The anti “red-mud” campaign marks the beginning of a broader awakening to the threat marine pollution poses to the Mediterranean.

Paul Ricard and Alain Bombard found the Marine Observatory (Observatoire de la Mer – Fondation Scientifique Ricard) at Saint-Pierre Fort on Les Embiez island in the Var, dedicated to understanding, explaining and protecting the sea.

Microbiology, oceanography and zoology labs are installed in 1968 and outreach and campaigning begin at conferences and symposia in France and overseas.

An organisation with a joint mission of scientific research and public awareness-raising is unheard-of in the late 60s. The Observatory is the only private organisation of its kind backed by a corporate sponsor, Ricard.

+ More information: “50 ans pour l’Océan” – Special issue of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute’s newsletter – n°15 – 2017.

Nardo Vicente*, lecturer and director of the marine biology laboratory at the University of Marseille-Saint-Jérôme, becomes the Marine Observatory’s research director, recruiting a team of scientists specialised in marine ecology.

They begin working on the experimental aquaculture of bivalve molluscs, still a nascent discipline in France. Research looks mainly at the growth of local cockles, then other more established commercial species like clams.

+ More information: “50 ans pour l’Océan” – Special issue of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute’s newsletter – n°15 – 2017.

+ More information: “Itinéraire d’un exil – De la langue de Cervantes à celle de Molière” by Nardo Vicente, Éditions Maïa, 2018.

A public aquarium is opened at the Saint-Pierre Fort on Les Embiez island, making quite a splash as only the third of its kind on the French Mediterranean coast along with Banyuls-sur-Mer (Pyrénées-Orientales) and Monaco.

In the first year alone, over 50,000 visitors flock to view a live panorama of western Mediterranean fauna.

Teachers help organise Clean Beach days on Les Embiez and generations of children begin taking the symbolic action of removing waste from the beaches. Young people are sensitised to this visual pollution in a very concrete way and often start lecturing their parents.

These efforts to raise school children’s awareness of marine pollution are a pioneering initiative at the time.

Alain Riva*: “Ever since the Institute was founded, our core mission has been to help educate generations about environmental issues”.

+ More information: “50 ans pour l’Océan” – Special issue of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute’s newsletter – n°15 – 2017.

The first issue of Bulletin de l’Observatoire de la Mer (Fondation Scientifique Ricard) is published. It becomes Océanorama (1986-2002), a respected popular science journal now named La Lettre d’information. Feature articles cover key environmental issues like biodiversity conservation, climate change, bio-inspiration and ocean governance.

+ More information: “50 ans pour l’Océan” – Special issue of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute’s newsletter – n°15 – 2017.

Research into experimental shellfish aquaculture acquires a new dimension with the national Ecotron programme by CNEXO*. The objective is to optimise organic coastal production by monitoring and improving the yield of the lowest levels of the food chain, namely plant and animal plankton and shellfish.
The research team is awarded its first research contract and is recognised by the scientific community.

+ More information: “50 ans pour l’Océan” – Special issue of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute’s newsletter – n°15 – 2017.

Coastal water quality is an increasing focus of the microbiology team under Yvan Martin and Jean-Luc Bonnefont (photos). Research also looks at the ability of faecal bacteria in urban effluent to survive in the marine environment*, a pioneering study in an era when there is no real understanding of what happens to human and animal faecal bacteria once it enters the sea.

Successive research missions run until 2002, beginning with IFREMER’s Urban Waste Programme in 1986 in Toulon bay, followed by the sanitation microbiology project within the National Coastal Oceanography Programme (PNOC), launched in 1993**.

The data gathered is used to model the effects of various factors on bacteria survival, leading to better positioning of wastewater outfalls to limit pollution.

+ More information: “50 ans pour l’Océan” – Special issue of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute’s newsletter – n°15 – 2017.

Habiter la mer is the first roaming exhibition by architect Jacques Rougerie for the Ricard Oceanographic Foundation. The exhibition runs until 1985, visiting hundreds of towns across France as well as Brazil, Poland and Tunisia.

This is followed by Vivre avec la mer, a free exhibition for French municipalities with panels and photos of model underwater habitats, which would run for 12 years.

In all, over a million visitors discover a futuristic vision of a new relationship with the sea and how we understand, exploit and manage it.

Jacques Rougerie: “With the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute, we worked to educate and inform, laying the foundations for a new approach to the marine world.”

+ More information: “50 ans pour l’Océan” – Special issue of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute’s newsletter – n°15 – 2017.

The scientific journal created by Prof. Nardo Vicente, Scientific Director of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute, becomes Marine Life – Vie Marine in 1992.

Today it is as dedicated to the Mediterranean as ever, as an online journal more in line with the needs of the scientific community.

More information at: www.marinelife-revue.fr/

Public opinion progressively awakens to the impact of urban pollution in the French Mediterranean, but regulations are still flouted and wastewater treatment is inadequate.

Prof. Vicente and underwater film-maker Christian Pétron decide to film images showing the extent of the damage. They shoot underwater footage of wastewater at the marine outfall at Cap Sicié near Toulon (Var). Their documentary Pollutions et nuisances sur le littoral méditerranéen* shocks viewers and helps secure the adoption of a wastewater treatment plan for the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur coastline (1980-2000) and the construction of sewage plants in Marseille (1987) and Toulon (1997).

+ More information: “50 ans pour l’Océan” – Special issue of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute’s newsletter – n°15 – 2017.

+ More information: “Itinéraire d’un exil – De la langue de Cervantes à celle de Molière” by Nardo Vicente, Éditions Maïa, 2018.

Researchers at the Institute begin experimenting with the biodegradation of petroleum by marine bacteria** in specially built pools on Les Embiez (photo). Certain dispersants are also tested on marine microflora to evaluate their effect and toxicity.

Alain Riva builds an ecophysiology lab to research relationships between the marine environment and farmed animals. Unique experimental protocols are developed and combined with high-performance analysis techniques in partnership with Marseille University. The aim is to better define the various parameters of the main animal functions like feeding, breathing and excretion, and calculate the energy balance when certain physical and chemical factors are varied: temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pollutants, etc.

+ More information: “50 ans pour l’Océan” – Special issue of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute’s newsletter – n°15 – 2017.

The Ricard Oceanographic Foundation, the French Ministry of Education and the French UNESCO clubs launch a drawing competition called La mer et l’enfant, which runs until 1986. It resumes in 1991 as an international poster competition, La jeunesse et la mer, under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Program and CMAS (World Underwater Federation). With the support of the FMISM (Aquatic-Festival,) this same competition would later become Aidons l’eau, aidons la vie and run until 2009.
Over a ten-year period, thousands of posters and models were submitted in various categories according to age and type of school, and from many different countries: France, Germany, Italy, Romania, Russia, Polynesia, Japan…
Alain Riva***: “The Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute has become an integral part of regional education programmes to explain and protect the sea.”

+ More information: “50 ans pour l’Océan” – Special issue of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute’s newsletter – n°15 – 2017.

The Ricard Oceanographic Foundation helps develop a product for Elf-Aquitaine* that accelerates the natural breakdown of petroleum by marine bacteria in the environment.

INIPOL EAP 22 is used successfully in 1989 to clean up hundreds of kilometres of the Alaskan coastline after the sinking of the oil tanker Exxon Valdez.

In 1991, the product wins the Elf Seatrade Award for pollution response, the industry equivalent of an Oscar. The Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute wins the French Academy of Sciences’ Grand Prix, presented to research director Yvan Martin (photo).
+ More information: “50 ans pour l’Océan” – Special issue of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute’s newsletter – n°15 – 2017.

An experimental aquaculture plant is built at Les Embiez, investigating how to control the larval development of commercial species like sea bass and sea bream. This requires a complete understanding of several development phases in these fish (photos).

Researchers join some 20 labs as part of the Scientific Interest Grouping on Aquaculture in the Mediterranean region.

As well as its research results, the team provides training for installing aquaculture farms and promotes seafood, leading to the progressive establishment of aquaculture farms, particularly sea cages in Tamaris bay near Toulon.

In 1986, Prof. Vicente and Gilbert Barnabé, Director of the Aquaculture Centre in Sète, make the film Aquaculture en Méditerranée* to inform students and the general public.

+ More information: “50 ans pour l’Océan” – Special issue of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute’s newsletter – n°15 – 2017.

Edible sea urchins are endangered in the Mediterranean due to overfishing, poaching and lax regulations. The Ricard Oceanographic Foundation launches an awareness campaign to save the edible sea urchin, mobilising public authorities, the general public, professional fisherfolk and scientists*. This comprehensive and innovative approach helps secure greater protection for the species. Regulations on fishing seasons and catch size are modified, reducing pressure on a resource of great economic value.

The Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute begins working on climate change*.

Scientists study the effects of increased CO2 levels in coastal waters until 1995**. The aim is to assess how marine phytoplankton respond to a doubling in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, which experts predict will occur around 2100.

Studies underscore the important role played by physical and biological processes in pumping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

+ More information: “50 ans pour l’Océan” – Special issue of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute’s newsletter – n°15 – 2017.

The Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute launches its own conference cycles (photo): Mercredis de la Mer on Les Embiez (1990), Mardis de l’Environnement in Paris (1991), and Marines in Toulon (1994).

In 1992, it begins offering a grant to French university and Grandes Écoles students (the Aidons l’eau, aidons la vie grant). Innovative projects on pollution, water management and underwater research are rewarded by a panel of experts, and the grant receives Ministry of the Environment patronage in 1994.

The film : Philippe Tailliez, Mémoire d’un Mousquemer on the history of modern underwater diving – directed by Christian Frasson-Botton and Philippe Cupillard –, wins the Special Jury Prize at the FMISM (Aquatic-Festival) in 1995. Parts of the film were shot on Les Embiez in the Var with Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Philippe Tailliez present.

In 1996, the Institute oversees the editorial and scientific team producing the book Fragile Méditerranée (Edisud). It produces the educational CD-Rom Kampi – Aventures en Méditerranée, which wins the Golden Palm at the FMISM (Aquatic-Festival).

The Pinna nobilis fan mussel is added to the list of protected invertebrates and their fishing is banned*. Having helped inventory these large bivalves in the Port-Cros National Park** since 1965, Prof. Vicente – Scientific Director of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute – hails this is a victory. 
Research today mainly studies the species’ biology and physiology, and larvae capture is used to analyse juvenile recruitment.

More information about the programme

A moratorium on the spearfishing of dusky grouper comes into effect in the western Mediterranean, and is continuously extended until 2023, also applying to hook and line fishing. The ban proves to be a lifeline for the species and populations gradually recover. 
The Ricard Oceanographic Foundation takes part in the GEM research group on grouper*. Patrick Lelong, researcher and secretary general of GEM studies the biology and reproduction of this emblematic species.

+ More information: “50 ans pour l’Océan” – Special issue of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute’s newsletter – n°15 – 2017.

The research team joins the European Programme I-Marq (Information on marine environment quality)*.
 Over a 3-year period, a dozen laboratories design and implement an online environmental decision-making tool that provides real-time information on coastal water quality. 
The tool helps decision-makers comply with statutory water quality levels and benefits all users of coastal waters. 
The Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute has now been helping monitor and improve the quality of wastewater effluent for thirty years.

Patricia Ricard becomes the Chair of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute.
The granddaughter of the organisation’s founder, she had been a member of the Board of Directors since 1986.

Scientists at the Institute begin analysing and mapping marine habitats of community interest in the Brusc lagoon in the Var, part of the Natura 2000 network.
 The study lasts until 2010 and forms the basis of recommendations produced after consulting local stakeholders. The objective is to strike a balance between environmental protection and economic development.

The Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute signs a 4-year partnership agreement with WWF-France. The programme involves studying Mediterranean cetacean populations, looking at the effects of pollution on food chains and marine life, and sustainable tourism.

An international symposium on Spirulina* and Development is organised in Toliara (Madagascar) by its University’s Fisheries & Marine Sciences Institute in partnership with the IRD (the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development) and the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute, which is represented by Prof. Nardo Vicente and Dr Alain Riva. 
Spirulina helps fight malnutrition in poverty-stricken countries.


The Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute began greenhouse cultivation of spirulina in 2004 in Méjanes in the Camargue (south of France) and continued experimentally growing the blue-green algae for food purposes until 2010 as part of a European programme spearheaded by the Roquette Group.

More information: “50 ans pour l’Océan” – Special issue of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute’s newsletter – n°15 – 2017.

Jean-Louis Borloo, Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development, officially opens the experimental hatchery* on Les Embiez island in the Var (photo).
 This nursery produces emblematic and commercial species like seahorses and sea urchins for repopulation experiments and biodiversity conservation.

More information on these programmes


+ More information: “50 ans pour l’Océan” – Special issue of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute’s newsletter – n°15 – 2017.

The Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute and the Caisse d’Épargne Côte d’Azur bank win the first Environmental Corporate Sponsorship Award in the marine environment category, for an experimental hatchery on Les Embiez island.

Researchers begin an exhaustive inventory of fauna and flora in the Calanque de Podestat in the Calanques National Park in Marseille*. 
This type of environmental monitoring involves collecting and analysing data to assess how populations in the marine protected area are responding to various environmental factors.

+ More information on this programme

Under the Ich.T.O. programme, the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute inventories fish in the waters of west Toulon (Var) to evaluate fish resources in the area, gathering key data to help conserve and sustainably exploit our natural resources**.

+ More information on this programme

The Institute’s LANDEAU programme highlights the important role that the Brusc lagoon in the Var plays as a fish nursery, and how the habitats there can be restored. The study is part of broader research on the rehabilitation of shallow coastal waters in the Mediterranean.


+ More information on this programme

The Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute is a founding member of the Ocean & Climate Platform, which brings together scientific organisations, universities, NGOs and foundations advocating for oceans to be given more importance in climate negotiations. 
The COP21 Paris Agreement in 2015 is a victory for the Platform and an historic moment for the planet, recognising Oceans for their vital role in balancing our climate.

Researchers launch a new environmental monitoring project, this time for rehabilitating a degraded environment, by observing how fish colonise innovative artificial reefs submerged near the outfall from the Amphitria wastewater treatment plant at Cap Sicié (near Toulon in the Var).

+ More information on this programme


Scientists at the Institute first tested the toxic effects of tin-based antifouling paint in the 1990s*. Their current research on antifouling focusses on biomimicry, in an innovative biological engineering study directed by Dr Robert Bunet**. Researchers are developing ways to test the effectiveness of natural antifouling products, specifically molecules extracted from algae that exhibit promising antifouling abilities.


+ More information on this programme



Anniversary celebrations are held on Saturday 9th July at the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute’s historic headquarters on Les Embiez (Var). 
International experts join Patricia Ricard as she moderates a scientific forum entitled Bâtisseurs de conscience – mer Méditerranée, océan modèle.

+ More information: “50 ans pour l’Océan” – Special issue of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute’s newsletter – n°15 – 2017.

A corporate sponsorship project designed to help young researchers around the world protect our Oceans. 
Students from the prestigious National Korea Maritime and Ocean University join the Institute’s research team on Les Embiez to work on innovative programmes there.

Patricia Ricard says: “It is time for science and research to move beyond disciplinary, national and cultural boundaries. It is time for us all to stand up for life and for the Oceans.”

Scientists at the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute contribute to developing a new approach to conventional aquaculture inspired by nature, aimed at making the activity more sustainable, profitable and environmentally-friendly.

+ More information on this programme



A research programme for developing environmental DNA methodology as an innovative tool for detecting and identifying marine species.

+ More information on this programme

The Chair of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute speaks at key international conferences including the United Nations’ Ocean Conference, COPs, etc.

+ More information: Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute’s newsletter – n°16 – 2018

The Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute publishes a feature article on Ocean Governance in its newsletter.

+ More information: Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute’s newsletter – n°16 – 2018.

Patricia Ricard was nominated as leader of the delegation by President Emmanuel Macron. The Summit brought together at Marseille on 23rd and 24th June representatives of civil society from countries around the Mediterranean with the aim of defining ‘commitments for a new ambition in the Mediterranean’.