Institute, points out in the Editorial. Preserving the ocean means enabling it to continue to play this vital role, to be the breath of life for the planet. By protecting its habitats, we can succeed in maintaining the biodiversity, which is at the source of .. the blue carbon. All is not lost, we still have our hands on the controls, but we must act now !

Read on !

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The Climate Action Summit and the official publication of the IPCC Report Ocean and Cryosphere within a few days of each other highlight the necessity of taking our destiny in hand in the matter of the climate: as Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, insisted in a column in the French newspaper Le Monde last spring, we must at any price “win the battle for the climate”.

A Climate Action Summit to speed up the decision making process

The Climate Action Summit on 23rd September, organised by António Guterres, Secretary General of the UN, is intended as a booster for the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change. The signatory countries may well have already produced action plans, but these are not enough to limit the increase in climate warming to a level below 2°C. Given the urgency of the situation, António Guterres is today calling on everyone to make a further effort without delay: “Only much more ambitious actions will do,” he said. “This is why the Summit will target the fields that are at the core of the problem, that is the sectors that generate the most emissions and the areas where the development of resilience will have the greatest impact”.

The Summit, which will bring together members of governments and also deciders from the finance sector and representatives of civil society, should serve as a springboard to introduce, in the very short term, measures aimed at developing ‘cleaner’ economies based on the resilience of ecosystems, and on their ability to absorb climate change-related impacts.
To meet the goals defined by the Paris Agreement is today not an option but a necessity.

A Report, Ocean and Cryosphere, which highlights the urgency of the situation

This special IPCC Report on the Ocean and the Cryosphere (sea ice, glaciers, ice caps and permafrost) highlights the same urgency. Although it will not be officially published until 25th September in Monaco, part of the content has already been revealed. The conclusions of the experts are alarming. They offer estimations of both the impact of climate change on the coastal, polar and mountain ecosystems, and also the impact on populations. We may cite, for example, among other figures, a forecast sea level rise of 40 cm in the oceans by 2100 owing to the melting of glaciers and polar icecaps, and the displacement of more than 280 million people worldwide, but also the thawing of most of the permafrost, which would release into the atmosphere an enormous quantity of carbon trapped in the frozen soil. The picture is far from rosy, and will no doubt be made worse by the increase in flooding episodes, more powerful cyclones, an increase in the acidification of the oceans which will endanger the marine ecosystems.

So this is no longer the time for raising awareness but for the time for action – immediate, targeted and effective. At all levels.

On the occasion of his visit to the island of Les Embiez, Peter Thomson, United Nations (UN) Special Envoy for the Oceans, responded to Patricia Ricard’s questions: he spoke of solutions on nature, of corporate sponsorship, and innovation, his vision for the preservation of the ocean environment. With a clear message: “We have only one ocean, and we will have to find common solutions”.

Peter Thomson, United Nations (UN) Special Envoy for the Oceans was this weekend the guest of Patricia Ricard at the island of Les Embiez on the occasion of the Institute’s General Assembly.

This General Assembly was for him an opportunity to hear about certain environmental issues that are specific to the Mediterranean.
In relation with the research carried out by the Institute’s scientists, several themes were discussed, all core issues for the ecological challenges that must be met for the survival of the Ocean: the restoration of coastal shallow water habitats, innovative solutions to make aquaculture more sustainable without generating additional pressure on fisheries stocks, the detection of environmental DNA for better monitoring of the biodiversity.

From the restoration of coastal habitats to the recycling of plastics

Other visiting experts presented various measures for environmental preservation: Chloë Webster, until recently scientific director MedPAN and today consultant, recalled the importance of the setting up of Marine Protected Areas, stressing the fact that what is important is not to set up more and more MPAs, but rather to give them the tools, and the funding, to enable them to really protect their territory; Christian Decugis, among other functions President of the APAM (Association pour la Pêche et les Activités Maritimes), highlighted the role of ‘sentinels of the sea’ fulfilled by the fishers, and reminded us that the most important thing to preserve the resource is “the proper use of fishing gear, even for small boats”. He also recalled that preservation really works, “as evidenced by the bluefin tuna, with a biomass back to 1950s levels, thanks to several years of fishing bans”. Marine Fidelle, of Ecocéan, presented the techniques for rearing the post-larvae of fishes and the installation of biohuts which are a means to increase the survival rate of juveniles. Simon Bernard, of Plastic Odyssey, recalled that “We cannot clean up the oceans”, but we can reduce our use of plastics and learn to valorise them by recycling. Damien Leloup described an operation run by the Walter Munk Foundation for the Oceans in the Altaussee, an Austrian lake which was also impacted by pollution. Finally, Cécile Devillers, an RSE (corporate social responsibility) specialist at Ricard, explained that there has been a real raising of awareness in companies, from the choice of raw materials to end of life management for the objects produced, but that there is still a lack of knowledge for finding the best suited solutions.

Peter Thomson, responsible for the implementation of SDG 14

A series of presentations that fall directly within the field of competence of Peter Thomson. His role is after all to support the implementation of SDG 14, sustainable development goal n°14, marine life, working with all the stakeholders concerned: civil society, the scientific community, the private sector and the other stakeholders.
The aim is in particular to continue to keep up and running the 1 400 or so voluntary commitments made during the Conference on the Oceans, and to see that they are implemented. Formerly the permanent representative of the Fiji islands at the United Nations, this diplomat today devotes all his energy to serving the cause of the oceans. “One breath out of two”, he declared a few months ago, “derives from oxygen produced by the Ocean. So it is time for us to make radical changes“.

(Ph. C. F-B)

The Two Shores Summit, the Mediterranean Forum, will be held in Marseille on 24th June 2019. The aim is to give a new impetus to the dynamic of cooperation in the western Mediterranean, basing it on civil society. Patricia Ricard, President of the Institute, has been designated to lead the French delegation.

Launched at the initiative of President Macron, the Two Shores Summit has been defined as “an unprecedented mobilisation of civil society in the Mediterranean countries”. 10 States will take part, 5 from the northern shore countries, and 5 from the southern shore: for the South, Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya; for the North, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Malta. The European Union, Germany as well as pan-Mediterranean organisations and the major international economic organisations in the region are also associated.

To generate practicable solutions

The aim is to generate practicable solutions for the sustainable development of the region, at the human and economic levels. All the ideas and proposed initiatives will be shared with the heads of state and of governments during the Marseille Summit to determine which are to be given priority for implementation.
These initiatives may be completely new, or at the stage of technical implementation, or already existing and worth retriggering. They may take the form of collective actions, specific projects, suggestions for common public policy, common concepts, institutions to be created, Mediterranean concepts and regulations, etc. The sole imperative is that they should have a regional or multilateral character.

The ‘One Hundred’

One hundred personalities from the civil society of the western Mediterranean will make up the steering committee for the Summit. They have been chosen by the ten States concerned, and a leader had been designated for each country. Patricia Ricard, President of the Institut Océanographique Paul Ricard, is the leader of the French delegation. They will all meet on 11th and 12th June at Tunis for a survey exercise referred to as the ‘Assembly of the One Hundred’, during which they will appeal to the heads of state and of governments of the 5+5 Dialogue to take into account their proposals for practicable actions.

Five preparatory forums

Prior to the Marseille Summit, five preparatory forums will be held between April and June: the Energies forum organised by Algeria (Algiers, 8th 2019), ‘Towards an enhanced partnership at the service of a sustainable transition in energy’; a forum ‘Youth, education, mobility’, organised by Malta (Valetta, 24th and 25th April, 2019), ‘The Mediterranean Generation : Malta’s Contribution to the Summit of the Two Shores’; the forum ‘Economics and competitiveness’, organised by Morocco (Rabat, 29th April 2019), ‘Improved economic integration between the two shores, towards a partnership zone for shared growth and innovation’; the forum ‘Culture, the media, tourism’, organised by France   (Montpellier, 2nd and 3rd May 2019), ‘Driving a new cultural dynamic in the western Mediterranean’; the forum ‘Environment and sustainable development’, organised by Italy (Palermo, 15th and 16th May 2019), ‘Blue economics, green economics, circular economics: proposals for partnerships for sustainable urban coastal development in the western Mediterranean’.

Source : France Diplomatie

A laboratory of ideas to meet the challenges of climate change. Last week, Patricia Ricard took part in the One Planet Summit in Nairobi as a member of the laboratory of ideas, One Planet Lab. The aim of these meetings is to speed up the worldwide transition towards a low carbon economy.

The One Planet Summit

The coalitions of the One Planet Summit met on 14 March in Nairobi, Kenya, for the third of these summits. The meeting was focused on initiatives for the protection of the environment and transition on the African continent. While Africa is only responsible for 4% of worldwide emissions of greenhouse gases, 65% of the population of Africa is considered as directly impacted by climate change. The Summit brought together leaders, corporate heads and personalities representing young people and civil society, gathered to present real innovative achievements, and to call for new commitments.

The One Planet Lab, a laboratory of ideas

The One Planet Lab was officially launched on 26 September 2018 in New York, on the occasion of the second One Planet Summit, following the appeal by Emmanuel Macron. Consisting of 31 personalities representing companies and institutions, its mission is to provide material for future One Planet Summits. A true laboratory of ideas, it brings together influential personalities from the universities, NGOs, business and international financial institutions, recognised for their expertise and their determination to take action for the benefit of the environment.

Effective actions

The aim of each One Planet Summit is to bring together and to extend to a broader scale effective actions to meet the challenges related to climate change, the loss of biodiversity and the wellbeing of societies. One year after the first Summit, thirty actions have been initiated, with a four-fold focus: the climate and the mobilisation of funds, and the protection of the oceans and of biodiversity.

Source : https://www.ecologique-solidaire.gouv.fr/one-planet-lab-se-reunit-paris

Under the scientific exchange programme between the Institute and the Korean Maritime and Ocean University at Busan, two students have been welcomed this winter at Les Embiez island: supervised by Dr Robert Bunet, So Im Cheon and Eunha Kim have been working on aspects of the genetics of marine organisms.

For the third year running, the Institute’s research laboratory has hosted students from the prestigious KMOU, Korean Maritime and Ocean University, in South Korea. The aim of these exchanges, launched in 2016 at the initiative of Patricia Ricard as part of the programme ‘Take Ocean For Future’, is to generate a common dynamic focused on the major challenges facing ‘our’ Mediterranean and all the world’s oceans. “In the face of climate warming and the threats that menace our environment”, stresses Patricia Ricard, “science and research should today push back their disciplinary, national and cultural frontiers”.

From antifouling to aquaculture

In 2017, Dr Jin-Woo Lee stayed at Les Embiez for a few weeks. He worked in collaboration with Dr Robert Bunet in research on the antifouling properties of marine organisms. Together, they tested various molecules with the aim of finding an alternative to antifouling paints for boats, which are highly polluting and harmful for the environment.
In 2018, the programme Take OFF provided the framework to welcome Bok Il Jang, a young engineer working on the nutrition of aquatic animals. During his stay, he worked on feeds for species in aquaculture, and on alternatives to the use of meal from wild fish, which aggravates overfishing (insect-based meals, etc.).

The plan is to continue and develop these exchanges by including other universities, once the Institute’s new research platform becomes fully operational.

Barely a year ago, the Scandola marine reserve was home to an outstanding population of the fan mussel, Pinna nobilis. Last week, Professor Nardo Vicente could only bear witness to the death of all the fan mussels. Here is his report on the situation.

The situation is worrying.

We are just back from a scientific field survey at the Scandola marine reserve in Corsica, which only a year ago possessed one of the highest densities of this magnificent bivalve shellfish in the western Mediterranean.

Today, they are all dead ! A population we have been monitoring since the 1980s !
There are dead fan mussels scattered all over the seabed.
And this parasitosis is now reaching the coasts of Provence. In September, staff members of the Parc National des Calanques found a dying fan mussel in the Anse du Mugel at La Ciotat. The analysis proved positive for Haplosporidium. Other sick specimens have been observed at various points along the Provencal coast.
At Scandola, well into October, the water was still 22°C at 40 m depth. This was also the case along the whole of the coastline of Provence.
It is to be feared that this epizootic outbreak may progressively affect all the Mediterranean coasts, as specimens infected by parasites have been reported at various points in Monaco, Italy, Malta, Tunisia and Greece.

WATERS THAT ARE TOO WARM FAVOUR THE ACTIVITY OF PARASITES

The activity of the parasite responsible for the death of the fan mussels is in fact intensified when the temperature rises. And the water temperatures in the Mediterranean have been consistently high since the beginning of summer. We might therefore assume that global climate change is to a large extent responsible for the outbreak of this epidemic, which affects the largest of the Mediterranean bivalves.
It is probable that the increasingly rapid warming of the waters of the Mediterranean will in the near future affect other species. There have indeed been signs of this for several years now: the collection of larvae that we have been carrying out since the 1990s in the Marine Protected Areas (Port-Cros, Scandola, Côte Bleue marine park) and around the Les Embiez archipelago has enabled us to study the marine biodiversity of these sites.

Thanks to these larvae collection operations, along with young fan mussels, numerous other species from various zoological groups (mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms, ascidians, fishes) are to be found in the larvae collections. And from 1996 to 2013, we have been able to observe a 30% erosion of the biodiversity of species of mollusks caught, and 70% of small species of invertebrates have disappeared. This phenomenon is likely to get worse in coming years, if nothing is done to slow down the warming of the planet.

Since last winter, many laboratories around the Mediterranean have been constantly monitoring the fan mussel populations, and several hundred individuals in a good state of health have been collected and taken to safety, in particular in Spain. The survival of the species may be at stake.

In addition, there have been shipping disasters such as the one that has recently occurred at Cap Corse, with a potentially catastrophic impact on the living environment, and for the economy. Because of the incompetence of ships’ crews, we are back to the 1970s and the tanker shipwrecks that became so notorious.

And yet, oil pollution is just the tree that hides the forest ..

Nardo VICENTE

The survey team : Sylvain Couvray, Rémy Simide, Aurélie Vion et Nardo Vicente.