News

The North Sea has fundamentally changed. Big tuna fish and biologically rich seafloors including native oyster banks have largely disappeared during the last centuries and made room for all kind of human activities (fisheries, shipping, sand and gravel extraction, pollution, etc.) and for highly impacted underwater landscapes. However, the tide seems to be turning and at present about 5.4% of the...

On Friday 11 March Japan was hit by a massive earthquake, with the epicentre lying approximately 130km offshore the northeast coast. Promptly a tsunami ánd tsunami alert followed. The progress of the wave could be followed via the Sea Level Station Monitoring Facility - a website developed by the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) in Ostend/Belgium for the Project Office for IODE (IOC/UNESCO) and...

On Friday 25 February 333 marine scientists from Flanders and around met at the eleventh edition of the VLIZ Young Marine Scientists' Day at the site Oud Sint-Jan in Bruges. The day was full of surprising pitch speeches and an extensive poster session. This gave the participants a nice overview of the latest, current marine and coastal research. The public could vote for the best speaker and...

On Friday 4 March 2011, the French biomedical scientist Dr. Eric Honoré will be awarded the prestigious ‘Prize Dr. Edouard Delcroix’ 2010 in Ostend, for his in-depth research on the beneficial impact of fish-derived polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on cardiovascular disease mortality.

Every year the VLIZ employs several students for the months of July, August or September. You can apply by sending a mail with your CV and an application letter to jan.mees@vliz.be.

Until 2 May researchers of European universities and public research institutions can demand for free access on board of 12 European regional research vessels.

In February 2011 the Flemish research vessel Zeeleeuw celebrated its 10th anniversary. On the celebration - held on Wednesday 9 February - a hunderd users and sympathizers were present. The history of the ship and its importance for marine science and education in Flanders was emphasized.

Join us on the 25 th of February 2011 for the eleventh edition of the ‘VLIZ Young Marine Scientists' Day’. 300 marine and coastal scientists from our North Sea region registred yet to participate to this marine happening, but registration is open till the 18 th of February. Remember: the Young Marine Scientsist' Day is D-Day to meet each other and learn to know each others work within an informal...

Between 25 and 27 January our marine technician Michiel T'Jampens will follow a multibeam training onboard the RV G.O. Sars near Bergen (Norway). The acquired skills will be used in future multibeam work on the new research vessel 'Simon Stevin'.

The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) and associated databases are an index to the book of life, but our further goal is for every species to have its face on the web.

Kindly block 25 February in your diary. On that day VLIZ organises the 2011 edition of the VLIZ Young Marine Scientists' Day. A day where you can meet the marine and coastal scientists from the region of Flanders and surroundings. A day interesting for students and recently started researchers, as well as for senior reserachers. For all of them it is definitively important to get an overview of...

Oceanographers worldwide, united in the Partnership for the Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO) - where VLIZ represents the Belgian marine scientists - and the organisation ‘Oceans United’ will plead on the GEO Plenary and Ministerial Summit for a more systematic monitoring of the state of our global oceans. By means of recent and innovative digital developments, an implementation of such a...

On the symposium ‘The North Sea, a field lab for marine protection’ experts in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) can share their experiences on the use of scientific knowledge to designate, manage and monitor these speciale areas of conservation (with focus to the North Sea).

Marine scientists from across Europe gathered in Ostend at the EurOCEAN 2010 Conference (12-13 October) where the Ostend Declaration was adopted. This declaration will act as a guideline to address the grand challenges and opportunities facing Europe’s seas and oceans in the coming decade.

Together with a wide range of field experts from Belgium and taxonomic experts worldwide, the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) started to compile an inventory of all species living in the Belgian part of North Sea. At the moment, the Belgian Register of Marine Species (BeRMS) comprises 2187 species. An updated version of this list is consultable at all times via the new website of the Belgian...

An important mission of the Flanders Marine Institute is to create visibility for the marine and coastal research in Flanders. We therefore invest a lot in disseminating the output of the Flemish scientists via the world wide web.

Until the 4th of October, individuals or organisations can give their support and comments on the draft text of the " Ostend declaration". The statement will be launched on the 13th of October as the final piece of EurOCEAN2010. This international top-meeting will bring together the European marine scientists and policy makers. They will formulate the state-of-the-art in marine research and will...

To underpin and implement the integrated European Maritime Policy, including the Framework Marine Strategy, all available knowledge have to be combined and mobilized. Europe's fragmented activities for observing the sea should be integrated into an coherent package. With its new campaign ' Marine Knowledge 2020' the EU want to draw the attention to the further extension of a ' European Observation...