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Gesine Meissner, Special Envoy of the President of the European Parliament on Maritime Affairs (left) opened the event in the hemicycle in Brussels, 20 March 2019, marking a premiere for the spotlight on the ocean in the EP. The conference was organised jointly by the EP and the European Commission. Until the early hours of the evening a long list of speakers took the floor to attest their commitment to the ocean, its sustainable use, recognition of its major role in stabilising the planet's climate and a vast array of essential goods and services: Euro-deputies, senior officials of the European Commission and national governments, scientists, representatives of young people, civil society, businesses, educators and media people.

Two coordination projects funded by the European Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme - MARINA and ResponSEAble - joined forces again for their final event. The ocean dialogues at the science-policy-society interface convened 18-19 March 2019 in Brussels were intended to draw together findings, showcasing educational tools in support of Ocean Literacy (OL) and promote responsible research and innovation (RRI) for effective ocean governance. Four topics were discussed in some depth and networking was rife.

After weeks of Fridays for Climate that raised the temperature of the public debate, Brussels saw the biggest climate strike march in 24 Belgian cities and towns this Friday, 15 March 2019. Led by young people, but mobilising participants of all age groups, civil society organisations, trade unions, various public administration personnel the marchers sent a clear signal to politicians and companies to stop dragging their feet and act.

Mundus maris Awards for World Oceans Day 2019

The Female Faces of the Ocean

The United Nations have dedicated World Oceans Day 2019 to Women and Ocean. The Mundus maris Awards would like to contribute with the following contest and its prizes.

How to protect the ocean from plastic pollution? The integrated school in Sint Lambrechts Woluwe, Brussels, with its class of children with hearing problems and their teachers wanted to know more. Thus, thanks to a project of the school with the association Indigo they invited Mundus maris asbl to give a scientific course on this subject.

Biofach shows that "bio" has outgrown childhood and is becoming a bigger business every year. The Bundesverband Naturkost Naturwaren (BNN), a business association of mostly retailers of natural foods and other natural products naturally had a booth at the fair and also contributed actively to the workshop and conference programme running parallel to the trade show. Cornelia E Nauen of Mundus maris and board chair of Q-quatics was invited by BNN to talk about sustainable fish and criteria, which would make it easier for retailers to navigate the often treacherous value chains to ensure offering only sustainably produced seafood.

Combining practice and theory always adds a lot to understanding a problem and its solutions. In this sense, the dynamic science teacher at the Montjoie Institute in Uccle, Ms Nlandu, came to the Mundus maris booth during the 2018 environment festival to discuss the possibilities of collaboration. Since then, the work programme of the year has consolidated and another class has joined. Thus, on February 11, 2019, an excursion to the Senne in Anderlecht was made.

Dr. Mary Ann Bimbao, Executive Director of Q-quatics opened the Mini-SymposiumLooking ahead to the forthcoming UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021 to 2030) Quantitative Aquatics wants to share research in progress with the colleagues of IRRI, from universities and research centres in the Philippines and any interested international scholars on campus. Dr. Mary Ann Bimbao, Executive Director of Q-quatics, welcomed guests and staff to this event on 31 January 2019. She recalled the origins of FishBase, SeaLifeBase and Aquamaps and pointed to the many new possibilities these global databases had opened to ask questions and retrieve answers. The breadth of presentations gave a good indication to even more opportunities on the road ahead.

Ratana ChuenpagdeeThe global research network on small-scale fisheries, Too Big To Ignore (TBTI), continues to produce and organise vast bodies of knowledge about SSF around the world. As more case studies become available and the search is on for better understanding of their commonalities and specificities, it has become clear that their study requires transdisciplinary approaches and development of new methods of research and collaboration. TBTI convenes training workshops in all continents for this approach. Aliou Sall of Mundus maris served as trainer in the Africa workshop in Cape Town.

Moderator Martina Hirschmeier and Cornelia E Nauen (r) on stage after a presentation of the fish quizLove your ocean - the ocean needs YOU! That was the message of the science camp with lots to discover thanks to an exciting programme at the shared space by more than 30 conservation-minded projects, companies and civil society organisations. The Boot fair in Düsseldorf, Germany, celebrated its 50th anniversary from 19 to 27 January 2019 with making a point for ocean protection. The management, in coordination with the German Ocean Foundation, offered this space around a big whale. Q-quatics and Mundus maris hosted the fish sound quiz of FishBase and other activities and contributed to the stage programme, spreading information and ideas for concrete marine protection and sustainable small-scale fisheries.

Prof. Jemaiel Ben Brahim, Director of AUFAll signs pointed into the direction of taking action - the Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF) Guidelines were adopted in 2014 by the FAO's Committee of Fisheries and included in the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. The vast research network "Too Big To Ignore" produced books and research results identifying obstacles and opportunities for implementation and a regional consultation in July this year developed concrete recommendations on how to implement them in West Africa. Our earlier work for FAO on a teaching kit on the ecosystem approach to fisheries and later field research underscored the demand of small-scale fishers (men and women) to get better access to research results, be recognised for their empirical knowledge and to be able to participate in action research driving analyses and innovation. So, the logical next step was teaming up with like-minded organisations and together launch a small-scale fisheries academy.