JPI O ceans’ p ilo t a ctions
Muñiz PinieIla Ángel E.1, John Hanus2, W endy Bonne12and W illem De M oor12
1 Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
InnovOcean site, Wandelaarkaai 7, B-8400 Oostende, Belgium
E-mail: anqel.m uniz.piniella@ vliz.be
2 JPI Oceans Secretariat
Rue du Trône 1BO, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
The JPI Oceans p ilo t actions are (small-scale) activities, lim ited in tim e and scope, designed to test
o ut new modes o f cooperation. They should o ffe r a fit fo r purpose co n trib u tio n to address societal
needs and challenges related to marine and m aritim e issues. In a dd ition, th ey are im plem ented to
dem onstrate the added value o f JPI Oceans as a high-level intergovernm ental strategy process.
C urrently there are three p ilo t actions in the pipeline, however th e ir fin al scope and content still
needs to be agreed upon:
Ecological aspects o f m icro-plastics in the m arine environm ent
The accum ulation o f plastic litte r in the environm ent has become a grow ing concern ever since the
rise in plastics production. The p ilo t action w ill specifically com prise (i) analytical m ethod
developm ent; (ii) an in terla b orato ry study, and (iii) research into the ecotoxicological effects o f
particles. Part one w ill focus on the developm ent o f m ethods fo r the e xtraction, analysis and
reporting fo r selected m atrices (sedim ent, biota and w ater column). The action aims to improve
current m ethods both in term s o f th e ir robustness and cost-effectiveness, and seeks to harmonise
research m ethodologies to enable better data com parisons. In a next phase the p ilo t action plans to
focus on an inte rla b o ra to ry study on m icro-plastics in sedim ent in ord er to validate m ethods and
standard operation protocols. The th ird part w ill focus on the study o f the e cotoxicological effects
o f plastic particles, particula rly on the mechanisms o f to x ic im pact on organism s, the im pact o f
chronic exposure as well as the tra n sfe r o f m icro-plastics into the (human) food chain and the
resulting effects.
Ecological aspects o f d ee p -s ea mining
Marine m ineral resources, such as polym etallic nodules, crusts and subm arine-exhalative sulfides
have recently become the ta rg et o f policy makers, m ining com panies and deep sea researchers.
However, com m ercial deep-sea m ining w ill always cause a m ajor im pact on local ecosystems. This
p ilo t action aims to assess the long-term environm ental consequences o f deep-sea m ining,
especially human im pact on the benthic com m unity. Germ any offered 90 days fo r on-site research
on RV Sonne fo r a cruise in the Pacific in early 201 5. Envisaged is a three-legged cruise to visit the
DISCOL area o ff the coast o f Peru where a sea-floor disturbance expe rim en t was carried out in the
1980s as well as to conduct research in the various (undisturbed) claims o f European countries in
the C larion-C lipperton Fracture Zone in the Pacific Ocean. The p ilo t action w ill enable scientists to
better assess the im pact o f deep sea m ining activities and, ultim ately, to make recom m endations
fo r environm ental standards to allow policy makers to define a better legal fram e w o rk fo r deep sea
m ining activities.
M u lti-u s e o f Infrastructure fo r Monitoring
A long h istory o f m on itoring o f the marine environm ent in the North Sea exists, including
oceanographic, hydrographic, biological and human im pact m on itoring program s. To make best use
o f each Euro spent, international and inter-d iscip lin a ry collaboration is needed to coordinate the
North Sea m on itoring activities, crossing national borders. The p ilo t action on M ulti-use o f
Infrastructure picks a num ber o f indicators th a t require m o n itoring activities (for exam ple marine
litte r on the sea flo o r from survey catches, consum ption by fish th ro ug h stomach sam pling,
bio dive rsity o f infauna from benthos boxcore sampling), try in g to integrate them w ith current (fish
stock) m on itoring program s. The intention is to develop p ilo t studies to test these on current
m on itoring activities as soon as possible.
-
83
-