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.

KEY COMPONENTS OF PHAROS

Living Labs

Living Labs give local people and key actors a real say. PHAROS supports them to work together, shape and run initiatives, and build lasting local ownership. The MINKA platform and network support all PHAROS work, including Nature Based Solutions, Marine Protected Areas, Fisher Guardians, Litter Entrepreneurs and Blue Schools.

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IMTA

IMTA for Ecosystem Restoration and High Value Aquaculture. PHAROS shows an advanced Integrated Multi Trophic Aquaculture system that grows seaweed with abalone to restore nutrient rich waters. Sea cucumbers absorb waste from a nearby fish farm. The storm proof permanent structure supports research and all three PHAROS aims: new technology, useful solutions and public engagement.

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Artificial Reef Restoration

Artificial Reef Restoration. UGI uses Smart Enhanced Reefs made from calcium carbonate, biomaterials and cement. Their design uses parametric intelligence to improve water flow, catch organic particles and spread light. Active gardening plans and self learning algorithms help the reefs adapt. The system supports simple and complex needs and allows human intervention.

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eDNA

eDNA for Detecting Invasive Species. DTU puts qPCR and metabarcoding eDNA tools on a robotic buoy to find invasive species quickly and widely. Special labs, skilled staff and bioinformatics back the work. PHAROS will show better species specific eDNA detection. This monitoring is cheaper, faster and less affected by patchy species spread, so it is more reliable for large surveys.

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Digital Twin Ocean

DTO for Gran Canaria and Iceland Demo Locations. BO will build a Digital Twin Ocean for the Gran Canaria and Iceland demo sites using the HiSea platform. It combines in situ sensors, live IoT data, equation and data models, AI learning and high performance computing. Visual tools, scenarios and a decision platform help users. Live sound, underwater and surface camera data will also stream in.

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Blueprint MPA Platform

BLUE4ALL Blueprint MPA Platform Enhancement. The improved Blue4All Blueprint Platform helps marine protected area managers spot, sort and solve new problems fast. It supports proactive conservation and climate adaptation through adaptive management. Governance tools aid shared decisions, and an ecological corridor module supports species movement and genetic diversity. It links with the Digital Twin Ocean to improve decisions.

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Fisher Guardians

Fisher Guardians Programme. CIIMAR, PLOCAN and GW expand NETTAGplus within PHAROS. The programme helps the fishing industry move from polluter to ocean guardian and cleaner. It shares best practice, rewards good action and improves infrastructure. Three smart eco friendly solutions aim to cut lost fishing gear and reduce its harm to the environment.

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Citizen Litter Entrepreneurs

Citizen Litter Entrepreneurs. PHAROS and IHA extend the REMEDIES citizen litter entrepreneur programme. It guides people to become plastic entrepreneurs, with training and tools to start businesses that turn collected plastic litter into value and offer zero waste solutions to all actors. Each pillar has four innovations: monitoring, collection and prevention.

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MINKA (Citizen Science)

MINKA Stakeholder Engagement, Citizen and School Science. The CSIC MINKA platform is a citizen science tool for biodiversity and environmental data. It combines cloud services with stakeholder engagement to build long term communities and keep local projects going after PHAROS. Its open protocol lets projects share data with EU and Arctic education and conservation work, including Explorers, EU4Ocean and DeepDive.

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LATEST NEWS
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The economic case for marine protected areas
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Santorini Blue Loop
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Ireland Living Lab
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Fishers as guardians
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Follow Our News for the Latest PHAROS Updates!

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Explore, Learn, Restore: Inside the PHAROS Blog

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Project Consortium

The PHAROS Consortium consists of 24 scientific and research institutions from Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Belgium, Italy, Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Greece, Ukraine, and Norway, all active at the European level, covering the spectrum of marine ecosystem restoration, ocean pollution prevention, and sustainable blue economy initiatives.

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