Marine Biodiversity Restoration

in the Atlantic & Arctic Ocean
Close
Enter your
text here
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.

LEARN MORE

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.

LEARN MORE

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.

LEARN MORE

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.

LEARN MORE

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.

LEARN MORE

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.

LEARN MORE

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.

LEARN MORE

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.

LEARN MORE

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.

LEARN MORE

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.

LEARN MORE
LATEST NEWS
The economic case for marine protected areas
The economic case for marine protected areas and what the evidence shows
 The economic case for marine protected areas and what the evidence shows 1024 576 PHAROS Project

Marine protected areas…

Santorini Blue Loop
Santorini Blue Loop: a circular economy for an island built on visitors
 Santorini Blue Loop: a circular economy for an island built on visitors 1024 576 PHAROS Project

Santorini is one…

The Danube Delta Living Lab: monitoring a transboundary wetland with open science
 The Danube Delta Living Lab: monitoring a transboundary wetland with open science 1024 576 PHAROS Project

Europe’s second-longest river…

Ireland Living Lab
The Ireland Living Lab: restoration where the coast is the flood defence
 The Ireland Living Lab: restoration where the coast is the flood defence 1024 576 PHAROS Project

The Ireland Living…

MarCoLab Lanzarote: Replicating a Living Lab
 MarCoLab Lanzarote: Replicating a Living Lab 1024 576 PHAROS Project

Replication is the…

MarCoLab Gran Canaria: Citizens as the Data Strategy and Consistency as the Real Test
 MarCoLab Gran Canaria: Citizens as the Data Strategy and Consistency as the Real Test 1024 576 PHAROS Project

MarCoLab Gran Canaria…

How PHAROS’s Nine Living Labs Decide Restoration
 How PHAROS’s Nine Living Labs Decide Restoration 1024 576 PHAROS Project

A Living Lab…

Fishers as guardians
Fishers as guardians: the one kind of marine plastic that has an owner
 Fishers as guardians: the one kind of marine plastic that has an owner 1024 576 PHAROS Project

Most marine litter…

What is Ocean Literacy? 
 What is Ocean Literacy?  1024 576 PHAROS Project

Ocean literacy means understanding your impact on the sea and its impact on you. See how PHAROS builds this through Blue Schools in 2026.

What Are Artificial Reefs?
 What Are Artificial Reefs? 1024 576 PHAROS Project

Artificial reefs restore marine habitats and boost biodiversity. See how PHAROS is deploying AI-designed Smart Enhanced Reefs off Gran Canaria in 2026.

Follow Our News for the Latest PHAROS Updates!

READ MORE NEWS

Explore, Learn, Restore: Inside the PHAROS Blog

READ MORE BLOGS

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.

Find Out More
Privacy Preferences

When you visit our website, it may store information through your browser from specific services, usually in the form of cookies. Our Privacy Policy can be read here.

Here you can change your Privacy preferences. It is worth noting that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our website and the services we are able to offer.

Click to enable/disable Google Analytics tracking code.
Click to enable/disable Google Fonts.
Click to enable/disable Google Maps.
Click to enable/disable video embeds.
Our website uses cookies, mainly from 3rd party services. Define your Privacy Preferences and/or agree to our use of cookies.