The Ocean Data Action Day is an initiative led by HUB Ocean, Microsoft, and Accenture through the Ocean Data Action Coalition (ODAC). Under the auspices of the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, these organizations spearhead the coalition, contributing to the Ocean Panel's goal of achieving a 100% sustainably managed ocean. Unlocking industrial ocean data is a specific goal for ODAC, as it is for the UN Ocean Decade’s Corporate Data Group, of which HUB Ocean is also a key member.
The Ocean Data Action Day took place in Oslo, Norway on 10 October 2024. It focused at opening the invaluable treasure of industrial ocean data and its potential role in promoting ocean health. Sharing data by industry will contribute to bridge knowledge gaps necessary for sustainable ocean management and will benefit the environment and contributing industries.
The event included several presentations offering insights from industry, science and regulatory leaders and a 360° perspective on the significance of industrial ocean data sharing.
Dick M.A. Schaap (MARIS) – coordinator EMODnet Ingestion – was invited for a presentation on his vision on enriching Open Ocean Data Repositories with Industrial Data. He started with presenting the European marine data landscape with leading roles for SeaDataNet and EurOBIS as data aggregators, providing input for EMODnet and Copernicus Marine as leading EU funded European marine portals for added-value data products and services, serving society. He also sketched the developments for the European Digital Twin of the Ocean (EDITO) infrastructure. Thereafter, he explained the principles of EMODnet Ingestion, seeking identification and sharing of data from organisations that are not yet part of the European data management networks. He highlighted how EMODnet is targeting and having success with industry, but also emphasised that EMODnet Ingestion could use help with achieving more data sharing from industry. He concluded his presentation, encouraging HUB Ocean to become a mediator for EMODnet Ingestion to gather and transform marine data from industry sources towards EMODnet, adopting prevailing metadata and data standards.
As a result, there will be a follow-up meeting between representatives of HUB Ocean, EMODnet Ingestion, SeaDataNet , and EurOBIS.
During the event, HUB Ocean revealed its report, Tides of Transparency: A First Mapping of Industrial Ocean Data Sharing, about industry contributing to the sustainable management of the ocean.