Twenty multinational projects will receive over €117 million to contribute to the objectives of the EU Mission ‘Restore our Ocean and waters’: protect and restore biodiversity, cut pollution, support a sustainable blue economy. The projects gather 297 partners from 39 countries, including most of the EU Member States.

Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, said:

Preserving and restoring the health of our ocean and waters is about preserving our life and all life on this planet. It is by joining our efforts that we will regenerate marine habitats, bring back fish populations, and make our blue economy more sustainable. Thanks to EU-funded projects, research, citizen activism and the growing number of organisations, we are on our way to achieving this critical Mission.

What are the projects expected to do?

1. Projects to protect and restore our ocean and waters

Two projects focus on improving the environmental status of marine ecosystems. BLUE4ALL aims to achieve effective, efficient and resilient management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and networks of MPAs through targeted actions in 25 sites and living labs. The OCEAN CITIZEN project tests an advanced restoration programme based on strong ecological and societal interconnections. It paves the way to the ‘gardeners of the sea’, whose skills and expertise will apply eco-engineering approaches to fisheries and aquaculture while enhancing carbon sequestration of marine habitat

2. Projects to fight pollution

The REMEDIES project will monitor plastic litter, its collection and valorisation and the prevention of the distribution of non-degradable plastics by mapping out 170 km² for plastic litter. It plans to reach around 100 000 citizens, collect around 400 tons of plastic waste, and build up plastic prevention pathways through scaling up and replication in 33 Mediterranean countries.

3. Projects to support sustainable blue economy

The OLAMUR and ULTFARMS projects develop several pilots in the Baltic and North Sea to test solutions for low impact marine aquaculture and multi-purpose use of marine space.

For further information and the full list of projects, see the EU Missions website here.