Author: Kelle Moreau

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A new peanut worm for Belgian waters, and another European flat oyster

On 20 October 2022, a mooring block used for underwater noise monitoring that had been lying on the seabed for three years was recovered from the Seastar wind farm by scientific divers from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. This operation was carried out as part of the research carried out by the research vessel RV Belgica.

The anchor block had a structure that was supposed to serve as housing for a buoy cable but was now filled with sediment. In that sediment, researchers from the research team MARECO (Marine Ecology and Management) found nothing less than a new species for the Belgian waters, the peanut worm (Sipuncula) Nephasoma rimicola. The species is known from the northeastern Atlantic and has also been found in the English Channel, but was thus not previously observed in Belgium.

The peanut worm Nephasoma rimicola, new to Belgian waters (©RBINS/F. Kerckhof)

On top of that, a European flat oyster Ostrea edulis, estimated to be 2-3 years old, was found on the anchor block itself (bottom right of photo). Molecular techniques will be used to determine the origin of the oyster. A promising observation for possible oyster recovery projects in the Belgian part of the North Sea! (For background on the exceptional nature of this find, see here, among others).

The European flat oyster Ostrea edulis (bottom right) (©RBINS/J. Vanaverbeke)
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Belgium chairs the European Coast Guard Functions Forum

At the end of the 13th plenary session of the European Coast Guard Functions Forum (ECGFF), held in Split from 5 to 7 September 2022, Belgium took over the role of president from Croatia.

Belgian Coast Guard presidents Piet Pieters (Federal) and Nathalie Balcaen (Flemish) received the European flag during the ceremony and exchanged information on the organisation of this important event.

This forum is a unique and excellent tool that allows us to exchange information and experiences, learn from joint exercises and devise solutions to common problems together.  In short: to strengthen our ties with the coastguard organisations of European member states.

The Belgian Coast Guard is organising several activities in the coming year:

  • a workshop together with Frontex (the European Border and Coast Guard Agency)
  • a workshop together with EMSA (European Maritime Safety Agency)
  • a meeting of the Cyber Security Working Group
  • the “COASTEX 23” exercise in cooperation with EFCA (European Fisheries Control Agency)
  • a plenary conference in cooperation with DG MARE (Directorate General Maritime Affairs and Fisheries)

Thanks to the Belgian presidency, participants will get to know our diverse country and the Belgian part of the North Sea better.

The Scientific Service ‘Management Unit of the Mathematical Model of the North Sea (MUMM)’ of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) represents the Federal Science Policy Office as Coast Guard partner.

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Dead Bottlenose Dolphin washed ashore in De Haan

In the shadow of the sighting of a carcass of a Fin Whale adrift in the Belgian North Sea on Friday 30 September (later washed up in Westkapelle, The Netherlands), we witnessed another exceptional stranding on Sunday 2 October. Indeed, that day a Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) washed up on the beach at De Haan.

The washed-up Bottlenose dolphin on the beach of De Haan (©NorthSealTeam).

The animal was initially perceived to be a Harbour Porpoise, only after collection it became clear that it was a Bottlenose Dolphin in an advanced state of decomposition. It was a young male barely 2.24 m long and weighing only 129 kg. Injuries to the tail suggested that the animal came into contact with the propeller of a small vessel. However, the autopsy, conducted at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Liege, could not confirm whether a collision was the cause of death or possibly took place post-mortem. The death could possibly be linked to a starvation process, but the state of decomposition of the cadaver prevented a more complete investigation.

After collection, it became clear that the animal was a Bottlenose Dolphin (©RBINS/Francis Kerckhof).
Injuries to the tail of De Haan’s Bottlenose Dolphin (©RBINS/Jan Haelters).

It does not appear to be the Bottlenose Dolphin which is regularly seen in the western part of the Belgian waters, actively seeking human presence there. The Bottlenose Dolphin is native to the southern North Sea but has been very rare there since the 1960s. Since 1995, only two other strandings of Bottlenose Dolphins were recorded in Belgium, in 2016 and 2017.

More information on the occurrence of Bottlenose Dolphins in the North Sea and Belgium can be found in this article.

Ventral side of the washed-up Bottlenose Dolphin of De Haan (©RBINS/Jan Haelters).
Dorsal side of the washed-up Bottlenose Dolphin of De Haan (©RBINS/Jan Haelters).
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Kick-off event: Vision development aquaculture and decommissioning offshore wind farms

Aquaculture at sea and the decommissioning of offshore wind farms come with a lot of opportunities and challenges.

In the Belgian part of the North Sea, a lot of action is already being taken in these areas. The federal government would like to align and consolidate these initiatives into an integrated vision. Specific attention will be paid to sustainable blue growth within the framework of protecting and restoring the marine environment and marine biodiversity.

The Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and the Marine Environment Department of the Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment will guide this process.To this end, two separate trajectories will be launched, both with a kick-off on Tuesday, October 18th, 2022 at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bruges.

  • In the morning, the track on aquaculture will begin.
  • In the afternoon, the track on wind farm decommissioning will start.

In order to arrive at a widely supported vision, we would like to involve all stakeholders, to hear, from the start, as many different opinions as possible of this interactive collaboration!

  • What opportunities do you see?
  • What concerns do you have?
  • What aspects should be taken into account?
  • What additional scientific information is still required?

Together we will spend the next six months developing in a transparent manner a vision for aquaculture on the one hand and wind farm decommissioning on the other, in the Belgian part of the North Sea. With this information, policy makers can then continue their work.

During this event every participant can speak his/her/their language of choice (NL/FR/ENG). However, no simultaneous interpretation will be provided.

Register through this link.

When?
Tuesday 18 October 2022

Where?
Radisson Blu Hotel, Frank Van Ackerpromenade 17, 8000 Bruges

Programme

8:45 a.m. – reception with coffee

9 a.m. – welcome

PART AQUACULTURE

9:10 a.m.– introduction by Sophie Mirgaux, Marine Environment Service (FPS Health)
9:20 a.m. – plan of action by Steven Degraer, Marine Ecology and Management (MARECO)
9:30 a.m. – interactive roundtable discussions – aquaculture
10:45 a.m. – coffee break
11 a.m.– continued interactive roundtables – aquaculture

12h30 p.m. – 1.30 p.m. – lunch

PART DECOMMISSIONING WIND FARMS

1.30 p.m.– introduction by Sophie Mirgaux, Marine Environment Service (FPS Health)
1.40 p.m. – plan of approach by Steven Degraer, Marine Ecology and Management (MARECO)
1.50 p.m. – interactive roundtable discussions – wind farms decommissioning
3.15 p.m. – coffee break
3.30 p.m. – continued interactive roundtable discussions – wind farms decommissioning

4.45 p.m. – closing reception & networking opportunity

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Belgica campaign DynaMOD 2-17 August 2022

Science and life on board of the RV Belgica during the 2022/18 survey DynaMOD, offshore Ireland, shown in a playful video.

This survey was led by Ghent University (RCMG, Dept. Geology), with collaboration from VLIZ (Belgium), Université de Liège (Belgium), Ulster University (Northern Ireland) and the Royal Holloway University of London (UK). Shiptime on board of RV Belgica was granted by BELSPO & RBINS. The DynaMOD project was funded through FWO Flanders.

Video production by Ghent University (RCMG, Dept. Geology).

Music by Black Eyed Peas (I Gotta Feeling).

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Public consultation for the installation of floating solar panels at sea

On June 16th 2022, the POM West-Vlaanderen has introduced a request for an environmental permit for the installation of floating solar panels at sea and an electric sea cable to Ostend.

Test site in the North Sea in 2020 (© Oceans of Energy; The Netherlands)

The request and the environmental impact study (including a draft appropriate assessment) can be consulted from August 22th till September 20th 2022, on weekdays from 9.00-17.00h in the offices of MUMM (Vautierstraat 29, 1000 Brussels, person to contact: Mia Devolder (0479 265 910, mdevolder@naturalsciences.be) or in the offices of MUMM in Ostend: 3de en 23ste Linieregimentsplein, 8400 Ostend, person to contact: Jan Haelters (jhaelters@naturalsciences.be, 02/788 77 26) on reservation only.

The electronic version of the documents is also available (in Dutch) :

Application

Environmental impact study

Everybody who is concerned can send his point of view, remarks and objections by mail to MUMM, Mia Devolder (mdevolder@naturalsciences.be) until October 5th 2022.

The request can also be consulted in the offices of the local authorities of every coastal city, on working days and on appointment.

On June 16th 2022, the POM West-Vlaanderen has introduced a request for an environmental permit for the installation of floating solar panels at sea and an electric sea cable to Ostend.

Test site in the North Sea in 2020 (© Oceans of Energy; The Netherlands)

The request and the environmental impact study (including a draft appropriate assessment) can be consulted from August 22th till September 20th 2022, on weekdays from 9.00-17.00h in the offices of MUMM (Vautierstraat 29, 1000 Brussels, person to contact: Mia Devolder (0479 265 910, mdevolder@naturalsciences.be) or in the offices of MUMM in Ostend: 3de en 23ste Linieregimentsplein, 8400 Ostend, person to contact: Jan Haelters (jhaelters@naturalsciences.be, 02/788 77 26) on reservation only.

The electronic version of the documents is also available (in Dutch) :

Application

Environmental impact study

Everybody who is concerned can send his point of view, remarks and objections by mail to MUMM, Mia Devolder (mdevolder@naturalsciences.be) until October 5th 2022.

The request can also be consulted in the offices of the local authorities of every coastal city, on working days and on appointment.

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S4GES at sea with RV Belgica (part 5)

Friday 15 July 2022

Sampling extreme conditions on empty stomach

Friday was already the last day of the JPI Oceans-S4GES campaign with the RV Belgica. One last sampling station was squeezed in before breakfast. It was an opportunity to sample an area where the remote sensing Ocean Colour imagery showed extremely high chlorophyll values, possibly too high to be explained by biological processes alone. Analysing the water and plankton samples and the physical oceanographic and bio-optical data might allow the researchers to get to the bottom of the peculiarity of this high ocean colour regime, where inflow of inland waters with high nutrient load must play a crucial role.

Italian culinary highlights on a Belgian ship

Friday morning presented itself with a culinary highlight in the form of a selection of Italian cakes baked by Italian researchers who, to everyone’s delight, demonstrated that their outstanding talents go far beyond the seawater heavy metal analysis. And that was only the finale of Italian cooking on board. Dinner the night before had two versions of lasagne on the menu, prepared by the co-chief scientist Falcini himself, kindly assisted by a French planktonic foraminifera researcher. Should you ever consider joining an oceanographic expedition, above everything else make sure that there are Italians on board!

Cleaning and packing

Most of this final day was monopolised by preparations for disembarkment. This meant to turn, within just a few hours, a research ship in full operational mode into an almost empty ship as if nothing had ever happened. It involved to dismantle all lab installments, pack up all lab equipment, store all samples for safe transport, clean all cabins and labs, clear all invoices, move all movables onto deck, lift them – including the heavy sampling gear – from deck to dock and from there into vans and hangars, and get everything on their way to their respective labs and depots throughout in Europe. (A time lapse video on Twitter gives a sense of the buzz). A logistical challenge, mastered completely smoothly and safely by team and crew – kudos!

A forward look to be looked forward to

With the ship vacated and gear stored for transport, the co-chief scientists assembled the team on the quay for a final debrief with content reflections on the week’s achievements, some emotional notes of thanks, and visionary outlook on what might lie ahead. It is safe to predict that ahead lies ample lab work to tease scientific findings out of the samples and data collected during the week. Additional ideas were raised for turning the end of the expedition into the beginning of breakthrough-progress for the health of our European marine waters. They included to hold a post-cruise meeting in autumn to compare first findings and to explore follow-up cruises with similar methodology but in different regions and sea basins of Europe.

Sketching amidst among unloading bustle

With the ship buzzing like a beehive from people cleaning and packing, the day didn’t offer the artist with much quality time for devoted painting. And the cleaning and packing obviously involves everyone, artists included, keeping Sarah busy wiping off colour stains and sweep rubber crumbs. Nonetheless, during the unloading process in the harbour she found a safe spot and the inner peace to install herself for some sketches for later finalisation. Watch out for the online exhibition that JPI Oceans is determined to set up with the materials sketched, drawn and painted during this cruise!

Closing the logbook

The scientific team on board of the RV Belgica for this North Sea expedition says goodbye for now. Following JPI Oceans’ core idea of synergy from transnational collaboration, the team’s farewells come in Flemish, French, Italian and Maltese: tot ziens, au revoir, arrivederci, and saħħa!

The on-board art & communications team from JPI Oceans adds German to the polyphony. Auf Wiedersehen from Sarah-Marie Kröger and Thorsten Kiefer. We enjoyed sharing information bits, audiovisual impressions and artistic depictions from this first expedition of the Science for Good Environmental Status (S4GES) Joint Action of JPI Oceans. Combining research, art and outreach at a cruise was novel for us. It seems to have been received with appreciation that encourages us to consider the model again for future activities of S4GES and JPI Oceans. If you want to reinforce this, just react to our social media content (kindly, of course …).

Text by Thorsten Kiefer (JPI Oceans) & Federico Falcini (CNR), Images by Thorsten Kiefer (JPI Oceans)

Other blog posts in this series

S4GES at sea with RV Belgica (part 1)

S4GES at sea with RV Belgica (part 2)

S4GES at sea with RV Belgica (part 3)

S4GES at sea with RV Belgica (part 4)

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Marine mammals in Belgium in 2021

In the new report ‘Strandings and sightings of marine mammals in Belgium in 2021’, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, SeaLife Blankenberge and the University of Liège compile the results of monitoring and scientific research on marine mammals in Belgium in 2021. The doubling of the number of seals washed ashore dead, often perished in fishing nets, was the most remarkable finding.

Which dead or dying marine mammals washed up on our beaches? Which causes of death could be indicated? What are the trends of marine mammals in Belgium? How many seals has Sealife taken in? These are the questions to which one can find the answers in the latest marine mammal report, which focuses on the results from 2021.

Some of the seals with typical circular neck/head trauma (left: Ostend, 6 April; middle: Oostduinkerke, 20 March; right: Lombardsijde, 12 April). © NorthSealTeam – Fire Brigade

Many dead seals

In 2021, only harbour porpoises and seals stranded in Belgium. A dull year for marine mammal researchers after a spectacular 2020, when two Sowerby’s beaked whales and a Minke whale washed ashore? Certainly not. Indeed, the number of dead seals doubled to more than 100, compared to an almost constant number in the 2018-2020 period (44 on average). Determining the cause of death proved to be a real challenge. As many of the dead seals appeared to be ‘decapitated’, much commotion and speculation arose. In the end it turned out that many of the animals concerned had died in fishing nets. The proportion of Grey seals, which have claimed their place in the southern North Sea only more recently than the Harbour seals, has fluctuated between half and about 70% during the last 10 years.

The number of seals stranded dead or dying (blue bars) has been increasing since the beginning of the time series in 2005, and is related to the increase in the population of Harbour seals and Grey seals in neighbouring countries. However, this cannot explain the doubling in 2021. The percentage of grey seals (orange line) has been fluctuating within the same range of 50-70% in recent years. ©RBINS

Harbour porpoises

With 74 stranded Harbour porpoises, 2021 was a rather moderate year. In 10 of the years since 2005 there were more (in four years even more than 100), in the six other years less. The cause of death could be determined for 30 porpoises: 15 fell prey to Grey seals (which is a remarkable number), 12 died of infectious diseases or starvation and ‘only’ 3 drowned in fishing nets.

The time series of registered strandings of Harbour porpoises (blue bars) shows 2021 as a moderate year compared to the years since 2005. Usually slightly more than half of the dead porpoises were males (orange line), but the proportion has increased on average in recent years. ©RBINS

Four live Harbour porpoises also stranded, all of which unfortunately died soon after stranding. Aerial surveys showed almost 3,000 Harbour porpoises in our waters during June and September.

A live stranded harbour porpoise on the beach of Mariakerke (30 August 2021). ©RBINS/Jan Haelters

Rehabilitation of seals

Sealife Blankenberge took in eight Grey and 10 Common seals in 2021. Bite wounds (of unknown origin), injuries caused by the nylon rope of a fishing net, and other waste at sea (rubber ring), were at the basis of the need for rehabilitation. Six Grey seals and seven Harbour seals could be released in 2021. In contrast to the past, young Grey seals are now more often left lying on the beach: they become more numerous and they do not need our help most of the time.

The release of Grey seals Lucas and Duvel on the beach of Blankenberge (28 April 2021). Duvel (right) had a severe injury around the neck when he was taken in three weeks earlier, caused by the nylon rope of a fishing net. The traces of this injury are still visible. ©Luc David

Additional contributions

The annual report also devotes attention to the death of Grey seal Oscar. This very old seal spent his last years on our coast and in 2021 became the mascot of the voluntary seal guard and received a lot of press attention. The solitary Bottlenose dolphin, which has been turning up regularly in our waters for many years and often seeks out the company of divers, also makes an appearance in the report.

2021 marked the 75th anniversary of the International Whaling Commission. Whether there is a reason to bring out the champagne, you can read in an opinion piece.

All marine mammals are legally protected in Belgium. Monitoring of the populations and research into explanations for the observed trends, for which the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences was appointed as the responsible institute, is part of the implementation of the Royal Decree on the protection of species in marine areas under Belgian jurisdiction, whereby, among other things, the agreements made within the Coast Guard are followed. Research into the state of health and causes of death is also an obligation in international agreements, which moreover teaches us a lot about the state of the marine environment. However, the monitoring and scientific research on marine mammals are only possible thanks to the support of the local emergency and control services and the enthusiasm and willingness to report of many observers.

For information on recent sightings of marine mammals in Belgium and instructions on what to do when stranded, please visit the website marinemammals.be. The full report for 2021 (available in Dutch and French), as well as the older annual reports, can be consulted here.

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S4GES at sea with RV Belgica (part 4)

Thursday 14 July 2022

Going from shallow to very shallow

Today the S4GES expedition with the RV Belgica moved shoreward. Very high chlorophyll concentration characterizes this coastal environment, which is particularly affected by inland input of nutrients. We completed a transect that cut from the deeper stations yesterday to two shallower sites with accordingly different tidal dynamics, thus exploring all the biogeochemical patterns observed from satellite. Water depths of ca. 15 meters at the day’s first station and less than 10 meters at the second came with its own challenges. At the second station, the ship had only a few meters of water below its keel, requiring attentive navigation. The vertical plankton net that needs a bit of legroom to operate was not deployed here. Nonetheless, the Flemish coast seemed to be so close that we might have had some interested audience from tourists promenading the beach. Heartfelt greetings from the Belgica if you were one of them and googled your way to this blog post!

Touching base with heavy gear

A condensed sampling routine during only one velocity minimum of tidal currents per station offered the opportunity to finally sample the sediment also. The massive box corer device was therefore used at both stations. Researchers on board were interested to explore whether they would find ostracods, benthic foraminifera or shells of planktonic foraminifera. Sampling the water column on station is a snapshot of the conditions of that day and hour. Sediments on the other hand have the advantage of being deposited quasi-continuously over years. This makes the sediments a low-pass filtered archive of water column dynamics. So much for the theory. Lab work will reveal whether the sediments contain the desired shells. What the box corer definitively brought on deck was a brittle star, a shrimp and a little fish. All were of course treated with loving care and returned to the water unharmed.

The heart and lungs of the Belgica

Some of the scientific team took the opportunity to descend all the way to the deep level 2 of the ship. This is where the (mostly) unsung heroes and heroines reside – referring to the engines and the crew members that maintain them. Connoisseurs of machine engineering have a lot to see and the regular clueless scientists a lot to marvel at: a monitor-laden control room, three diesel engines to generate electricity, two electric engines for propulsion, four thrusters, a water treatment station, a workshop, and much more. While parts of the engine rooms are obviously really noisy, the whole place is clean and tidy, which might not have been expected to that degree of spotlessness. Not the only surprise down there …

Artist’s delight in an unexpected place

With the Belgica largely held in elegant tones of white and grey, our visual artist Sarah-Marie Kröger had begun to feel a little deprived of colourful motives. She found them rather unexpectedly in the bowels of the ship. The different machines in the engine room are painted in bright blue, red, green, etc. Sarah was thrilled and turned her new-found inspiration immediately into a couple of industrial art pictures à la Belgica.

Text by Thorsten Kiefer (JPI Oceans) & Federico Falcini (CNR), Images by Thorsten Kiefer (JPI Oceans)

 

Other blog posts in this series

S4GES at sea with RV Belgica (part 1)

S4GES at sea with RV Belgica (part 2)

S4GES at sea with RV Belgica (part 3)

S4GES at sea with RV Belgica (part 5)

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Symposium ‘Carbon Cycling in Coastal Environments’, 31 August 2022, Brussels

Coastal environments are under strong pressure from human activity but could also help us battle climate change. A promising method to remove CO2 from the atmosphere is to distribute silicate minerals in coastal areas since the chemical reaction that occurs when silicate minerals weather allows the ocean to take up more CO2. The new project DEHEAT will investigate the feasibility of using silicate weathering in coastal areas to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. This will be done by field studies of sites where silicate weathering rates are naturally high, and by modelling.

To kick off the project, the DEHEAT consortium organises a one-day symposium about carbon cycling in coastal environments on the 31st of August 2022. Covering a broad range of topics, the symposium will be a platform for networking and discussions about questions at the forefront of science. The symposium will be held in the Grand Auditoire at the Museum of Natural Sciences (Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences), Rue Vautier 29, 1000 Brussels. Attendance is free, but registration here before the 1st of August is required.

DEHEAT is a Belspo-funded project under the RV Belgica call, runs from 2022 to 2026 and is coordinated by the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences with partners at Universiteit Antwerpen and Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Programme

9.00 – 10.00 Registration and coffee
10.00 – 10.45 Sophie Opfergelt, UCLouvain, Belgium.
Influence of permafrost thaw on weathering and organic carbon fluxes
10.45 – 11.30 Christophe Rabouille, LSCE, France.
RiOMars: a hotspot of carbon cycling at the river-sea interface
11.30 – 11.45 Break
11.45 – 12.30 Rebecca James, ULB, Belgium/SDU, Denmark
Promoters or temporary reservoirs: the carbon sequestration role of coastal vegetated ecosystems
12.30 – 14.00 Break (coffee 13.30 – 14.00)
14.00 – 14.45 Christian März, Uni Bonn, Germany.
ChAOS in the Barents Sea: Links between carbon, nutrients and metals
14.45 – 15.30 Ulrike Braeckman, UGent, Belgium.
Title tba.
15.30 – 15.45 Break
15.45 – 16.30 Goulven Laruelle, ULB, Belgium.
Quantifying the CO2 exchange between the atmosphere and the global coastal ocean
16.30 – 18.00 Network reception