PLOCAN Leading PHAROS Consortium, Announcing Marine Ecosystems to be Restored

• September 3, 2024

The Canary Islands Ocean Platform (PLOCAN) leads and coordinates PHAROS Consortium, which will provide nature-based solutions for the restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity, as well as address the threats of climate change and human activities in the Atlantic and Arctic maritime basins.

The PHAROS project, supported by nearly 9.5 million euros in European funds, aligns with the objective of the European Union’s Ocean Mission, which aims to protect and restore marine ecosystems and biodiversity, prevent and eliminate pollution, and achieve a sustainable, carbon-neutral, and circular blue economy by 2030.

Twenty-four scientific and research institutions from Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Belgium, Italy, Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Greece, Ukraine, and Norway, coordinated by Dr. Gordon Dalton of PLOCAN, are participating in the PHAROS Consortium, which will develop the project over five years, starting on September 1.

EU missions represent a new way of providing concrete solutions to some of our greatest challenges. They have ambitious objectives and will deliver tangible results by 2030.

The 5 EU missions

1. Adaptation to climate change
2. Cancer
3. Restoring our oceans and waters by 2030
4. 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030
5. A territorial pact for Europe

PHAROS is part of the HORIZON-MISS-2023-OCEAN-01-03 project.

PHAROS will carry out trials, via demonstrators, in various areas of the Atlantic, including:

• PLOCAN in Gran Canaria
• The west coast of Ireland
• Iceland

Further trials are being considered in Greenland and in the French overseas territories in the Caribbean.

At each site, multiple conservation and restoration measures will be tested to improve biodiversity. Additionally, the potentially lucrative blue economy outcomes of such nature-based solutions will be assessed, including:

• Polyculture of macroalgae combined with reefs for biodiversity restoration.
• Combining macroalgae and invertebrates with aquaculture cages for the restoration of nutrient-rich ecosystems.
• Reducing invasive species and monitoring them using eDNA (electronic DNA identification).
• Reducing ALDFG (abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear) pollution.
• Training entrepreneurs to implement a business model linked to the project’s actions.
• Expanding the Blue Schools Network in the Atlantic and Arctic basins.
• Providing active support to the European Digital Twin of the Ocean (EU DTO).

PHAROS is based on three key pillars: public mobilisation, innovation and technology leadership, and valorisation and commercialisation for the Blue Economy. PHAROS is structured around the association and expansion of the most relevant, innovative, and replicable projects within the framework of the H2020 Mission, Horizon Europe, and Blue Planet calls, aiming to reach all EU overseas Atlantic islands, as well as the Arctic.