News
Monday, March 29, 2021
Shallow coastal waters are often turbid because of the presence of high amounts of suspended mineral and organic particles (SPM), which strongly affect the functioning of coastal ecosystem, e.g. by limiting light availability to phytoplankton. While SPM dynamics are driven by physical and chemical processes, it is becoming increasingly clear that planktonic organisms engage in complex interactions with SPM.
BG-PART, funded by the BRAIN-be 2.0 program, will study the complex feedback loops between SPM dynamics and biological processes in Belgian coastal waters, and how... Learn more
Monday, March 29, 2021
On 23 March the first Joint Flemish-Dutch Icon Group meeting was organised as one of three crossborder strategic stakeholder groups. This meeting aimed to discuss opportunities and directions for collaboration on the topic 'Innovative Water Retaining Landscapes'.
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
On the evening of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), you are invited to explore Flanders Blue Research and Innovation system in a new publication 'Gearing up our blue knowledge - Tackling ocean challenges in the UN Decade of Ocean Science'.
Thursday, December 17, 2020
The high potential of marine organisms and their components to provide goods and services for a broad range of sectors, like the pharmaceutical, agriculture and biofuels sector, is well known. Crème de la Mer, a cosmetic product based on seaweed, and Chitosan, a dietary supplement derived from crab and shrimp shells, are known success stories. Despite the promise of novel marine products, the derived revenues have been modest. By establishing the BIOMARES platform, UGent will invest in research and innovation in blue biotechnology in collaboration with companies from a... Learn more
Thursday, December 17, 2020
UGent's new research facilities at Ostend Science Park are gradually taking shape. Campus Ostend will be the home to more than 400 m² brand new multidiciplinary laboratories. Offering tailor-made solutions to today’s most challenging marine and maritime research questions.
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Overview of the projects financed via the Blue Cluster in 2020.
Nine new project proposals were approved by the Blue Cluster in 2020, representing a total grant of €9 million, of which €6.8 million is reserved for the knowledge institutions. These projects fall mainly within the domains of Renewable Energy & Freshwater Production and Coastal Protection & Use of Mineral Resources.
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
November 2020: a busy month at the Belgian pilot!
Our Belgium waters used to house reefs of European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis). Such reefs provide a valuable habitat supporting a unique marine biodiversity, but also provided a luxury seafood for our cuisine and culture. However, overfishing since the 19th century and the occurrence of diseases (such as bonamiasis) in the 1980s devastated these wild oyster reefs.
Thursday, November 12, 2020
The Flemish and Dutch Ministers Crevits (FL) and Van Engelshoven (NL) discussed science and research policy at the Digital Flemish-Dutch Summit last Wednesday 4th November. This was an important topic on the agenda, considering the recent developments on both sides of the border. A new Delta Knowledge Centre for water, food and energy will be created in Vlissingen and Flanders is pushing forward with initiatives such as Marine@UGent, the inter-university platform for resource recovery CAPTURE and the Blue economy research campus on Ostend Science Park.
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
Interested to bood the development of the Blue Economy in Ostend? Check the website to see the vacancy in Dutch.
We look forward to your application!
Friday, August 28, 2020
UGent, Brevisco, ILVO, and Jan De Nul teams sailed out during the summer and successfully set out the first flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) aquaculture structures and restoration tables in the Belgian part of the North Sea.
Tuesday, July 14, 2020
Catch the wave of offshore wind & acquire a broad knowledge from a technological and multidisciplinary perspective.
Ghent University offers a new post-academic course on offshore wind energy at Ostend Science Park (13 October 2020 - 25 May 2021).
Thursday, June 25, 2020
Sustainable management and use of the marine environment is a major challenge today. This is mainly because human activities continue to increase and become more varied. Within the context of the Sustainable Marine Ecosystem Services (SUMES) project, funded by the Flemish government, Flemish scientists, entrepreneurs and The Blue Cluster are joining forces to develop an extensive tool to assess the positive and negative impact of human activities on the marine environment. The ultimate goal is to boost innovation in the blue sectors in Flanders by optimizing our ocean... Learn more
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Ocean multi-use can potentially contribute to a more sustainable and efficient use of ocean resources, and provide tangible economic and environmental benefits. UNITED will promote ocean multi-use through the installation of real-world demonstration pilots, exploring technical, regulatory, economic, social and environmental requirements and impacts.
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
There is a growing interest in aquaculture in Flanders as well. However, local aquaculture initiatives always suffer from a lack of sufficient, high-quality starting material (traces of seaweed, seed of shellfish, post larvae of shrimps,...). In the Blue Cluster ICON project BlueMarine³.Com, six Flemish companies and the University of Ghent join forces to take up this challenge, with special attention for the local conditions in Flanders and a focus on sustainable, integrated breeding systems.
Friday, February 28, 2020
Ghent University, POM West Flanders and the Port of Oostende joined forces to create a new science park aimed at attracting new businesses involved in the marine or maritime.
Monday, August 24, 2015
The MARES Consortium and EuroMarine Network are pleased to invite you to participate in the second Mares Conference on Marine Ecosystems Health and Conservation.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
During a site visit in the harbor of Ghent (23 March 2015), we had the opportunity to meet with the Québec delegation (ambassador) in order to discuss future collaborations between Flanders and Québec, especially within the fields of marine and maritime sciences.
Were present at the meeting :
Michel Audet (Director General of Quebec in Brussels); Frédéric Tremblay (Dir. Bilateral affairs); Baudouin van Rijckevorsel (Economic Affairs), Stéphanie Franssen (Att. Bilateral Affairs), Aurélie Duchateau (DIV), Daan Schalck (ceo Havenbedrijf Gent), Dirk Vernaeve (... Learn more
Friday, February 27, 2015
Published paper: Gelatinous zooplankton in the Belgian part of the North Sea and the adjacent Schelde estuary: Spatio-temporal distribution patterns and population dynamics
Friday, February 27, 2015
Recently, the news magazine Knack published an article (28/01/2015) on the importance of reefs build by the polychaete worm Lanice conchilega for the surrounding ecosystem. In Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Bart De Smet (Marine Biology Research Group) and colleagues provided more evidence on the key role of this bio-engineer for commercially important species such as shrimp and flatfish. You can find the article in Dutch here.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
At the 15th edition of the FEA Research Symposium at Ghent University, Brecht Devolder was the winner of two awards (supervisors: Prof. Peter Troch and Prof. Pieter Rauwoens): Poster Laureate selected by the Poster Award Committee & Best poster Award presented by Doctoral Schools.
