Marine Biodiversity Restoration

in the Atlantic & Arctic Ocean
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PHAROS is an EU-funded project, led by the Canary Islands Ocean Platform (PLOCAN), and implemented by a consortium of 24 organisations from September 2024 to August 2029, which aims to provide nature-based solutions for restoring ecosystems and biodiversity while tackling climate change and human impacts in the Atlantic and Arctic maritime regions.

The European Union is taking significant steps towards protecting and restoring our ocean’s health with the PHAROS project, a crucial part of the EU’s ambitious Ocean Mission. Aiming to achieve three key objectives by 2030: restoring marine ecosystems and biodiversity, eliminating ocean pollution, and creating a sustainable blue economy, PHAROS is set to bridge the development phase (ending in 2025) and the deployment phase (2026-2030).

Restoration

PHAROS will conduct three demonstrations in the Atlantic, utilising a mix of newly developed Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) and Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA), specifically tailored to the local environment. These efforts will lead to significant biodiversity and ecosystem restoration benefits during the initial phase of the mission.

Invasive Species Reduction

PHAROS will collaborate with the H2020 ECOTIP project to enhance and expand its efforts in a demonstration aimed at reducing invasive species in Iceland through the use of eDNA monitoring. This initiative will span both the first and second phases of the mission.

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Mission Integration

PHAROS will advance the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) and implement leading Mission projects across the Atlantic and Arctic (AA) basin. This includes initiatives such as the Prep4Blue MPA platform and network, Nettagplus, Remedies Fisher Guardian, Citizen Litter Entrepreneur programs, and the Probleu EU Blue School Network platform for education, bridging into phase 2 of the mission.

LATEST NEWS
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 Hearth Aegean Summit Day 3: How Local Island Communities are Blueprinting the Future of the Aegean 1024 576 PHAROS Project

From intention to action, grassroots innovators, scientists, and policy experts gather at Santorini’s Tomato Industrial Museum to build a lasting framework for island resilience.

Hearth Aegean Summit Day 2: Scaling Island Resilience – Intentions and Engineering Radical Futures in Santorini
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SANTORINI — Following…

Hearth Aegean Summit Day 1 in Santorini: Local Action and Global Regeneration
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At the Mati Art Observatory, attendees gathered for the summit’s official opening plenary, titled “Why Now, Why Here?”. Co-moderators Sheila Darmos (a farmer from the Peloponnese, eco-project connector, and co-founder representing the European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture) and Fabio Volkmann (a specialist in place-based regeneration and regenerative agriculture from the European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture) introduced the guiding principles of the three-day gathering.

Santorini Living Lab Fisher Guardian Workshop in Vlychada before opening Aegean Hearth Summit
 Santorini Living Lab Fisher Guardian Workshop in Vlychada before opening Aegean Hearth Summit 1024 771 PHAROS Project

Santorini fishers and PHAROS partners co-created practical steps to cut marine litter, track lost gear and improve port recycling at Vlychada.

Santorini Living Lab Fisher Guardian Workshop in Vlychada before opening Aegean Hearth Summit
 Santorini Living Lab Fisher Guardian Workshop in Vlychada before opening Aegean Hearth Summit 1024 576 PHAROS Project

The Fisher Guardian participatory workshop, organised under the PHAROS Fisher Guardian Programme, brings together Santorini fishers to share their experiences, discuss the challenges they face and jointly identify practical measures to tackle marine litter, improve waste management and reduce bycatch, among other issues.

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EU Outermost Regions are remote Atlantic and Indian Ocean islands with full EU status. See why PHAROS centres its ocean work around them in 2026.

Three EU projects join action
From European Ocean Innovation to Local Action: Three EU Projects Join Forces at Hearth Summit Aegean 2026
 From European Ocean Innovation to Local Action: Three EU Projects Join Forces at Hearth Summit Aegean 2026 1024 576 PHAROS Project

23-25 October 2026…

Ten percent designated, 3.5 percent protected: the ocean’s place in the COP17 review
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COP17 opened in…

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Multiple Use of Space shares ocean areas between industries like energy and aquaculture. See how PHAROS proves this works off Gran Canaria.

Gardening the Atlantic: An experiment to farm fish and grow reefs side by side
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Off Gran Canaria, an EU-backed trial pairs fish farming with artificial reefs. Here is how the PHAROS project hopes to restore marine life.

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