Philippe Bouchet selected as the Carlo Heip Awardee for 2023-2025 The International Carlo Heip Award (cycle 2023-2025) granted to Prof. Philippe Bouchet: passionate taxonomist, explorer, researcher, taxonomic Mollusca editor, founding father of MolluscaBase and over...

Philippe Bouchet, one of the Chief Taxonomic Editors of #MolluscaBase and @marinespecies.bsky.social has been selected as the Carlo Heip Awardee for 2023-2025

www.marinespecies.org/news.php?p=s...

Deep-sea wildernesses are more important than the promise of seafloor mining (analysis) When I set sail on the MV NorSky in the summer of 2008 to probe the depths of Manus Basin off the coast of Papua New Guinea, I believed in the promise of deep-sea mining. As an early-career deep-sea e...

The only thing inevitable in the deep sea is discovery.

Deep-sea wildernesses are more important than the promise of seafloor mining.

news.mongabay.com/2026/04/deep...

Nice! "The species name, vermiculatus, is from the Latin, meaning 'like worms' or 'of worms'. It was chosen to honour both the vermiform morphology ... and in recognition of the World Register of Marine Species, a wonderful resource for all marine taxonomists."
www.marinespecies.org/news.php?p=s...

The world just lived through the 11 hottest years on record — what now? Earth is increasingly ‘out of balance’, as more heat is trapped in the atmosphere, driving global warming.

The world just lived through the 11 hottest years on record — what now? www.nature.com/articles/d41...

So, there they are, the @marinespecies.bsky.social top-10 marine species of 2025! Do you have a favorite?

www.marinespecies.org/worms-top-te...

#toptenmarinespecies #taxonomistappreciationday #OceanDecade #GenOcean

We are proud to announce the formal signing of a MoU between @vliz.be and Fundación San Ignacio del Huinay fjord field station (University of Valparaiso), in the presence of HE Christian de Lannoy, ambassador of Belgium in Chile. @unoceandecade.bsky.social @janmees.bsky.social

Zaterdag in VLIZ Oostende. Met FAAR en De Klimaatdichters. Interview en opname podcast ‘Redden wat je raakt’ met mezelf en een echte schrijver, dichter Lies Van Gasse. Welkom!

www.faar-oostende.be/activiteiten...

We were pleased to welcome rector UGent @petradesutter.bsky.social to @vliz.be in Ostend. A valuable exchange on strengthening our long-standing partnership with UGent & MarineAtUGent in marine sciences.
#Collaboration #MarineResearch #OceanScience #BlueScience @janmees.bsky.social

A VLIZ delegation is visiting Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) in Mombasa, Kenya to meet director Dr Paul Swage Orina & team. The visit highlights a strong Kenya-Belgium marine science legacy and explores renewed VLIZ-KMFRI collaboration ahead of #OurOceanConference2026. #SDG14

✨A warm start to the new year at #VLIZ ✨
Team moments, an inspiring New Year’s address by Director Jan Mees, and a potluck with local specialties – connecting colleagues, sharing ideas, and looking ahead together. 🤝✨ 🌊

VLIZ recruits: Fish Behavioral Ecology Researcher | Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee www.vliz.be/en/jobs/vliz...

VLIZ-onderzoeker Gert Everaert bekroond met prestigieuze KVAB-prijs als Laureaat van de Academie www.vliz.be/nl/news/vliz...

Proud to have contributed to this paper!

Today, H.E. Ambassador Bitange Ndemo & a delegation of the Kenya Embassy 🇰🇪 in Brussels visited VLIZ in the presence of Carl Decaluwé, Jan Mees, Colin Janssen and Ann-Katrien Lescrauwaut. They discussed the marine science cooperation between Kenya and Flanders/Belgium.

The Indian Ocean disaster is a climate tragedy — and needs more attention A region unused to tropical cyclones has had three in a week. The world needs to ask why this happened, not look away.

Via @janmees.bsky.social - The Indian Ocean disaster is a climate tragedy — and needs more attention - @rochmyaningsih.bsky.social @nature.com

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Another PhD defence in Oostende today. Congratulations Dr Leone!

🇧🇪🌊 Belgium has officially submitted its candidacy to host the #BBNJ Secretariat in Brussels.

Belgium stands ready to provide a home for the Secretariat in Brussels, a global hub of diplomacy, science and multilateral cooperation.

Wrapping up #30DayMapChallenge with a bonus map: a cartogram where countries are resized by their EEZs! 🎁

Shout-out to Clipperton Island, which has the largest EEZ/land ratio: its EEZ is over 200.000 its land area 🤯

We have opened our new call for two EMB Ambassadors! Are you an #ECOP #PhD #PostDoc at an EMB member? Keen to work with us on #marine #science #policy, the EMB ECOP Network, communications and more? Find out more on how to apply here: www.marineboard.eu/emb-seeks-tw... Deadline 1 February 2026

Ons tweede boek "Het vreemde leven in de oceaan. Van diepzeemonsters tot microben" verschijnt in het voorjaar. Er er is een webpagina met meer informatie: academiapress.be/nl/het-vreem.... Gebruik kortingscode "oceaan10" voor 10% korting!

New @emarineboard.bsky.social report shows current marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (#mCDR) methods are not yet ready for large-scale deployment – cutting CO₂ emissions remains essential and MRV frameworks developed. Proud that Peter Landschützer (#VLIZ) contributed.👇
www.vliz.be/en/news/mari...

VLIZ is hiring: PhD researcher "Immune effects of sea air". Join the VLIZ research group Life's Roots & Rates and unravel the mechanistic links between marine microbial diversity, endotoxin composition & human immune responses. Apply no later than Tuesday, December 9th 🔗 www.vliz.be/en/jobs/vliz...

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!!

Start your countdown; #WCMB2026 is happening exactly one year from now!

Register here: wcmb2026.org/registration

@unoceandecade.bsky.social @vliz.be #marinebiodiversity

Peter Landschützer – #VLIZ research director and author of next @ipcc.bsky.social report – contributed to #GlobalCarbonProject 2025: mainly collaborating to insights on role of #ocean in global carbon budget & impact #ClimateChange on extent carbon absorption by ocean.
📎 www.vliz.be/en/news/glob...

CO2-uitstoot uit fossiele brandstoffen was nooit hoger www.vliz.be/testerep/nl/...

Deep-sea mining discharge can disrupt midwater food webs - Nature Communications Deep-sea mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone may release waste into midwaters that support diverse marine life. This study finds such discharges could dilute key food particles and disrupt trophic l...

Deep-sea mining discharge can disrupt midwater food webs www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#VLIZ is hosting a North Seas Energy Cooperation meeting @InnovOcean Campus. We’re honoured to contribute to the grow of renewable energy. Mathieu Bihet: ‘Holding this meeting in Ostend, Belgium’s main offshore hub, shows our country’s central role in the NSEC’ @fodeconomie.bsky.social @ec.europa.eu

National implementation of the European Union policy framework for monitoring introduced non-indigenous species in marine and brackish waters: a Belgian case study based on an updated species inventor... Based on a thorough literature review and expert consultation, this study provides an inventory of all introduced non-indigenous species (iNIS) reported for Belgian marine and brackish waters. The dat...

New paper: National implementation of the European Union policy framework for monitoring introduced non-indigenous species in marine and brackish waters: a Belgian case study based on an updated species inventory neobiota.pensoft.net/articles.php...

Brazil Strengthens Coastal Monitoring Network with 18 Stations by 2026. “Real-time monitoring and metadata are managed through the Sea Level Station Monitoring Facility, hosted by the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)” unes.co/9hxbth

🌊🏺The 8th International Congress for Underwater Archaeology #IKUWA8 takes place in Ostend this week. With 400+ participants from all over the world (>50 countries from 6 continents), it's the largest congress in the history of IKUWA. A week full exciting tales telling our past! 🤝