Ethics brief on environmental issues for planned marine operations

Grant Agreement: 101082021
Project Acronym: MARCO-BOLO
Project Title: MARCO-BOLO will strengthen European marine, coastal and freshwater biodiversity observation to understand and restore ocean health.
Deliverable Number: D7.9
Work Package Number: WP7
Deliverable Title: Ethics brief on environmental issues for planned marine operations

This ethics report is an evaluation of current environmental regulations in the Belgian North Sea (the Belgian Federal Public Service’s Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment’s Marine Spatial Plan) at the site of operations, in relation to planned operations in MARCO BOLO WP4. The report also includes a summary of safety mechanisms for collision avoidance in the operation of ROVs and USVs. MARCO BOLO operations are planned outside of Marine Protected Areas, but it’s also worth noting that the Marine Protected Areas in the Belgian North Sea allow industrial operations such as fishing and sand extraction.