“We know the surface of the moon better than the bottom of the sea.” Ifremer is celebrating its 40th anniversary, an opportunity to recall the importance of the oceans in our ecosystem

Founded in 1984, Ifremer in Nantes, in Loire-Atlantique, opens its doors on June 8 and 9 to curious people who wish to learn more about our oceans, the exploitation of their resources and its consequences.

Two days to rediscover these places where life on earth appeared. In order to raise awareness of our oceans, from off the coast to the depths of the abyss, Ifremer (French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea) is opening its doors to the general public this weekend in Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) , on the occasion of its fortieth anniversary.

This Saturday, June 8 is also World Oceans Day, which, as the United Nations reminds us, generates 50% of the planet’s oxygen and is home to most of the earth’s biodiversity.

Visitors will be able to discover all of the research of the public research organization, which covers the marine area from Brittany to Spain, through various stands, conferences and educational workshops.

How are fish resources estimated for sustainable management? How is oyster reproduction managed? How are color pigments collected in the ocean? How are DNA molecules extracted from microalgae to make medicines? So many questions that scientists from the Atlantic Center will try to answer as educationally as possible, sometimes even using virtual reality headsets.

For example, our researchers are currently working on a sunscreen that would be safe for the marine world.

Yvan Guiton, director of the Ifremer Atlantic center in Nantes

“The oceans cover 70% of the globe, and yet we estimate that we have discovered only 3% of the species that live there, so much so that we know the surface of the moon better than the bottom of the sea”recalls Yvan Guiton, director of the Atlantic center at Ifremer. “The three major challenges of the institute are the sustainable management of marine resources, the protection and restoration of marine ecosystems, and finally the sharing of data between scientists around the world.”

Several threats weigh on the marine world, primarily human activity.

“The ocean plays a crucial role in the fight against climate change”explains the man who was previously at the departmental directorate of maritime affairs for the Channel. “It makes it possible to produce carbon-free energy, contains essential minerals for the construction of batteries essential to the energy transition, or even acts as a cooler by absorbing 60% of the heat produced by human activity.”

However, an ocean that warms too much can have many harmful consequences for ecosystems. Not only terrestrial, because evaporation of sea water under the effect of heat can, for example, cause torrential rains, but also obviously marine. Climate change, for example, has an effect on the mass strandings of dolphins that occur on the Atlantic coasts every winter. By making the dolphin’s usual prey disappear off the coast, the cetacean finds itself forced to venture where the fishermen’s nets are to feed, explained last February on France Mathieu Doray, researcher in pelagic and fisheries ecology at Ifremer.

The corpses found on the beaches in fact show traces of fishing gear, as recalled by the State Secretariat in charge of the sea and biodiversity, which counted nearly 1,300 small cetaceans stranded on the French Atlantic coasts during last winter. Figures which tend to increase from year to year, since, for its part, the Pelagis Observatory, which fears for the survival of certain species, has recorded 1,314 dead small cetaceans stranded during the winter of 2023 on the coasts of the Bay of Biscay (including 91% common dolphins), compared to just under 500 during the winter of 2000, with peaks observed since 2016.

You can find a replay of our regional survey on the difficulties of fishermen and the threats weighing on marine biodiversity in the Loire region.

JPO Ifremer, practical information :

• Price: free
• Location: 3 rue de l’île d’Yeu, in Nantes (Ecole Centrale Tram stop)
• When: Saturday June 8 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday June 9 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.