In order to raise public awareness and encourage concerted action to achieve ocean conservation goals, the United Nations General Assembly decided in 2008 to proclaim 8 June as World Oceans Day.

More than a decade later, the oceans continue to face new challenges that require new solutions. Thus, the theme chosen for World Ocean Day 2020 is “Innovation for a sustainable ocean”. The term “innovation” – linked to the introduction of new methods, ideas or products – always brings dynamism and hope.

New exploration techniques are one of the main concerns of the Principality of Monaco, which supports several actions in this direction. In 2017, during a mission to Cabo Verde, teams from Monaco and the German marine research institute Geomar deployed a “Wave Glider”, an autonomous surface vehicle propelled by wave energy and powered by solar panels. It allows numerous oceanographic measurements.

More recently, autonomous surface UAVs were deployed during the Sphyrna Odyssey campaign supported by Monaco and led by the company Sea Proven and scientists from the Toulon University. This campaign enabled a vast collection of acoustic data on Mediterranean cetaceans from September 2019 to May 2020. In the same vein, in preparation for a future mission in the Indian Ocean scheduled in spring 2021, Monaco Explorations in collaboration with Ifremer plans to test a new shallow sea observation system using light gear (autonomous boards, paddles, etc.) for validation and subsequent deployment in the framework of participatory science programs.