The All-Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Alliance (AAORIA) is the result of science diplomacy efforts involving countries from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. It builds upon the success of two existing cooperative agreements – the Galway Statement on Atlantic Ocean Cooperation which was signed by the European Union, United States, and Canada in 2013; and the Belem Statement on Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Cooperation which was signed by the European Union, Brazil, and South Africa in 2017 as well as on several other bilateral and multilateral agreements. AAORIA aims to enhance marine research and innovation cooperation along and across the Atlantic Ocean. In 2022, the “All-Atlantic Declaration” was signed to revitalize collaboration among current initiatives and enhance the coordination between the Galway Working Groups, All-Atlantic Joint Pilot Actions, and related projects. Additionally, it aims to engage new partners and initiatives to join the All-Atlantic community.

The indiSeaS project is co-funded by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), the European Network of Excellence Euroceans, “'Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD)” and the European project on Marine Ecosystem Evolution in a Changing Environment (MEECE). It is a multi-institutes collaborative effort. Scientific experts on ecosystems all over world calculate indicators and provide background information. The IndiSeas project aims at "Evaluating the status of marine ecosystems in a changing world”, using a set of different types of indicators to reflect the effects of multiple drivers on the states and trends of marine exploited ecosystems. It focuses on the effects of fishing, use of ecology, biodiversity, as well as climate and socio-economic indicators on world's marine ecosystems health. The objectives are to review IndiSeas datasets, present preliminary results to regional experts, discuss methods to be developed in each of the six task groups, establish work and publication plans for the future. Expertise from over 70 scientists, 49 research institutes and 36 countries.

The International Whaling Commission was set up under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling which was signed in Washington DC on 2nd December 1946. The preamble to the Convention states that its purpose is to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry. The Commission undertakes extensive study and research on cetacean populations, develops and maintains scientific databases, and publishes its own peer reviewed scientific journal, the Journal of Cetacean Research and Management. A list of catches since the moratorium came into place (in the 1985/6 Antarctic Season) up to 2019 (download link).

Infield Systems, now part of Wood Mackenzie (for the full news story please follow this link), is an energy research and analysis firm that is dedicated to the provision of accurate and up-to-date information, databases, research, market forecasts, mapping, commercial market due-diligence, transaction support, business strategy, analysis and intelligence to the global offshore oil, gas, renewable energy and associated marine industries. Over the past 25 years Infield Systems has developed an extensive range of products and services to assist industry professionals, analysts and investors with their business and investment decisions. Within its core markets, Infield Systems has become widely acknowledged as one of the definitive resources of information, research and analysis. Infield Systems services clients from a wide range of organisations including exploration and production companies, service suppliers, offshore contractors, manufacturers, government agencies, financial institutions and investors. In addition Infield provides information, analysis and commentary for the energy trade press and at industry conferences through presentation of papers and keynote speeches. Products and services are broadly divided into the following key areas: - Data Services - Research - Business Strategy & Analysis - Transaction Services

The CWP, supported by the participating organizations, serves as the premier international and interorganizational forum for agreeing common definitions, classifications and standards for the collection of fishery and aquaculture statistics. It has developed common procedures for statistics collation which have streamlined processes and reduced the burden on the statistical offices of national fisheries and aquaculture production, as well as providing technical advice to participating organizations on fishery-related and aquaculture-related statistical matters, and facilitating the publication of methodological and reference documents. The Coordinating Working Party on Fishery Statistics (CWP) provides a mechanism to coordinate the statistical programmes conducted by regional fishery bodies and other intergovernmental organizations with a remit for fishery statistics. Main function: - To continually review fishery statistics requirements for research, policy-making and management; - To agree on standard concepts, definitions, classifications and methodologies for the collection and collation of fishery statistics; - To submit proposals for the coordination and streamlining of statistical activities among the relevant intergovernmental organizations.

Businesses, policymakers, and local communities need to access reliable weather and climate information to safeguard human health, wellbeing, economic growth, and environmental sustainability. However, important changes in climate variability and extreme weather events are difficult to pinpoint and account for in existing modelling and forecasting tools. Moreover, many changes in the global climate are linked to the Arctic, where climate change is occurring rapidly, making weather and climate prediction a considerable challenge. Blue-Action evaluated the impact of Arctic warming on the northern hemisphere and developed new techniques to improve forecast accuracy at sub-seasonal to decadal scales. Blue-Action specifically worked to understand and simulate the linkages between the Arctic and the global climate system, and the Arctic’s role in generating weather patterns associated with hazardous conditions and climatic extremes. In doing so, Blue-Action aimed to improve the safety and wellbeing of people in the Arctic and across the Northern Hemisphere, reduce the risks associated with Arctic operations and resource exploitation, and support evidence-based decision-making by policymakers worldwide.

The project’s purpose is to introduce new low trophic species, products and processes in marine aquaculture value chains across the Atlantic. Low trophic species are those organisms low on the food chain as sea urchins or mussels. The five chosen value chains of AquaVitaeinclude macroalgae, Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA), echinoderm species (e.g. sea urchins), shellfish and finfish. IMTA is a process that farms several species together using waste from one species as feed for another. One of the main expected results of the project would be the creation of real and meaningful collaborative links between researchers, industry and other aquaculture stakeholders in the Atlantic area. AquaVitae will contribute to the Belém Statement, the joint Declaration on Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Cooperation between the European Union, Brazil, and South Africa through: - Setting up a network for knowledge and research exchange through the Atlantic. - Sustainable use of marine resources with a circular economy approach. - Better monitoring of aquaculture activities through new and emerging technologies. - Contributing to the well-being of aquaculture communities. - Enhancing citizen engagement through training and outreach activities. - Setting up student exchanges and industrial apprenticeships.

The vision of the AtlantOS project was to improve and innovate Atlantic observing by using the Framework of Ocean Observing to obtain an international, more sustainable, more efficient, more integrated, and fit-for-purpose system contributing to the Trans-Atlantic Research Alliance, the GEO (Group on Earth Observations) global initiative Blue Planet, and GOOS (Global Ocean Observing Systems). Hence, the AtlantOS project will have a long-lasting and sustainable contribution to the societal, economic and scientific benefit arising from this integrated approach. This will be achieved by improving the value for money, extent, completeness, quality and ease of access to Atlantic Ocean data required by industries, product supplying agencies, scientists and citizens. The overarching target of the AtlantOS initiative was to deliver an advanced framework for the development of an integrated Atlantic Ocean Observing System that goes beyond the state-of–the-art, and leaves a legacy of sustainability after the life of the project (see AtlantOS High-Level Strategy and find out more about the AtlantOS program). The legacy derived from the AtlantOS aims: - to improve international collaboration in the design, implementation and benefit sharing of ocean observing, - to promote engagement and innovation in all aspects of ocean observing, - to facilitate free and open access to ocean data and information, - to enable and disseminate methods of achieving quality and authority of ocean information, - to strengthen the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and to sustain observing systems that are critical for the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service and its applications and - to contribute to the aims of the Galway Statement on Atlantic Ocean Cooperation The project was organized along work packages on: i) observing system requirements and design studies, ii) enhancement of ship-based and autonomous observing networks, iii) interfaces with coastal ocean observing systems, iv) integration of regional observing systems, v) cross-cutting issues and emerging networks, vi) data flow and data integration, vii) societal benefits from observing /information systems, viii) system evaluation and resource sustainability. Engagement with wider stakeholders including end-users of Atlantic Ocean observation products and services was also key throughout the project. The AtlantOS initiative contributed to achieving the aims of the Galway Statement on Atlantic Ocean Cooperation that was signed in 2013 by the EU, Canada and the US, launching a Transatlantic Ocean Research Alliance to enhance collaboration to better understand the Atlantic Ocean and sustainably manage and use its resources.

In integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA), multiple aquatic species from different trophic levels are farmed together. Thus, waste from one species can be used as input (fertiliser and food) for another species. The EU-funded ASTRAL project will develop IMTA production chains for the Atlantic markets. Focusing on a regional challenge-based perspective, it will bring together labs in Ireland and Scotland (open offshore labs), South Africa (flow-through inshore) and Brazil (recirculation inshore) as well as Argentina (prospective IMTA lab). The aim is to increase circularity by as much as 60 % compared to monoculture baseline aquaculture and to boost revenue diversification for aquaculture producers. ASTRAL will share, integrate, and co-generate knowledge, technology and best practices fostering a collaborative ecosystem along the Atlantic.

The Sea Around Us is a research initiative at The University of British Columbia (located at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, formerly Fisheries Centre) that assesses the impact of fisheries on the marine ecosystems of the world, and offers mitigating solutions to a range of stakeholders. The Sea Around Us was initiated in collaboration with The Pew Charitable Trusts in 1999, and in 2014, the Sea Around Us also began a collaboration with The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation to provide African and Asian countries with more accurate and comprehensive fisheries data. It provides data and analyses through View Data, articles in peer-reviewed journals, and other media (News). We regularly update our products at the scale of countries’ Exclusive Economic Zones, Large Marine Ecosystems, the High Seas and other spatial scales, and as global maps and summaries. It emphasises catch time series starting in 1950, and related series (e.g., landed value and catch by flag state, fishing sector and catch type), and fisheries-related information on every maritime country (e.g., government subsidies, marine biodiversity). Information is also offered on sub-projects, e.g., the historic expansion of fisheries, the performance of Regional Fisheries Management Organizations, or the likely impact of climate change on fisheries. The information and data presented on this website is freely available to any user, granted that its source is acknowledged. We are aware that this information may be incomplete. Please let us know about this via the feedback options available on this website.