News

Researchers have discovered that an 80 year old historic World War II shipwreck is still influencing the microbiology and geochemistry of the ocean floor where it rests. In Frontiers in Marine Science, they show how the wreck is leaking hazardous pollutants, such as explosives and heavy metals, into the ocean floor sediment of the North Sea, influencing the marine microbiology around it.

The VLIZ Marine Regions team developed a brand new, open and global dataset of the so-called 'extended continental shelves'. These are parts of the sea where a country can assert exclusive rights to the natural resources on the seabed and in the subsoil, e.g. marine species living on the seabed, oil and gas. Consequently, if manganese nodules - sometimes called 'the new gold' - are located in this...

Exactly ten years ago, on 12 October 2012, the Provincial Court in Bruges provided a suitable setting for the First Conference on Ocean Literacy in Europe. That day, the organizers VLIZ and the European Marine Board, welcomed the founding fathers of the US Ocean Literacy movement, Craig Strang and Peter Tuddenham, and representatives of IOC UNESCO, European Commission, EMSEA, National Geographic...

A training for tsunami warning centers in the Southeast Pacific region was supported by the Flanders Marine Institute and IOC/UNESCO. Participating countries optimized the exchange of real-time data from sea level stations as a practical tool for risk management and warning in case of a tsunami risk.

Today, 1 September 2022, Dr. Peter Landschützer will start as the new research director of the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ). As a climate scientist, Peter previously worked at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (Hamburg, Germany). With this appointment, VLIZ realises a top transfer and accelerates its investments in research at the climate, ocean, and biodiversity interface, as...

After more than 20 years, the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) and its national and international partners are leaving their offices in the Ostend fish market. All employees are currently emptying desks, sorting materials and documents, and packing belongings. At the beginning of September, a specialized company moves no less than 684(!) boxes. Due to the move, in the week of 5 September VLIZ and...

Discover six new vacancies at the Flanders Marine Institute. We welcome several data and project managers, a PhD researcher in aerosols, a marine engineer and an extra employee for the project administration. Take a look at our offer and maybe we will welcome you as our new colleague!

New Ocean challenges and opportunities fuel the need for enhanced marine and solution-oriented science communication. Strengthening its capacity is critical, as well as developing dedicated training programs, deeper and wider collaboration with stakeholders and close interaction with the UN Decade of Ocean Science (2021-2030) and EU’s Mission: Restore our Ocean and Waters.

How did the Flemish seascape evolve over the past 5000 years, both on land and at sea? Scientists from Vrije Universiteit Brussel, KU Leuven, HoWest and VLIZ will answer this question in the newly launched project ‘Testerep’. To this end, the interdisciplinary team of researchers focusses on the area of the former Testerep peninsula. Studying the evolution and demise of the peninsula will reveal...

The VLIZ annual report 2021 presents the highlights and focuses on the services VLIZ offered to the marine scientific community, policymakers, the industry, educators and the general public in 2021. Performance indicators (KPIs), numbers and lists all together give a transparent overview of the organization and functioning of the institute.

The Sea as a Good Cause – VLIZ's charitable activities – annually awards Brilliant Marine Research Idea grants, each worth 5000 euros. In 2022, no fewer than six young scientists with a brilliant idea were awarded the grant. This was possible thanks to the growing number of VLIZ member contributions, donations and sponsorship from enthusiastic companies and marine research enthusiasts.

Every year VLIZ recruits several students working for us in the months July, August or September. For the summer of 2022 we are looking for a number of enthusiastic students for the various departments of the Flanders Marine Institute. Interested students can submit their candidacy via the online form (up to 18 April). In the first week of May you will be contacted by our HR department.

On 1 March 2022, VLIZ and the Institut des Sciences de la Mer et du Littoral (ISML) of the French Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale (ULCO) concluded a collaboration agreement. In doing so, they strengthen their exchange in the field of research, training and expertise on marine scientific knowledge and culture in the Channel and the North Sea area.

Emil De Borger, Merel Van Gorp and Anton Bilsen can call themselves proud winners of respectively the VLIZ North Sea Award, and the two VLIZ Master Thesis Awards. On the online VLIZ Marine Science Day of Wednesday 2 March, these laureates will briefly explain their research and receive their prizes.

Covenants between the government and VLIZ determine the institute's mission for the next five years. After an intensive preliminary phase consisting of an internal self-evaluation, an external evaluation and negotiations, the Government of Flanders approved a new covenant for the period 2022-2026 on 17 December 2021.

Just before Christmas, the Flemish government approved six covenants with Flemish research institutions – including the Flanders Marine Institute. The Flemish Minister for Science Policy, Innovation and Economy Hilde Crevits gives political priority to research with a societal impact: from climate impact on marine life, to better technologies in healthcare. With more than 33 million euros in...

Today, BELSPO, on behalf of the Federal Government, and the EWI Department – the Department for Economy, Science and Innovation – on behalf of the Flemish Government, signed an agreement framework regarding the deployment of their two research vessels. The framework regulates the reciprocity of the use of ship-time between Federal scientific institutions and Flemish scientific research centers. It...

Annually VLIZ reports on the status of marine research in Flanders and Belgium in the form of a policy informing brief, so keeping its finger on the pulse of this dynamic field of research. The most recent census maps the growing research capacity and their scientific output for the year 2020. The report also examines the strong international partnerships, the broad geographic focus of the...