4 June 2026
On the occasion of the MARLICE forum, Matteo Vinci of the NODC recently visited Tenerife, Canary Islands, to share his experience as a data steward of marine litter data.
MARLICE is an international forum on Marine Litter and Circular Economy, bringing together scientists, data stewards, ICT experts, and policy-makers to address marine litter pollution by leveraging evidence-based knowledge and cutting-edge technologies. Preventing and reducing the amount of waste reaching the marine environment and its impact is the objective of the Spanish Association of Marine Garbage (AEBAM), which has organised the forum since its first edition in 2019.
The NODC participated in the opening presentation and the session dedicated to new technologies and AI for monitoring marine litter. In the opening presentation, Vinci presented the
EMODnet Chemistry project: a long-standing success in managing marine litter data in Europe. Chemistry is the component of the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) dedicated to making data on marine pollution FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable).
Vinci explained EMODnet Chemistry workflows and quality controls for managing macrolitter data collected on beaches or the seafloor via fish trawl surveys, as well as microlitter data collected in marine sediment or at the water surface. He emphasised that over 10 years of activity, the project has shown that agreed and harmonised formats and guidelines, based on best practices and protocols from established communities, play a crucial role in producing trustworthy information on marine litter and the effectiveness of current mitigation measures.
He also mentioned some results the project has achieved at European and global levels, including use cases regarding beach litter data. These have been used to establish baselines and threshold values and to assess trends in waste concentration and distribution along the European coastline.
He concluded his presentation with lessons learned from the past and a look to the future. Data management can provide a harmonised common framework for data reporting, but it cannot resolve issues arising from non-comparable monitoring methods. The NODC will continue productive collaborations with the European Commission Joint Research Centre, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) Technical Group on Marine Litter (TGML) and global stakeholders through several projects, including EMODnet Chemistry. The NODC will maintain and improve consolidated workflows based on official monitoring guidelines. The NODC will test the management system for seafloor macrolitter from images and videos and integrate it with other visual methods, such as scuba divers.
“What an inspiring working week at the MARLICE Conference 2026!” Vinci reported from Tenerife and continued, “It was an honour to be invited as a keynote speaker to present ten years of the EMODnet Chemistry consortium and future perspectives in marine litter data management. The round table and technical session on new tech and AI for monitoring were also inspiring experiences. It was a great opportunity to contribute to such an important international event, connecting stakeholders from the public and private sectors, NGOs, and many other communities. I look forward to contributing to the next edition.”
For more information, view Vinci’s presentation: EMODnet Chemistry, the experience of ten years of marine litter data management to support the MSFD descriptor 10 and the fruitful interaction with the MSFD TGML.
