From 3 to 5 October 2023, EuroGOOS held its 10th International Conference, hosted in Galway by the Marine Institute, Ireland. The Conference, titled European Operational Oceanography for the Ocean we want – Addressing the UN Ocean Decade Challenges, was an endorsed Ocean Decade event.
The event brought together over 160 participants for an in-person Conference covering all aspects of operational oceanography and its societal relevance. The Conference was opened by the Interim CEO of the Marine Institute Michael Gillooly, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO Vladimir Ryabinin, Director for Maritime Policy & Blue Economy at the European Commission DG MARE Delilah Al Khudairy, and Head of Unit Healthy Seas and Ocean at the European Commission DG Research and Innovation Elisabetta Balzi.
Members representing the Joint European Research Infrastructure for Coastal Observation (JERICO-RI) participated actively in several sessions and presentations.
The Conference Statement provides a number key messages and recommendations for EuroGOOS and its community as outputs from the meeting. These include:
- Operational oceanography in Europe must develop with a holistic Earth system approach.
- Without observations, ocean services and products are not possible.
- Europe-wide coordinated system to observe the ocean is a collective ambition of the highest priority.
- Genuine co-design of operational oceanography with users and stakeholders is needed to ensure their needs are met.
- There is no operational oceanography without people – the skilled individuals without whom there would be no ocean observations, infrastructure and data management, or forecasts and services.
- Boost and demonstrate the value of operational oceanography to all stakeholders across the marine knowledge value chain.
