Mercator Ocean at 5th OSPAR Ministerial Meeting

This week, Mercator Ocean participated at the 5th OSPAR Ministerial Meeting. During the event, that took place in Vigo, Spain, Pierre Bahurel underscored the significance of establishing the Mercator International Centre for the Ocean and how this international collaboration could benefit countries participating in the OSPAR Convention. He also announced that a new OSPAR ocean-colour product will be available through the Copernicus Marine Service in November.

The OSPAR Obervers at the 2025 Convention, with Pierre Bahurel, on the left

Public service is at the heart of Mercator Ocean, where satellite and in situ data from around the world is combined with state-of-the-art numerical models, artificial intelligence, and digital twinning. It allows global users to monitor the present, understand the past, and explore the future. These new digital Ocean technologies and the resulting unprecedented volumes of information will drive a scientific and societal shift in how Ocean data is generated, shared, accessed, and validated. The Mercator International Centre for the Ocean is being established to drive international collaboration and governance that will deliver and safeguard access to trustworthy Ocean information.

The significance of this new intergovernmental organization was underscored during OSPAR’s Ministerial Meeting which brought together representatives from the 15 contracting governments and the European Union, along with observer organizations. Together, they reviewied progress and set new priorities for protecting the North-East Atlantic over the next five years.

As a concrete example of this ongoing commitment, the new ocean-colour product further supports the OSPAR Convention’s vision of a clean, healthy, biologically diverse and sustainably used North-East Atlantic.

These efforts are especially vital given the North-East Atlantic’s significant contribution to the economies of surrounding countries. It is also home to a vast range of marine species and habitats that provide a source of wonder and enjoyment to people from around the world. For these benefits to continue it is essential that the biodiversity, resources and environmental quality of our ocean ecosystem are protected, restored where possible and sustainably managed.

Mercator Ocean and OSPAR

In this context, Mercator Ocean’s collaboration with OSPAR has become increasingly important. Since becoming an OSPAR observer in 2023, Mercator Ocean has dedicated its digital ocean expertise to advancing the Convention’s objectives andremains committed to developing innovative products and services that support OSPAR’s mission. Through its role as an Observer,, Mercator Ocean participates in OSPAR meetings and supports the OSPAR Commission in shaping policy development. This ongoing involvement aligns with OSPAR’s major objectives: protecting the marine environment from uman activities and, in doing so, safeguarding human health and conserving marine ecosystems.

Earlier this month at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, 12 EU Contributing States signed a Declaration to continue their joint efforts towards the creation of the Mercator International Centre for the Ocean, led by France and Norway who signed the international Convention to establish this new intergovernmental organization.

Mercator Ocean is offering its full support to enable more countries to join the governance of this new organization and looks forward to strengthening collaborations with OSPAR to better serve common Member States and actions.