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Background and rationale 

The EU Green Deal sets the context for Europe’s blue economy to become sustainable and climate-neutral by 2050. The Blue Bioeconomy represents an important component of the broader blue economy, delivering food, feed and bio-based products for internal and export markets. With the completion of the Horizon 2020 BlueBio ERA-Net in 2023, the SBEP becomes a key implementing mechanism in Horizon Europe for blue bioeconomy R&D. To achieve sustainability, it is important to consider all stages of the bioresources value chain, from production (capture fisheries, aquaculture) to seafood processing, extracting value from waste streams, developing new types of biomasses, new food and non-food products, as well as advanced extraction technologies such as those used in biorefineries. Cooperation will be sought with the FutureFoodS partnership, which will focus on the post-farming and -fishing part of food systems. 

Key considerations to be taken on board in this Intervention Area include the importance of engaging with industry and stakeholders and if relevant, the application of multi/trans-disciplinary approaches to address complex challenges, including social sciences and humanities.  

Key thematic areas 

Sustainable Fisheries and Harvesting    

Overexploitation and the cumulative impact of overfishing with the effects of pollutants, climate change and other drivers on susceptible species and ecosystems is leading to unsustainable scenarios for the next decades. To bring Europe's fish stocks back to sustainable levels, there are important challenges remaining. More food, feed or biotic resources for other purposes can be obtained from more targeted fisheries and harvesting by improved management of overfished stocks, optimized fishing technologies and practices to reduce bycatch and discards, and increased fishing and harvesting of underutilised species (i.e., zooplankton, other invertebrates, macroalgae). A forward-looking ecosystem-based management approach under EU legislation yet tailored to local conditions will reduce adverse impacts of fishing and harvesting on marine ecosystems, particularly sensitive species, and on vulnerable habitats. The sustainability of mesopelagic fisheries is still being assessed and there is a unique opportunity to ensure that EBM is embedded from the outset. New digital tools such as remote electronic monitoring systems, catch reporting using mobile applications, ecosystem modelling and artificial intelligence tools can optimize both small- and large-scale fishing operations. At the same time such technologies can enable data collection and analysis that can support development of sustainable management practices, while providing full traceability for our seafood. Assessments and solution scenarios should consider the impact and social implications of combined drivers such as habitat degradation, pollution, warming, water stratification and acidification, as well as their effects, such as changes in ecosystem composition, higher frequency of toxic algal blooms and alterations with species migration and phenology. 

Activities should address the following aspects: 

• Integrated approaches to innovation for fishing vessels to improve vessel operations and practices including technology for e.g., location (also to contrast illegal fisheries), and water characteristics, catch logistics, while reducing the use of fossil fuels.  

• Exploring and co-developing with industry the potential for new fishing techniques, technologies, and new resources for small-scale fisheries, and seaweed harvesting.  

• Research to inform policy options and management of migratory fish stocks that spend different parts of their life cycle in different jurisdictions. This is a critical issue for the EU Common Fisheries Policy and co-management of stocks between EU and third countries.  

• Supporting the application of ecosystem-based management approaches to inshore and small-scale fisheries management.  

• Understanding the impacts of climate change and human activities including pollution on commercial fisheries, fish stocks and other species with commercial potential. 

• Understanding cross-compliance, alignment and trade-offs between fisheries policy and management with other policy domains (MSP, MSFD, WFD) and the implications of measures associated with the EU Nature Restoration Law on fishing and fishers.   

• Technological advancements to preserve the nutritional value and use for new types of catch or harvest.  

• Increased R&I efforts to improve the understanding of species’ role in the trophic webs, as well as their growth potential as seen in an integrated sustainability and biodiversity-resilience perspective, including the knowledge in concrete management solutions (based on managers’ needs). 

• Understanding the social and economic drivers of change in commercial fisheries to inform both fisheries, economic and regional development policy and planning. 

• R&I that supports new digital tools for monitoring for well-informed and timely decision making and sustainable management considering the impact and societal costs of stressors such as habitat degradation, pollution, and climate change.  

• Development of more selective fishing gears that reduce environmental impact, particularly in the bottom-contact fisheries, and for harvesting new species including macroalgae. Focus can also be on improving fish welfare and increasing traceability. 

Aquaculture 

Production of safe, secure food and sustainable bioproducts through aquaculture, has a margin for improvements in respect of diversification, competitiveness, and environmental performance. Aquaculture production should be rethought to satisfy growing consumer demand for blue food, as well as the need for innovative blue bioproducts, while enhancing the social, economic, and environmental sustainability and carbon neutrality of the production. This requires targeted technological advancements and diversified production solutions also considering regional and local differences throughout Europe. Integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA), off-shore production, closed systems, or land-based infrastructure with use of recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), are options for culturing of established and new species. Diversification of species, in particular the expansion and production of organisms of the primary and/or low trophic levels, face several challenges that need technological advancements. For macroalgae there is a need for R&I that supports spatial considerations as well as new offshore production techniques that require further development and facilities, including larger-scale farms, mechanisation, and methods for further processing after harvest. The new and modified technological and digital systems should favour and promote the health and welfare and quality of the farmed fish. 

Activities should address the following aspects: 

• Challenges and opportunities associated with further development and expansion of seaweed production, including but not limited to environmental concerns, e.g., light, nutrients’ uptake, vectors for diseases, parasites and spread of invasive species; risk of genetic impact on wild seaweed populations; challenges of insufficient seed quality and varying nutritional levels; food safety challenges due to bioaccumulation of heavy metals; new methods for processing harvested seaweed, taking into account the subsequent value chain (e.g. through biorefinery).  

• Development of biologically, technically, and economically feasible onshore recirculating aquaculture systems opportunities for fish, shellfish, and seaweed. 

• Challenges and opportunities associated with mollusc production, including but not limited to algal blooms as potential threats for food safety; cost/benefits for longer distance offshore production. 

• Innovative alternative solutions to produce established and new species, including integrated multitrophic aquaculture, new systems associated with other economic off-shore activities, closed or land-based systems.   

• New high value and sustainable feed sources to ensure sufficient and balanced feeds that promote fish quality, health, and welfare. 

• Challenges and opportunities for growth in fed mariculture, including but not limited to sustainable and healthy feed, fish health optimization environmental concerns, and food safety issues due to bioaccumulation and biomagnification of xenobiotics.  

Enabling a circular blue bioeconomy 

Transitioning to a circular blue bioeconomy, whereby the entire biomass of fish, shellfish and seaweed sourced from capture fisheries and aquaculture is utilised, presents both challenges and opportunities. Current policy and regulation can be a barrier to developing new bio-products from waste or side streams (by-catch, rest raw materials etc.), and there is a growing body of evidence to support policy reform. New, sustainable, high-value products can be developed through a biorefinery approach, by e.g., valorisation of waste streams, and contributes to minimising waste and enhancing the value chain. Further exploration of the synergies between blue (aquatic farming) and green (agriculture) is another opportunity in a fully circular blue bioeconomy. For example, side streams from agriculture could be used in aquaculture or bio stimulants derived from marine sources could be used in agriculture. New solutions are also needed for existing challenges e.g., seaweed as bioplastic.  

Activities should address the following aspects: 

• Opportunities for developing new sustainable bio-based products (food/feed/chemical/pharmaceutical/material) or services to accelerate the ocean economy and provide solutions for existing challenges.  

• Post-harvest or processing technology to overcome sensory and other drawbacks to increase consumer acceptance for new products.   

• R&I in support of traceability of bio-based products from marine sources through digitalisation. 

• R&I that supports policy reform with respect to regulations on use of waste or side streams for a variety of new bio-based products (food/feed/chemical/pharmaceutical/nutraceutical/material). 

Implementation, enablers, and synergies  

R&I topics will be formulated for calls for proposals, where projects will be expected to involve a broad range of scientific disciplines, industry partners, citizens, and policy stakeholders order to meet the stated objectives and the quadruple helix ambition. Relevant additional activities could include bringing together diverse marine stakeholder to co-develop objectives, assessing the access and status of research, testing, and demonstration facilities, or supporting the uptake of innovative solutions. 

Synergies and complementarity will be sought through dialogue with other relevant and potential overlapping initiatives, particularly EU partnerships Biodiversa+, FutureFoodS, Water4All, and Animal Health and Welfare; actions under the Mission Restore our Oceans and Waters (Mission Ocean); the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE-JU) and Waterborne platform. It is important to ensure that new knowledge, products, or services stemming from Cluster 5 and 6 calls are taken up in relevant blue sectors (by both production and value chain stakeholders). 

Outcomes and Impacts 

• Examples of outcomes from R&I investment in this area: Sustainably produced, nutritious, affordable and climate friendly blue food; diversification of food, feed and other feedstock for products with focus on lower trophic levels; more healthy food, fish, fish stocks and healthier marine ecosystems; improved production efficiencies, for seafood products; greater understanding of the impacts of climate change and human activities on commercial fisheries and fish stock; value chain approaches; aquatic bio-productions that are regionally adapted, well integrated into area-based management, with more selective and less damaging fishing techniques; deployment of new technical solutions, digital, nature-based and social innovations as well as community-led and purpose-driven technology for the blue food sectors.  

• Environmental impacts: reduced overfishing by supporting legislation to reducing fishing pressure on overexploited species; optimized technology for reduced bycatch and disincentivising its exploitation; supporting the industry shift towards carbon neutrality by development of more selective and less energy-consuming technologies and procedures​; Reduced impact of fisheries on marine habitats​. 

• Social impacts: more informed consumers​; improved understanding of social and economic drivers of change in the blue bioeconomy and in economic and regional development policy and planning; uptake of innovative fishing gear​ 

• Economic impacts: productive and competitive greening of the fisheries, aquaculture and processing sectors​; improved traceability and labelling of blue food​; increase in the number of blue-green companies, products, processes and services​; reduced import dependencies and strengthened tech industries; policy and management options to inform EU (CFP) and third-party negotiations in respect of migratory species.  

Background and rationale 

The ocean industries face several common challenges which can be tackled more efficiently by stimulating cross-sectorial technological cooperation and ensure the transitions needed. The key drivers of technological development are sustainability, safety in operation, green and cost-efficient solutions. 

Within the broader policy framework of the Partnership, the aim of the Intervention Area is to bolster long-term sustainable purpose-driven technological innovations. The Intervention Area is not limited to any sector or activity but covers the entire blue economy, focusing on the prerequisites for a green and digital transition of these sectors and on the conditions for co-existence and multi-use of activities and infrastructures at sea. Through this Intervention Area the Partnership will support marine and maritime contributions to curbing greenhouse gas emissions towards net zero and solutions for climate related mitigation and adaptation (e.g., Ocean-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal) that strengthen societal and economic resilience against climate-change impacts. The Intervention Area focuses on actions that will bring us closer to sustainability, whether in relation to materials (cf., EU Waste Framework Directive, Critical Raw Materials initiative) and/or helping to minimise conflicts deriving from the demands for space at sea or at the coast. 

The activities within the Blue Economy sectors represent highly complex multi-actor social-ecological systems. The transition of these sectors will therefore include broad industrial stakeholder involvement and a diversified funding strategy. Common challenges within all highlighted target areas include regulatory and legal constraints and opportunities, social acceptance of the developments for existing and emerging sectors, socio-economic considerations for a just transition, and broad and inclusive approaches based on principles of social innovation (attitudes and perceptions; learning, networking, and collaboration; and scale, scope, and resonance). Other common challenges are related to corporate social responsibility and social acceptance and license to operate, and the need for new or improved tools and regimes to manage complex safety, security and risk conditions arising from increased co-existence and multi-use structures, including considering biodiversity and cross sectoral issues.  

Key thematic areas 

This Intervention Area contains two strongly connected sub-areas. There are equally strong linkages with the intervention areas on digital twin solutions, and on marine spatial planning. The focus here is on the material and spatial intervention aspects. 

1. Transitioning the Blue Economy 

Actions under this Intervention Area should emphasise technology and process development, solution orientation, and integrated approaches to develop the sustainable Blue Economy in the context of climate change and natural hazard challenges. Projects and their clusters should plan a clear path (e.g., value chain perspective) from new knowledge and innovative services and/or products, to a possible service offer to end-users and how to address demands by end-users. 

There are several critical needs that require specific attention and investment to advance nature-based solutions (NBS) for ocean-based carbon dioxide removal (CDR) in their biotic (e.g., seaweed cultivation, artificial upwelling) or abiotic (ocean alkalinity enhancement) shape. Activities should address the following aspects: 

• Tools, techniques, and processes, such as ocean sensors to track NBS impacts, methods for cultivating and sinking seaweed and risk assessments. 

• Developing sufficient understanding for scientists and policymakers to assess overall environmental, social and economic impacts (including multi-use) on the ocean and society. 

• Creation of markets and business models: identification of opportunities for profit within appropriate bounds of social license. 

The high material intensity of maritime activities, taking account of rapid changes in energy systems, requires full consideration of transition to circularity for existing and upcoming sea-based activities. As an example, the rapid development and expansion of offshore wind requires intensified R&I to better understand the environmental impacts (example: marine habitats and ecosystems, migration routes for birds) and possible technical solutions to alleviate negative impacts). Activities should address the following aspects: 

• Decommissioning options in existing and upcoming segments of the energy sector at meso (type) and macro (sector segment) level. 

• Business models for possible investment mechanisms to facilitate the re-use of installations addressed from a legal, environmental, and economical perspective. 

• Innovation for reducing environmental externalities of new installations and of options for future decommissioning at micro (installation) and meso (type) level, and reuse of materials. 

• ‘Materials and Nature-Based Solutions’: compatibilities and incompatibilities of material uses in view of enhancing natural functions and/or enabling reuse and recycling. 

2. Improve co-existence and multi-use infrastructures 

In view of the increasing demand for space, activities and functions at sea, multi-use spatial concepts, including multi-use infrastructures, brings a potential for synergistic benefits for associated sectors. At the same time, the risk of conflicts and negative environmental effects needs to be minimised. Any multi-use of installations or space increases the complexity compared to a ‘single-use’ situation and requires cost-benefit analysis to understand and valorise its economic and social value chain (e.g., research and innovation, new job profiles, diversification of the tourism sector) and make informed decisions as to its benefit for society and the environment. As an example, industry actors can support multi-use by proposing possible investment mechanisms to facilitate the re-use of installations from a legal, environmental, and economical perspective.  

Crowding of space may result in industrial activities moving to further offshore areas, and climate change will generate a more hostile environment for marine and maritime operations (higher sea states, more frequent extreme events). Activities should address the following aspects: 

• How to deal with increased challenges for operations and platforms, for which management and monitoring of operations will need intelligent, faster, and more reliable control systems for remote intervention, including data simulation of potential accidents and spills, efficient strategies for prevention/containment, and consequent environmental remediation approaches.  

• Mechanisms to promote sustainable, safe and secure coexistence of several spatial functions and activities within the Blue Economy, and how to address such coexistence within the legal, economic, social, managerial, and policy context. 

• How to combine infrastructure, functions, and logistics: For example, energy produced at sea can be used for aquaculture farms, hydrogen production, and desalinization, whereas hydrogen can also be used as a vector to transfer energy on shore, or to refuel ships propelled by hydrogen.  

Implementation, enablers, and synergies  

Direct engagement with stakeholders from the industry is foreseen to reflect the range of sectors addressed within this Intervention Area. R&I activities will involve multiple domains including mathematics/physics, maritime, marine and aquaculture sciences, science diplomacy, economics, legal studies, and political sciences, and extend to research infrastructures and their authorities responsible at national level, and NGOs. Co-creation is foreseen by aligning activities with those of the EU Mission 'Restore our Ocean and Waters' and their regional lighthouses.  

A range of tools are foreseen to enable R&I, including Knowledge Hubs, fora with industry to understand gaps and needs, capacity building for countries without expertise in marine structures, and R&I call(s). A successful implementation will need the support of innovative NBS and purpose-driven and smart digital technologies, e.g., simulations, risk assessments and planning purposes, automated data collection and monitoring, models, taxonomy. There is good potential for engagement of in-kind infrastructures such as test-basins, simulation facilities, Digital Twin technologies, and research platforms. 

Outcomes and Impacts 

• Examples of outcomes from R&I investment in this area: solutions for curbing greenhouse gas emissions, targeting climate neutrality in the Blue Economy, strengthening societal and economic resilience against climate-change impacts, and targeting climate neutrality from marine and maritime infrastructures. Improved assessments of ecological dynamics versus socioeconomic needs; New knowledge, tools, information, platforms and incentives to support actors from all sectors to drive the just and inclusive transition; piloting of multi-use structures; science-based recommendations for blue economic development to policymakers; support for bio- and ecological observation networks through multi-use of structures. 

• Environmental impacts: Improved marine biodiversity & ecosystems and increased clean energy generation; More agile frameworks developed to cater to environmental challenges; Increased uptake of nature-based solutions; Increased resilience of the whole ecosystems (including fisheries) 

• Social impacts: Generation of sustainable blue growth and markets in alignment with stakeholder interests and consumers’ rights; opportunities for new working life skills and knowledge; social acceptance of improved and new uses of ocean structures, including within the Blue Economy sectors, is achieved, and affected citizens and workers are engaged in the development. 

• Economic impacts: generation of sustainable blue markets and opportunities; introduction into the EU legislation the allocation of areas devoted to renewable energy production. 

Background and rationale 

The development of digital twins, including DTOs, offers realistic digital representations of assets, processes, or systems in the built or natural environment. DTOs enable users to provide answers to “what if” questions in the context of ocean development, a sustainable blue economy and effective maritime spatial planning. By combining large amount of data and information with data-driven models for relevant sea systems and their interdependency DTO applications will allow for user-driven scenario building of effects of natural processes and anthropogenic activities on the marine environment. This ability will enhance planning rapid responses to unexpected events at sea and provide innovative, interactive, and user-driven tools available to citizens, entrepreneurs, scientists, and policymakers.  

The concept approach of this Intervention Area – the development and validation of DTOs at sub-basin scale – is a multidisciplinary, long-lasting research and innovation activity. The initial focus will be on some spatially limited areas at sea-basin level at low TRL to improve our understanding of the relations among the essential processes and system components of the marine environment. The aim is to develop holistic types of DTOs that include and model all essential systems and their interactions: circulation and currents, waves, tides, interaction with the atmosphere, but also seabed and sediments, coasts and estuaries, animal and plant life, the ecosystem, and socio-economic activities and impacts. DTO applications for scenarios should connect to the marine environment but also to blue economy activities at local level. The development of accurate, validated, holistic DTOs at sub-basin scale will include several phases, notably the selection of targeted sub-basins, the collection of relevant data for these areas, the development of data-driven AI models representing the essential processes that characterize these basins, and the evaluation of the mutual interactions among the systems. Further steps include the combination with existing physics-based models, the development of digital systems and new sensors, development of a data-lake for storage of constantly increasing and heterogeneous data (to feed the AI simulators), the development of the framework for computation of multidisciplinary equilibrium among the systems, and numerical solution via large High-Performance Computing (HPC) architectures. Finally, this DTO approach will require constant test and validation of models' predictions, as well as specialized tools for access, rapid analysis, and dynamic visualization of the data and the predicted solutions.    

This Intervention Area is complementary to the European Digital Twin of the Ocean (European DTO) under the EU Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters and will complement key initiatives such as the EDITO library of models/ EMODnet and ILIAD.   The activity is closely linked with the assessment and improvement the EU observing system under EOOS, and it will require deployment and coordination with ocean related ESFRI Research Infrastructures. 

Key thematic areas 

Actions under this Intervention Area will be dedicated to development of DTO models at sub-basin scale, i.e., spatially limited areas within sea-basins. This will provide accurate information on the limits and knowledge gaps of single/interconnected sub-modules (physical, biogeochemical, ecosystem, socio-economic) and details for integrating spatial hierarchical models. Activities should address the following aspects: 

• Mapping and understanding user requirements for models, based on input from relevant communities (research, business, management), and turning this knowledge into applications based on stakeholder requirements. 
• Identifying and assessing data gaps and available data and doing uncertainty quantification of the data and models relevant to selected use cases at a sub-sea-basin scale. 
• New sensors and innovative approaches to fill identified data gaps to provide more and more accurate information on sub-systems. 
• Understanding the essential systems characterizing one selected area and mapping the need for additional AI models where existing models do not apply.  
• General frameworks for exchanging information between models.  

A close scientific and expert cooperation and coordination is needed to ensure appropriate timing, complementarities, convergence, and interoperability with other ongoing and planned DTO initiatives, notably under the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters”, Horizon Europe actions (Cluster 6), national projects, and DTO core infrastructures. 

Implementation, enablers, and synergies 

In addition to cash calls for R&I proposals, there is good potential for in-kind contribution and engaging observing systems and national monitoring efforts to ensure harmonization of data collection and better coverage and frequency of measurements to improve the fundamental modelling. 

Relevant SRIA enablers for achieving the targets include FAIR data; SSH integration and social innovation, considering the socioeconomic and coastal community aspects of area specific modelling; training activity that address human capacity needs; social innovation and rules for practical applications; sustainable financing of infrastructures.  

Synergies will be sought with activities under Horizon Europe, including EU Mission actions, Copernicus, EOOS, UN Decade, Mercator, DITTO, ILIAD, and EMODnet, relevant RIs, and national projects and activities. 

Outcomes and Impacts  

• Examples of outcomes from R&I investment in this area: Sub-basin ODT; Intelligent environmental monitoring systems and new sensor technology; synergies between available data networks.  
• Environmental impacts: Planning and adaptation strategies put in place to tackle environmental and climate change.    
• Social impacts: better stakeholder engagement (incl. citizens), inter-institutional collaborations & investments. 
• Economic impacts: Higher use of intelligent DSS by industry, municipalities and coastal communities, and potential for circular business models    

Background and rationale 

Planning and managing sea-uses are essential for sustainable resource management, conservation of marine ecosystems, conflict resolution, disaster risk reduction, economic development, and addressing climate change challenges. By adopting an integrated and holistic approach to planning and management, societies can ensure the long-term health, productivity, and resilience of the oceans, seas, and coastal areas.  

The boundaries and operational objectives for sustainable development and Good Environmental Status are defined under the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Within this framework ecosystem-based management (EBM) of human uses and Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) plays an important role in achieving Europe’s objectives of decarbonisation and biodiversity protection by supporting more efficient use of marine space, while reducing conflicting uses and inefficiencies in transport and related facilities (EC COM (2021)240 final). MSP plays a crucial role in defining suitable space for Blue Economy sectors to operate, while assessing and mitigating their cumulative impacts and promoting coexistence with other sea uses. 

The overarching goal of this Intervention Area is to support science-based decision making that takes stock of environmental status, the legacy of human impacts, climate change trends, and future scenarios, considering multitude of pressures from uses of marine space and marine resources. The Intervention Area focuses on R&I needs related to Ecosystems-based management and Maritime Spatial Planning, aiming to support cross-border cooperation and management of marine protected areas, innovative tools for decision making that combine data from various sectors, as well as knowledge generation on areas such as Good Environmental Status (GES), the valuation of ecosystem services, and the carbon sequestration capacity of coastal restoration programs. The Intervention Area also encompasses reconstructions of seafloor changes in 4D in areas of significant natural dynamic and/or heavy human impact, R&I needs within maritime surveillance, as well as more inclusive processes for development of decision support-systems. Co-design, co-development, and co-use with MSP competent authorities at national and regional level will be essential to ensure direct capitalization of results and to widen the information basis available to relevant authorities, particularly by including socio economic data sources. 

Key thematic areas 

1. Fostering the full use of scientific knowledge for effective management and conservation   

Assessments of ecosystem health is a prerequisite for effective environmental management and conservation. Innovative research on this topic will provide essential data for the identification of suitable areas for diverse uses, minimizing conflicts and maximizing sustainable development. Ecosystem based management, including MSP, requires high resolution mapping of marine underwater morphology, and marine uses and quantification of indicators describing ecosystem distribution, health and pressures caused by human uses and of ecosystem services which will provide essential tools for ecosystem health assessment, spatial management of the marine domain, and implementation of restoration measures. The temporal evolution of the monitored variables, either abiotic (seafloor morphology, sediment dynamics, etc.) or biotic (community structure and function) are relevant for MSP, and other marine policies, notably the MSFD. Activities should address the following aspects: 

• Research to improve understanding of the harm caused by all diverse types of litter (assessment of marine litter). 

• Further development (and validation) of frameworks for assessment of sound impacts on populations and the ecosystem, including relation between direct responses and population consequences, spatial risk‐assessment approaches, and population modelling, considering the MSFD assessment of the distribution of reported impulsive sounds. 

• Development of suitable population dynamics models to support the setting of absolute abundance assessment values for sensitive fish species (assessment of the Recovery in the Population Abundance of Sensitive Fish Species). 

• Research to better implement integrated economical, ecological, and social ocean health indicators into marine ecosystem management tools. 

• Provision of essential data for enhanced understanding of marine ecosystems and geology and effective environmental management and conservation and supporting the identification of suitable areas for different uses, minimizing conflicts, and maximizing sustainable development.  

2. Development of innovative Decision Support Tools (DSTs)  

MSP is recognized today as an essential tool to prevent conflict between policy priorities and to reconcile nature conservation with economic development (EC COM (2021) 240 final). Its complexity requires sophisticated tools to analyse and visualise data, assess potential conflicts, and identify optimal solutions. DSTs can significantly enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of MSP processes. By integrating multiple data sources and modelling techniques, DST will allow decision-makers to evaluate different scenarios and provide for a better-informed decision-making by considering the broader impacts and interdependencies among different sea-uses. Activities should address the following aspects: 

• New methodologies for integrating and operationalising socio-economic and socio-ecological aspects in MSP to quantitatively estimate environmental, social, and economic benefits of MSP in present and future scenarios. 

• Filling knowledge gaps on pressures, states, and ecosystem functioning, as well as re-use potential of relevant data from existing repositories and broader sources. 

• Explore transboundary scenarios and multi-lateral solutions (e.g., international protected areas; protection of highly mobile species and shared stocks and resources; environmental disasters; preparedness to marine hazards). 

• Identifying environmental and socio-economic trends and drivers and building scenarios at sea basin and sub-sea basin scale for informed adaptive planning and management.  

• advanced models for integrating multiple disciplines to create digital intelligent supporting tools (including Artificial Intelligence based) able to consider environmental processes, anthropogenic activities (coastal and sea uses), socio-economic and socio-ecological aspects. case studies and demonstrators of the concrete added value of the developed DSTs for specific sector planning demands, with a focus on coastal areas and land-sea interactions (e.g., offshore renewable energies, aquaculture, fisheries, maritime transport, coastal and maritime tourism and multi-use of marine space).  

• Overcoming technical and non-technical barriers in co-using advanced DSTs in institutional MSP processes. 

• Potential application of DSTs in non-EU countries across sea basins and environmental / sectoral policy domains other than MSP. 

3. Enhanced Marine and Maritime Surveillance 

Maritime Surveillance includes the protection of marine resources from illegal activities (fishery control, oil spill detection, environmental degradation monitoring etc.), food security, transport safety and the monitoring of critical marine infrastructures (e.g., renewable energy and aquaculture offshore platforms), key issues for a sustainable blue economy. Different observation systems for data acquisition (satellite and stratospheric-platform, including ship-borne observations), sharing and management are the fundamental tools of Maritime Surveillance.  

Activities should explore obstacles and opportunities for:  

• integrating platforms and services for maritime surveillance through data sharing between the existing EU and national platforms. 

• implementing platforms allowing the integration of marine and maritime data analytics with socio-economic data.  

• Data from maritime surveillance to inform the implementation of monitoring processes. 

• Embedding maritime surveillance into MSP, through dedicated zoning and management measures. 

4. The seafloor in 4D 

The uses of the coastal regions are often defined without taking in full account the sea-floor morphology and its dynamic evolution. This additional 'temporal' aspect adds a crucial fourth dimension (hence 4D) to seafloor sampling and surveying. Innovative strategies of repeated bathymetric surveys should be adopted in dynamic coastal and nearshore areas characterized by consistent sediment transport and consequent modification of the sea floor morphology. Such 4D information, and related big data, presented via accessible tools and formats is highly relevant for MSP, from the assessment to the planning and adapting phases, including awareness raising and proper engagement of stakeholders. Activities should address the following aspects: 

• Performing intelligent seafloor sampling surveys  

• Assessing seafloor ecosystem health, damage/degradation of marine habitat and effectiveness of restoration measures.  

• Representations of the sea floor, including of human impacts, through augmented reality with emphasis on public dissemination and stakeholder engagement. 

Implementation, enablers, and synergies  

Cash calls for R&I proposals are important to address knowledge gaps, develop solutions, and build R&I capacity within the area. There is good potential for engaging observing systems and RIs through additional activities (in-kind contributions), e.g., in relation to maritime surveillance and seafloor sampling and observation. 

Innovative governance and integration of SSH are key enablers to achieve the goals. Research and innovation efforts are needed to address the lack of data standards and challenges of combining data from a variety of sources.  

The Intervention Area will build on input from relevant projects under HE (Cluster 6 Destination 1 topics in particular). It will align with EU Missions ‘Restore our Ocean and Waters’ and 'Adaptation to Climate Change' and the DTO initiative. Among European Partnerships Biodiversa+; Artificial Intelligence (AI), data and robotics, Zero Emission Waterborne Transport, and FutureFoodS will be of relevance.  

Many organizations and initiatives at global and sea-basin scale are involved in promoting and implementing MSP, including from United Nations to the UNESCO/IOC to executing authorities of the Regional Sea Conventions to national governments implementing relevant European directives. 

Outcomes and Impacts 

• Examples of outcomes from R&I investment in this area: enhanced capacity for R&I in support of MSP; co-designed AI-based DSTs for MSP; application of DSTs to case study areas/topics; framework conditions for a stronger ocean industry collaboration across sectors; identification of data-gaps; improved MSP plans, transferring DST results in the formal MSP processes & plans; tools for the implementation of relevant policies, strategies and directives; transdisciplinary and socio-ecological approaches for MSP processes at different scales; more coherent MSP in the same sea basin and overall; common tools and decisions and transfer of tools among stakeholders in the involved regions; several regions and MS involved in the process of MSP and development; more climate resilient and ecosystem-based MSP; improved co-design / co-planning, from strategic objectives to specific management measures; skills and education to enable use of digital support tools; 

• Environmental impacts: avoidance of negative impacts on environment based on early identification. 

• Social Impacts: improved public trust in the research-innovation-management chain; Improved public literacy regarding transformations of the seafloor and water mass 

• Economic impacts: evidence-based decision making that greens the industry; decreased carbon footprint of blue economic drivers. 

Background and rationale 

For coastal regions and communities around Europe, tourism is a highly important economic activity that provides substantial employment. Coastal and maritime tourism represents about half of all tourism globally and is the largest sector of the EU Blue Economy in terms of GVA and employment. The sector was affected hard by the covid pandemic and is still recovering, with a GVA of €49.9bn generated by the sector in 2021, representing a 74% increase from 2020, but still a 38% contraction of pre-pandemic levels. In 2021 the sector employed 1.9m people in the EU (2.8 million in 2019) (EU Blue Economy Report 2024). The sector is highly dependent on the quality of marine and coastal environments but can also impact directly on those environments. Many of its activities also depend on coastal infrastructures, including for example small harbours and marinas, that provide an interface between the land and the sea but are in themselves exposed to risks from climate change and extreme weather impacts. Moreover, the social infrastructure of coastal communities is challenged by the seasonality of the tourism sector, and there is a need for greater economic diversification and improved digital infrastructure to encourage new economic activities in coastal communities.  

There are significant challenges and opportunities for coastal and marine tourism to achieve a transition from its currently unsustainable model and to manage exposure to environmental, economic and social risks. The aim of this IA is to support interdisciplinary research across natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and technology, as well as innovation to enable a just and efficient transition to low-impact, regenerative and sustainable tourism and coastal business that increases also the resilience of the communities in which these businesses are embedded. While focusing on coastal and maritime tourism, the knowledge generated under this Intervention Area could also apply to challenges that are common to other coastal businesses. 

Key thematic areas 

1. Low-impact, regenerative coastal tourism and business 

An increasing global population and middle class with access to disposable income, has led to a rise in tourism and the numbers of people travelling for recreational purposes. The covid pandemic, however, caused a major disruption to international tourism and impacted tourism business globally, including 75 million job losses and a tourism-induced GDP reduction of more than €2 trillion. As the sector recovers from the impacts of the pandemic, there are substantial opportunities for change and adaptation towards a more sustainable business model. Research in this area is needed to guide policy and planning to support a just and efficient transition towards low-impact, regenerative tourism.  

• Identify opportunities for viable tourism products that help to reduce negative environmental impact, manage and restore local environments, and revitalise local and traditional culture and heritage.
• Analysis of the energy usage and needs across marine and coastal tourism and strategies for reducing sectoral energy use and green-house gas emissions, transitioning to renewable energy, including electrification of recreational vessels and ground transportation.
• Shifting tourist attitudes and behaviours to enable a transition to a lower impact, regenerative business models, reducing pollution, water and energy usage.
• Understand willingness to pay for environmental measures to inform financial models and transition strategies to low-impact tourism.
• Identify opportunities for citizen science as a tool to deliver co-benefits in terms of ocean literacy, environmental protection/restoration, and an activity that can form part of a viable business product.
• Development of innovative digital products and services that inform decision-making and creation of new products for tourism operators.

2. Resilient coastal tourism and diversification of business 

Coastal tourism businesses operate in a continually evolving socio-economic context where seasonality, limited access to labour and tight profit margins are commonplace. These businesses are also highly dependent on the quality of the marine and coastal environment and are on the front line of climate and weather impacts. The threats they face are reflected more broadly by the threats to the coastal communities they support. An improved understanding of these pressures can inform more effective policies, planning and product development, as well as strategies to foster resilience in coastal communities and businesses and support diversification of coastal and marine-based enterprises.

Activities should address the following aspects: 

• Research to understand the impacts posed to coastal business and communities by climate change (ocean warming, sea-level rise, biodiversity loss, etc.) and extreme weather events.
• Strategies for strengthening ecosystem resilience in face of change coastal businesses against climatic, geological and anthropogenic hazards and social and economic risk factors.
• Social innovation to enable diversification and eco-sustainability of coastal and marine-based enterprises and mechanisms to sustain such businesses.
• Assess the impacts of diverse coastal activities on marine and coastal environments and co-dependencies between tourism and marine ecosystem health and biodiversity.
• Understand the relationships and interdependencies between marine and coastal tourism and the communities in which they operate, including challenges linked to social/community unrest generated by mass tourism.
• Improved understanding of financing instruments and incentves for innnovation that support new and sustainable job creation in the greeen-blue economy coastal communities.
• Improved understanding of the impact of ‘social’ infrastructure (education, health, welfare) on the relocation of more diversified businesses to coastal areas.
• Improve understanding of the social and cultural costs and benefits of sustainable coastal and marine tourism and the cultural context for fostering a sustainable.

3. Resilient coastal infrastructures and nature-based solutions 

Coastal tourism relies in large part on built infrastructures such as small harbours, piers and marinas, that enable access for operators and tourists to the marine environment. These infrastructures are by nature of their location, highly exposed to the impacts of climate change (e.g. sea-level rise), geological hazards, coastal erosion and extreme weather events. Understanding the risk to existing infrastructures and advancing innovative approaches to design and adaptation of coastal structures is a key component underpinning sectoral resilience. A transition towards nature-based solutions is an important opportunity to reduce the carbon footprint of activities linked to tourism. Nature based solutions can promote the development of sustainable blue tourism in coastal areas, including strategies to combat coastal erosion, control the spread of harmful alien species, and ensure the quality of bathing waters.

Activities should address the following aspects:  

• Research on impacts on coastal infrastructures due to climate change and extreme weather events.
• Nature-based solutions to protect /re-design coastal structures, improve environmental quality and safety and mitigate potential impacts on coastal communities and businesses.
• Integrating NBS and   technologies in coastal infrastructures that can improve and monitor environmental conditions and support long-term data on amelioration of coastal conditions and environmental change.
• Effective Investment in and conservation of natural assets that benefit both costal tourism and ecosystem services / Nature-based Solutions (e.g. through carbon storage, flood protection) focused on habitat regeneration and blue carbon.
• Analysis of public policies around water provisions, desalinisation and marine based infrastructures management to set the path for future interventions.  
• Enabling diversification by working with existing and emerging maritime sectors to provide tourism opportunities linked to eco-tourism, offshore energy, aquaculture operations, fisheries and ports.
• Improved knowledge about the diversity of demands per region in terms of infrastructures (stable or mobile ones) to inform policies on coastal development and local economic activities.
• Research on the impact (positive or negative) of subsidies/allowance on different economic activities in context of their long term sustainability.
• Improved comparative knowledge on legal frameworks across different European regions to support coastal activities in the the most effiecient and sustainable way. 

Implementation, enablers, and synergies  

Technology, data and digitalisation can enable solutions for coastal and marine tourism to transition to a more sustainable, regenerative business model, create new tourism offerings and opportunities, including for upskilling. In a European context, marine environmental data portals such as EMODNet provide users with access to a major source of information that can be used to improve decision-making and product development. Data and technological innovation are also critical enablers to inform the design and maintenance of coastal infrastructures. Moreover, technology paired with a better and comparative understanding of socio and cultural factors can contribute to frame appropriately the potentials of different regions in terms diversification of economic activities, infrastructures, labour markets, and legal and financial support for innovation.  

Cash calls for R&I proposals are relevant for addressing knowledge gaps, develop solutions, and build R&I capacity around the topic of this Intervention Area. Synergies will be sought with the Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters and European Partnerships such as Social Transformations and Resilience, Resilient Cultural Heritage, and Driving Urban Transitions.  

Outcomes and Impacts 

• Knowledge and guidance for public authorities and development agencies (national, local), to inform policy and planning to enable a just and efficient transition for coastal and marine activities to a sustainable and regenerative business model.
• Greater understanding for key stakeholders (coastal businesses, community leaders, local authorities, etc.) of the risks posed by climate change impacts, extreme weather and geological hazards.
• Greater understanding of the social and cultural context underpinning coastal tourism and strategies to ensure that transition to a new sustainable business model safeguard the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of local communities.
• Strategies to foster greater resilience for coastal business and communities in the face of climate change, extreme weather events, geological hazards, and social and economic impacts to inform all stakeholders from individual businesses to national policy and planning authorities.
• Mitigation of environmental impacts of coastal and marine tourism in Europe, linked to reduced pollution, GHG emissions and energy usage, water usage, and impact on local marine and coastal environments.  
• Improved strategies and policies for delivering positive change in tourist behaviours and attitudes towards reducing deleterious environmental, social and cultural impacts from their touristic activities. Supporting an interest/willingness to participate in regenerative activities such as nature restoration and citizen science.  
• Greater deployment of innovative technologies (e.g. low-cost sensors, application for citizen science approaches), and use of data and digital products (e.g. publicly available data by tourist operators) to inform low-impact tourism activities and products.