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To study settlement patterns and preferences of the European flat oyster, custom-made oyster spat collectors were installed in the Belgian part of the North Sea in early June 2024. Reconciling commercial oyster cultivation with oyster restoration activities is the ultimate goal.

In early June 2024, the Institute of Natural Sciences and the Laboratory of Aquaculture and Artemia Reference Center at Ghent University have successfully deployed custom-made oyster spat collectors in a field experiment at the offshore windfarm Belwind, located 46 km off the coast of Ostend in the Belgian part of the North Sea. Additionally, one mini-tripod, equipped with a gabion holding mature European flat oysters (Ostrea edulis) was deployed near the spat collectors.

The installations were carried out with the research vessel Belgica as part of the Horizon Europe funded ULTFARMS project and supported by the activities of the Institute of Natural Sciences within the European Marine Biological Resource Centre Belgium (EMBRC Belgium).

Goals

The experiment aims to advance our understanding of the settlement patterns of European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) larvae in the Belgian Part of the North Sea. It also seeks to explore the effect of habitat complexity on settlement preferences, with the ultimate goal of reconciling commercial oyster cultivation with oyster restoration activities.

By studying the settlement patterns of O. edulis, more effective conservation strategies can be created, potentially boosting oyster populations in the Belgian Part of the North Sea. After summer, the plates will be retrieved and analysed in the laboratory to evaluate oyster settlement rates and patterns. This information will provide new insights into how habitat complexity affects the settlement of European flat oysters, aiding future restoration efforts of this highly emblematic species and ecosystem engineer.

3D printing

Using state-of-the-art 3D printing technology and standardised clay plates, the spat collectors with varying levels of structural complexity were produced specifically to address ULTFARMS’ research questions.

The spat collectors are part of the Artificial Hard Substrate Garden, an offshore marine experimental facility, managed and provided by the Institute of Natural Sciences as a service of EMBRC Belgium to both the scientific community and the industry.

 

For further details, please visit the MARECO website or contact Wannes De Clercq (wdeclercq@naturalsciences.be).

EXA Infrastructure Begium has submitted an application for the authorization for the laying and an environmental permit for the exploitation of a telecommunication cable between Broadstairs – Joss Bay in the south east of England and Ostend. This application is subject to an environmental impact assessment procedure.

The application, the environmental impact statement and its annexes (concept of the appropriate assessment, non-technical summary and the report describing the effects on fisheries) can be consulted from 22 July to 28 August 2024 at the offices of MUMM at Brussels (Vautierstraat 29, 1000 Brussels; bmm@naturalsciences.be; tel 02/627 43 52) or at Ostend (3de en 23ste Linieregimentsplein, 8400 Ostend; bmm@naturalsciences.be; tel. 059/24 20 55), by appointment only and during office hours between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm. The application can also be consulted at every coastal community, during office hours.

The application is also available electronically:

• Application

1. RA23316_Vergunningsaanvraag_v3.0

• Environmental impact statement and annexes

2. RA23353_MER Q&E North_Niet technische samenvatting_v2.0

3. RA23131_MER Q&E North_v4.0

4. Externe bijlage 1_RA23288 OntwerpPB Q&E North_3.0

5. Externe bijlage 2_ILVO visserij-effectenrapport Q&E North

6. Externe bijlage 3_RA23344_Q&E North – Afvalbeheerplan_v3.0

 

Any interested party may submit its views, comments and objections to MUMM by letter or email until 12 September 2024:

MUMM

Vautierstraat 29

1000 Brussels

bmm@naturalsciences.be

The Institute of Natural Sciences and the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB) recently participated in the third “Cabauw Intercomparison of UV-Vis DOAS Instruments” (CINDI-3). This campaign took place in May-June 2024 and was organized by the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) at the Cabauw observatory, located between Rotterdam and Utrecht. More than 100 persons from 16 countries, with 44 instruments, were involved in the international measurement campaign, the largest of its kind in the world.

The main purpose of CINDI-3 is to test and compare different MAX-DOAS (Multi-Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy) instruments that measure air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and ozone (O₃). These instruments use a technique that analyses the spectrum of scattered sunlight to determine the presence and concentration of various gases in the atmosphere.

As part of the Belgian contribution, the aerial surveillance aircraft of the Institute of Natural Sciences was equipped with various measuring instruments in the weeks before the exercise (including the BIRA SWING imaging DOAS system), while BIRA also supplied NO₂ and O₃ in-situ measuring equipment. Together with other measuring devices near the KNMI measuring mast in Cabauw, and operated on cars and bicycles, a complete picture of the distribution of pollutants in the industrial and urban areas around Rotterdam could be compiled. The NO₂ distribution over Antwerp was also mapped from the aircraft as part of the same campaign.

All flights were carried out in synchronisation with the Copernicus Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite that carries the ESA TROPOMI instrument (Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument). This instrument maps various air quality and climate parameters. Thanks to the successful comparison of the observations of the measuring instruments on board the aircraft and on the ground, they can serve as a reliable reference for validating satellite instruments that measure air pollution from space.

Navy Days 2024

Mariene rapporten Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen / Rapports marins Institut des Sciences naturelles 

 

Luchttoezicht / Surveillance aérienne

NL: 30 jaar Belgisch luchttoezicht boven de Noordzee – Evolutie, trends en ontwikkelingen

FR: 30 ans de surveillance aérienne belge de la mer du Nord – Evolution, tendances et développements

EN : 30 years of Belgian North Sea aerial surveillance – Evolution, trends and developments

 

Zeezoogdieren (en andere bijzondere fauna) / Mammifères marins (et autre faune spéciale)

Rapport 2023:

NL: Zeezoogdieren en zeeschildpadden in België in 2023

FR: Mammifères marins et tortues marines en Belgique en 2023

Voorgaande  rapporten (sinds 2014) / Rapports précédents (depuis 2014) :

https://marinemammals.be/reports

 

Monitoring offshore windparken / Surveillance écologique des parcs éoliens offshore

EN : Environmental impacts of offshore wind farms in the Belgian part of the North Sea – Progressive insights in changing species distribution patterns informing marine management

Voorgaande  rapporten (sinds 2009) / Rapports précédents (depuis 2009)

https://odnature.naturalsciences.be/mumm/en/windfarms/

Before 1850, flat oyster reefs were a dominant structural and ecological component of the North Sea ecosystem. Due to human influences and a persistent oyster parasite, they have all but disappeared today. Nevertheless, oyster reefs are important ecosystems. They are often called “ecosystem engineers” because they create habitats that support entire ecosystems. On behalf of the Belgian FPS Public Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment, partners from science and industry are now building the BELREEFS project: the first offshore pilot project for large-scale oyster reef restoration in the Belgian North Sea.

BELREEFS is a collaboration between Jan De Nul Group, the Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Shells & Valves and Mantis Consulting, acting in accordance with the recommendations of the Native Oyster Restoration Alliance (NORA). Industry and science join forces to tackle the challenges of restoring oyster reefs, a complex operation that requires innovation and creative solutions. The complexity of the logistical support, and the sensitivity of oysters to disturbance (during seeding, transport and installation at sea), requires in-depth knowledge covering different fields of expertise.

Vicky Stratigaki, engineer and project coordinator for BELREEFS at Jan De Nul Group: “We want to create an oyster reef that is self-sustaining. Our ambition is to create long-term nature restoration, without further human intervention. One of the choices we are making to achieve this, is to install the oyster reefs where they historically occurred: at the so-called gravel beds.”

BELREEFS consists of three phases (see images below): from the current gravel bed to the deployment of oyster reef substrate seeded with oyster spat within the BELREEFS project, and towards the third phase where biodiversity increases. This biodiversity is characterized by various marine fauna and flora species attracted to a self-sustaining oyster reef.

Determining the precise location of oyster reefs is one of the Institute of Natural Sciences’ core missions.

Vera Van Lancker and Steven Degraer, Institute of Natural Sciences: “To maximize the survival and reproduction of oyster reefs, we identify locations with the most suitable seabed and environmental conditions. Additionally, natural protection from damage and optimal placement conditions are crucial. Therefore, we will conduct a detailed mapping of the seabed.“

Furthermore, the project builds on some key innovations. For example, BELREEFS will use ‘remote setting’, a technique in which they allow oyster larvae to settle directly on a suitable substrate in the lab, to release them into the sea afterwards. Once installed, the oysters will be followed for several years through an intensive monitoring programme.

Senne Aertbeliën, FPS Public Health, Marine Environment Department: “The European oyster has always been an important core species in our North Sea, but it has since almost completely disappeared. The active recovery of these populations is therefore a priority for us. The fact that we can cooperate on this scale with scientists and companies to this end is unique“.

The monitoring programme of the Institute of Natural Sciences for emissions of sulphur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) of ships at sea was awarded the ‘Special Commendation for Sustainable Impact’ in the context of the Greening Award Initiative of the European Maritime Safety Agency. A well-deserved recognition for the impact and sustainability of our efforts to combat air pollution from ships at sea.

In May 2024, the monitoring programme of the Institute of Natural Sciences for SOx and NOx emissions of ships at sea, part of the aerial surveillance of the North Sea, was nominated as a finalist for the Greening Award Initiative of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), in the ‘Greening Operations’ category.

The Greening Award Initiative is jointly organised with Frontex (the European Border and Coast Guard Agency) and the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) and celebrates the sustainability actions of authorities performing coast guard functions in the EU.

The presentation of the awards took place on 27 June 2024 at the 7th Annual European Coast Guard Event, hosted by EFCA in Tenerife, Spain, and had good news in store for the operators and pilots of the Belgian aerial surveillance programme. Although the award went to the Maltese Grand Harbour Clean Air Project, the Belgian programme ‘Remote Measurements for SOx and NOx monitoring’ was awarded the ‘Special Commendation for Sustainable Impact’.

A pioneer programme

Since 2015, the Institute of Natural Sciences, using funding from the Connecting Europe Facility programme, has equipped the Belgian coastguard aircraft with a sniffer sensor to measure ship emissions of ocean-going vessels at sea. This application made it a truly pioneering project, and the program is still a source of inspiration for many other countries.

This monitoring programme is successful thanks to good cooperation with the Secretary of State for Science Policy and the Minister of Defence, who support the maintenance, the operation and the renewal of the Belgian Coast Guard aircraft and examine how a successor can be purchased, with the Minister of the North Sea who, among other things, provided the NOx sensor, and with the Directorate General Shipping, which organizes the follow-up of suspicious SOx and NOx values on land.

The aircraft now monitors for CO2, SO2, NOx, and black carbon, and the reports from its sniffer operations mean that port state control inspection efficiency has improved by over 50%.

Well-deserved recognition

The ‘Greening Operations’ category encompasses operational actions and projects that have led to an improved environmental footprint of ships crossing the North Sea. Important attention is paid to actions or projects which empower a green transition, contribute to a more sustainable future, and which directly or indirectly support the goals of the European Green Deal.

By innovatively applying sensors in the sniffer sensor setup of the Belgian Coast Guard aircraft, continuously monitoring emissions from ships at sea and reporting the results to the competent authorities, and publishing the findings in international professional literature, the Belgian programme does not only contribute to the technical development of equipment to measure air pollution from ships at sea, but also to the development of knowledge about the effect on compliance and to the further development of national and international legislative frameworks.

It is therefore no coincidence that the special commendation that highlights both the impact and the sustainability of that impact was awarded to the Belgian aerial monitoring of SOx and NOx emissions from ships at sea.

Minister of North Sea Paul Van Tigchelt: “Establishing low-emission zones in the North Sea and embracing international regulations like MARPOL Annex VI to curb maritime emissions are only effective with strong enforcement mechanisms in place. Belgium has pioneered this effort with the NOx and SOx sensors on the sniffer aircraft. We’re paving the way for cleaner air and a healthier environment. This award is a recognition for the excellent work of everyone involved in the sniffer aircraft project.”

Other categories and commendations

More info on the Greening Award Initiative (including the other categories ‘Outreach and awareness raising’ and ‘Greening At Work’) and the nominees in all categories van be consulted here.

It is worth mentioning that within the ‘Greening Operations’ category there are also Special Commendations for ‘Technical Excellence’ (awarded to the new Spanish Patrol Vessels for Fishing Inspection and Surveillance) and for ‘Sustainable Transformation’ (awarded to Hybrid propulsion naval units for Venice, Italy).

The ‘Greening at Work’ award went to the Flemish Agency for Maritime and Coastal Services (MDK), that is implementing an ambitious set of sustainability projects across the entire range of its actions and activities under the common denominator ‘Working Together Towards a Greener Europe Project‘.

NV DEME Building Materials has applied on April 5^th, 2024 for a concession for sand extraction in the Belgian part of the North Sea for an exceptional project for the extraction of sand in control zone 3. This application is subject to an environmental impact assessment procedure. The application, the environmental impact assessment report and an addition to the environmental impact assessment report can be downloaded below (in Dutch).

Applications

• 2024-014 FOD aanvraag concessievergunning uitzonderlijk project
• 2024-014 formulier-aanvraag-concessie

Environmental impact assessment report and addition

• BE0119000341_MER zandwinning_v7.0_Finaal_20201112
• BE0119000341_MER zandwinning_update PB v2.0_dd. 28032022_incl bijlage
• DBM_Aanvullende nota bij het MER Zandwinning ikv uitzonderlijk project v3.0_20240425
• Ligging Sector 3a (Sierra Ventana) op zeekaart
• Ligging Sector 3a tov andere mariene gebieden en – activiteiten
• Situeringsplan van Sector 3a (Sierra Ventana)
• a-360-perspective-on-sea-sand- poceedings-study-day

Results of the consultations

 

The public consultation runs from June 22^th, 2024 until August 22^th, 2024.

Any interested party can submit its views, comments and objections by letter (MUMM, Vautierstraat 29, 1000 Brussel) or email (bmm@naturalsciences.be until September 6^th, 2024.

Institute of Natural Sciences/MUMM

Vautierstraat 29
1000 Brussels
bmm@naturalsciences.be

The Weddell Sea is a hotspot of Antarctic life but the impact of climate change and melting of sea ice on the biodiversity and functioning of the ecosystem is poorly known. The new project ‘Weddell Sea Observatory of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Change’ will assess the biodiversity and develop a strategy for monitoring changes in a proposed Marine Protected Area.

The Weddell Sea and Climate Change

The Weddell Sea is the largest marginal sea in the Southern Ocean and a veritable hotspot of life. Here, seals and emperor penguins have their young. The swarms of krill, which graze on microalgae under ice floes, attract fish, whales and seabirds. On the seafloor, millions of icefish spawn, while underwater gardens full of glass sponges, sea anemones and sea squirts thrive, some reaching a level of biodiversity comparable to that of tropical reefs.

“The Weddell Sea constitutes a largely untouched, and therefore extremely valuable, habitat. Not only does it have a high aesthetic value, it is also characterised by unique biodiversity. This biological diversity is also the source of important ecosystem services, like the storage of carbon in the deep sea through ice algae and the remains of plankton sinking to the bottom,” explains Dr Hauke Flores, a marine biologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute (Germany) and coordinator of the Weddell Sea Observatory of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Change (WOBEC) project .

However, climate change has long-since spread to the southern polar region. Hauke Flores adds: “In the past few years, we’ve witnessed an unexpectedly rapid decline in sea ice. We don’t know how, or if, the region’s organisms can adapt to the changed environmental conditions. In order to assess this aspect, we need to first gain a better grasp of the ecosystem’s status quo and urgently need to begin systematic data collection.”

Filling the data gap

The project’s focus is on observing potential long-term changes in biodiversity in the eastern Weddell Sea. Although countries like Germany, Norway and South Africa have been conducting research in the region for decades, systematic studies on its massive ecosystem are lacking. For large parts of the Weddell Sea, long-term observations of the marine biodiversity are even completely non-existent.

To collect valuable new data, an expedition with the German icebreaker Polarstern is planned in the Weddell Sea in 2026, coordinated by the University of Rostock. In addition, the project partners will dig through their archives and make previously unreleased and hard-to-find results available in publicly accessible databases.

Dr Anton Van de Putte of the Institute of Natural Sciences and the Université Libre de Bruxelles is responsible for WOBEC’s data management. He will also be part of the 2026 expedition and will contribute to the processing and interpretation of the data. “On the basis of historical and current data alike, our goal is to create a strategy for long-term environmental monitoring in the Weddell Sea with the aid of autonomous observatories, satellite-based remote sensing, and ship-based sampling,” Anton explains.

A marine protected area?

Stakeholders from the political, business and nature conservation communities will be involved in the process, which will also take place in close collaboration with the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). For many years now, the EU and other CCAMLR members have advocated the protection of large areas of the Weddell Sea. Unfortunately, a previously submitted proposal for a new Marine Protected Area in the Weddell Sea has failed to pass because the vote has to be unanimous and the current geopolitical situation makes CCAMLR negotiations tough.

However, the ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Treaty) in 2023 is a promising development. It is hoped that this positive signal will stimulate the process of declaring a Marine Protected Area in the Weddell Sea under CCAMLR. WOBEC will provide the opportunity to create a science-based strategy for assessing biodiversity within the Marine Protected Area and its future changes.

 

Eleven institutes from eight countries (Europe and US) have joined forces in the Weddell Sea Observatory of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Change (WOBEC). The project is led by the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). Over the next three years, participating researchers will determine the current state of the biotic community in the Weddell Sea, as a reference for a long-term monitoring of the ecosystem in the transforming Southern Ocean.

WOBEC is one of 33 projects in the European Union’s flagship programme BiodivMon, under the aegis of Biodiversa+, the European Biodiversity Partnership. The Kick-off Meeting for WOBEC takes place in Bremerhaven, Germany, from 11 to 14 June 2024. National partners have allocated WOBEC 1.9 million euros in financial backing.

The new report ‘Marine mammals and sea turtles in Belgium in 2023’ summarizes the results of the monitoring and research on these animals in Belgium in 2023. Porpoises washed ashore less than in the past 20 years, but high numbers were still counted at sea. Seals continue to increase. The most remarkable marine mammal of 2023 was an Orca, and the stranding of a live Loggerhead Turtle was a Belgian first.

Porpoises and seals

In 2023, 26 Harbour porpoises washed ashore in Belgium. Most of these animals were in an advanced state of decomposition. This was the lowest number of dead porpoises in the past 20 years, continuing the previously documented declining trend. The highest numbers date from a decade ago, when more than 100 porpoises washed ashore in some years (with a maximum of almost 150 in 2013). The reason for the declining number remains subject to speculation.

Aerial surveys of marine mammals in Belgian waters were carried out in April, June and September 2023. The observations allowed to calculate that there were 14,700, 1,400 and 2,500 porpoises present in the research area at these times, respectively. The number in April was one of the highest ever recorded. An extensive analysis of the data collected during aerial surveys in the period 2009-2022 showed that porpoises indeed occur in high densities in the Belgian part of the North Sea, especially in spring. They prefer the northernmost and westernmost parts of our waters, and appear to avoid shipping lanes.

48 dead seals washed ashore in 2023. Further investigation provided information about the cause of death for 14 of these seals. Ten of these probably died in fishing nets. The total number of dead seals washed ashore is comparable to the five previous years (with the exception of a peak in 2021). In the longer term, there is an increasing trend. Sealife cared for seven Grey and 17 Harbour seals in 2023. Almost half of the animals did not make it.

Orca on the border of Koksijde and De Panne

The most striking cetacean of 2023 was undoubtedly the male Orca, which first moved slowly along the coast of Koksijde on October 29, eventually ending up stranded in De Panne. The animal was very thin and weakened, and died almost immediately after stranding. For the time being it could not be determined from which population he came.

It has been since the mid-19th century that strandings of Orcas were recorded in our country. We have tried to unravel the information about those long-ago strandings. We also pay tribute to Louis François Paret, the man to whom we owe the fact that we can still admire the remains of these animals, now more than 175 years old.

Other rare species

A dead Fin whale was brought in on the bow of a ship in the port of Antwerp on August 29, 2023. The autopsy showed that the animal had died as a result of the collision.

Some dolphins, rare for our country, washed ashore in 2023: a Common dolphin on December 22, and two very decomposed Common or Striped dolphins on July 21 and October 8.

Some sea turtles also washed ashore in 2023. A dead Leatherback turtle on October 7 died from traumatic causes. A live beached Loggerhead turtle on November 25 was the first confirmed stranding of this species in Belgium.

The new report ‘Marine mammals and sea turtles in Belgium in 2023’ is published by the Institute of Natural Sciences. The full report and previous annual reports (available since 2014) can be downloaded here (or directly through the following links in Dutch ‘Zeezoogdieren en zeeschildpadden in België in 2023‘ or French ‘Mammifères marins et tortues marines en Belgique en 2023‘).