IHCantabria contributes to the management and access to marine biodiversity data, within the framework of the European project EMODnet Biology
Partners of the European EMODnet Biology project attending the annual meeting held in Tunis in mid-May this year
The institute participated in the annual meeting of EMODnet Biology project partners recently held in Tunis and will host the next annual meeting in Santander in May 2026
The city of Tunis became a meeting point for the future of marine biodiversity in Europe, hosting the annual meeting of the European project EMODnet Biology, in which representatives of the Institute of Environmental Hydraulics of the University of Cantabria (IHCantabria) participated.
This meeting, which took place in Tunis on May 12-13, marked the culmination of the first part of Phase V (2023-2025) and the beginning of the second part of Phase V of the project (2025-2027), with the objective of further advancing open access and interoperability of marine biodiversity data.
During the plenary session, IHCantabria was proposed as the venue for the next annual meeting of EMODnet Biology partners, scheduled for May 2026, which represents an important recognition of the active and technical role of the institute in the framework of this strategic European project.
The IHCantabria delegation was composed of José A. Juanes ─director of Strategies and head of the Area of Hydrobiology and Environmental Management─ and researcher Elvira Ramos. Both are involved in various tasks of the EMODnet Biology project, focused on data quality, standardization and applicability in the management of marine ecosystems.
Importance of EMODnet
The European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) is a network of organizations supported by the EU Integrated Maritime Policy. It currently has 24 partners from different European centers. EMODnet Biology is EMODnet’s marine biodiversity thematic service, whose mission is to provide free and open access to data and information on marine species – from angiosperms, benthos and fish, to seabirds, mammals, phytoplankton or macroalgae – inhabiting European regional seas, such as the Mediterranean, the North Atlantic, the North Sea or the Baltic.
Therefore, the main objective of the EMODnet Biology project is to improve access to high quality marine data for various users, such as research personnel, public authorities and private entities.
Characteristics of the EMODnet Biology project
The development of this project is crucial for the management and protection of marine biodiversity in Europe, as it provides access to standardized and harmonized data on marine life in order to facilitate decision-making at the European level, while contributing to the blue economy, innovation and sustainable growth.
Based on FAIR principles (an acronym that stands for the guidelines for Affordability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability, which is often adopted to improve the reusability of research and other academic data), this service is supported by international standards and tools developed in conjunction with infrastructures such as EurOBIS and LifeWatch ERIC; it uses the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) as its taxonomic backbone.
During the development of the second part of Phase V, the EMODnet Biology project will continue to deepen the development of geospatial products, species distribution maps and analysis tools such as the Global Thermal Distributions of Macroalgae which is one of the most visited products created by IHCantabria. These products are essential for monitoring the state of the marine environment in Europe and for supporting international policies, such as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and Regional Seas Conventions, such as OSPAR (Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic).
