Noise pollution in the North Sea

The North Sea is one of the busiest seas in the world. All this human activity creates a lot of noise underwater. This can have harmful consequences for marine mammals and other organisms in our sea. Fortunately, measures exist to limit noise pollution. The Marine Environment Service (FOD Public Health) and DG Shipping (FOD Mobility), with the support of LifeWatch VLIZ, collaborated on a campaign to raise awareness about underwater noise pollution among the wider public.

Old cockles and record number of shells at the eighth edition of the Big Seashell Survey

The eighth edition of the Big Seashell Survey was a record-breaking event. No fewer than 3,500 participants scoured 400 km of coastline in northern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, collecting and identifying nearly 150,000 shells from 72 different species. This year, the differences between the three countries were less pronounced, with the cut trough shell ranking as the most frequently found species across all regions. The Atlantic jackknife clam, the banded wedge shell, and the common cockle consistently appeared in the top five. A one-time focus on the cockle in Belgium revealed that most of these shells originated in a distant past, with only a handful of live populations remaining in the shallow continental North Sea.

Return of the twaite shad to the Scheldt River After a Century-Long Absence

The twaite shad, a migratory fish that once disappeared from the Scheldt River due to pollution, has made a remarkable return in the past decade. Known locally as the “May fish,” the twaite shadspawns in the river between late April and early May. Researchers from the Institute for Nature and Forest Research (INBO) have been studying the species since its return in 2014, using LifeWatch Belgium acoustic telemetry and data loggers to track the fish’s movements and habits.

First ETN datasets available through GBIF

The first datasets from the Permanent Belgian Acoustic Receiver Network are now available via GBIF. Over 507,000 fish tracking records from Belgian waters offer new insights into species movement and biodiversity.

EurOBIS celebrates its 20th anniversary with a super-harvest!

Over its 20 years’ existence, EurOBIS formed alliances with European initiatives as a supporting infrastructure and network. Major milestones include EurOBIS serving as the data backbone of the European Marine Observations and Data Network Biology (EMODnet Biology) since 2009 and being part of the central Species Information Backbone of LifeWatch since 2014.

Closing the WoRMS 15th anniversary celebrations with an opinion paper

In follow-up of the 10th anniversary paper on WoRMS, the Data Management Team is proud to present a paper celebrating the 15th anniversary of WoRMS: "The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) through the looking glass: insights from the Data Management Team in light of the crystal anniversary of WoRMS".

Ocean Census' search for 100,000 new species will boost WoRMS

A new Ocean Census plans major expeditions in all corners of the ocean over the next 10 years, aiming to discover 100,000 new species.  In time, the new species will also boost the World Marine Species Register (WoRMS).