Ostend, Belgium, 7-10 November 2016

The North Sea Open Science Conference 2016 #NSOSC16: Get a  state-of-the-art overview of the North Sea environment and actively discuss its current and future management with all key actors!

Oceans and seas are of capital importance to their bordering countries and beyond. This particularly holds true for the North Sea surrounded by heavily populated and industrialised countries. Industries have been exploiting the North Sea for many decades. This ever expanding exploitation asks for a well-deliberated management that allows for a sustainable conservation of the marine ecosystem’s structures, functions and services. Managerial frameworks such as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive are key to such ecosystem-based management within which industrial aspirations and environmental concerns are assessed and deliberated. Evidence-based management builds on a firm knowledge base on ecosystem structures and functions, how these are potentially impacted by human activities, and how they can be best managed. The conference will specifically address these concerns, screen state-of-the-art knowledge, discuss and search for solutions and prospects to enlarge the scientific basis for an ecosystem-based management of the North Sea.

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