News

The Ballast Water Management Convention aims to prevent the further spread of invasive exotic species through international shipping and can soon enter into force. Since the convention includes a clause under which exemptions can be granted to certain ships for a period of 5 years, Belgium wishes to move forward with the exemption procedure. In this framework, VLIZ was contacted to conduct a...

On February 12, Bruges was the place to be for those involved in marine sciences in Flanders and surroundings: for both scientists (junior and senior), as well as people from marine trainings, marine companies and marine policy. The 363 participants were presented a nice overview of the actual research performed at universities and scientific institutes and had ample opportunities for networking.

The vibrocorer is an ideal research instrument to study undisturbed cores of a relative large length. VLIZ disposes of an OSIL high-power Vibrocorer system that can collect cores up to 3 m long and a diameter of 96 mm. The device is deployed aboard the research vessel Simon Stevin where cores can be taken up to a depth of 100 m.

To have, by 2030, a world-wide cooperation for a sustainable, state-of-the-art global ocean observing system: this is the new ambition of POGO (Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans). The data will serve the needs of science and society.

Have you got a creative, innovative idea for how to increase people’s awareness and appreciation of the ocean? If so, you should enter the Sea Change project’s Think Big, Think Ocean video contest.

The Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) developed - together with DataCite - a procedure to assist marine scientists in publishing their data with a Digital Object Identifier (DOI). This formal data publication creates a better traceability of data sets and improves the recognition of the scientific work.

The laureate of the VLIZ Communication Award can benefit from a personal communication coaching by the Communication department of the Flanders Marine Institute in the course of the following year. Young marine scientists and engineers who want to participate in this contest should send us before 31 January 2016 a motivation letter according to the conditions given on the VLIZ website.

During a period of four years, the CREST project ( Climate Resilient Coast) will investigate the wave action on the Belgian coast in a changing climate. More specifically, the effects on the dynamics of the coast and implications for future safety strategies will be investigated. This project is a cooperation of the research institutions and private partners and is funded by the Flemish Agency for...

How to prepare biodiversity data and analyse them with the LifeWatch virtual labs and web services? On the LifeWatch Data Analysis Workshop of 26-27 November 2015 in Ostend the trainees learned how to tackle these problems in a most efficient way.

On 12 February 2016, the Flanders Marine Institute organises the 16th edition of the VLIZ Marine Scientist Day. This day will again try to highlight the diversity, quality and relevance of marine and coastal sciences in Flanders with extensive poster and oral pitch presentations. For the first time, a selection will be made of 20 ‘pre-doc’ and 5 ‘post-doc’ abstracts for the oral presentations. In...

A measuring system for wind driven sand transport, a set-up for acidification experiments with algae and a multi-transducer parametrical echosounder are the three new research instruments that will be purchased by the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) for marine research in Flanders and its surroundings. These three instruments were selected by the Scientific Committee through a call for proposals...

A message for all marine scientists who made a thesis written at a Flemish university or university college are invited to compete for the VLIZ Thesis Award Marine Sciences 2015 presented by the Flanders Marine Institute! Both fundamental and applied research in all branches of marine sciences is taken into consideration. Candidates must have graduated for no more than two years and can register...

Have you done research on the structure or the functioning of our ocean during your postgraduate or postdoctorate? Do you think your study deserves a prize? Compete with other marine scientists for the VLIZ North Sea Award 2015 and submit your file on 4 December 2015 the latest. Candidates must be affiliated to a Belgian university or research institution. The contribution has to be of...

On September the 23th, and in the presence of Flanders’ Minister Philippe Muyters, Governor of West-Flanders Carl Decaluwé and the Quebecian Minster of Transport and Maritime Strategy Jean D’Amour, the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) and l’Institut des Sciences de la Mer de Rimouski ( UQAR-ISMER, Québec) signed a Memorandum of Understanding. Joint research projects, training programs or funding...

Librarians and staff members of public, university and scientific libraries came together at their biennial congress ‘ Information by the Sea ’ from 17 to 18 September 2015 in the Casino Kursaal Ostend. On Thursday 17 September, they were introduced to marine research and paid a visit to the VLIZ-library and the research vessel Simon Stevin.

After more than a year of preparations, the large molluscs component of World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is accommodated in a new species database: MolluscaBase. The purpose of the MolluscaBase is to develop a global database that contains taxonomic information about all marine, freshwater and terrestrial molluscs. Moreover, MolluscaBase will cover both recent and fossil molluscs.

From 15 to 30 September, classes from the 4th, 5th and 6th year of secondary education can register for a workshop in marine research (Dutch only). This year, there are 11 different workshops organized by a diversity of marine research groups. To subscribe and discover the workshops: PlaneetZee site. One message: be quick!

In order to estimate the size and fishing efforts of the Belgian recreational fishing fleet, port and sea-based observations were carried out for over a one year period. This study is a first step towards a systematic monitoring of the Belgian recreational fishing sector and its effects on coastal fishing populations and ecosystems. The first results are presented in a policy informing brief (only...