The Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN) took part in the All-Atlantic Forum 2026, recently held in Salvador de Bahía, Brazil, and organized by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and SENAI CIMATEC. This international flagship event brought together scientific institutions, civil society, and key sectors from across the Atlantic to advance a shared agenda for sustainable ocean research and innovation. One of the highlights of PLOCAN’s participation was its involvement in the All-Atlantic Intergenerational Hackathon, an initiative aimed at fostering the co-creation of practical solutions through joint work between early-career ocean professionals (ECOPs) and more experienced profiles (LCOPs). The hackathon was structured around six thematic challenges, including the Fisheries & Aquaculture challenge, focused on the sustainability of small-scale fisheries and aquaculture.
In this context, PLOCAN staff participated as facilitators and mentors, supporting participants throughout more than 20 hours of intensive work leading up to the final presentation of the proposals. In the Fisheries & Aquaculture challenge, PLOCAN, together with ICES and the University of Waterloo, acted as facilitator of a diverse intergenerational and international team developing a solution aimed at connecting data with decision-making in artisanal fisheries. The proposal integrated environmental variables, catch probability, and CO₂ emissions, with the goal of making scientific information more accessible and useful for fishing communities.
ECOP participants included Pablo Marro and Mariana Bordes, whose participation in the hackathon was funded by PLOCAN. Pablo Marro contributed his experience from the European project PHAROS, which focuses on nature-based solutions and actions aimed at fishing communities to promote more sustainable fisheries, such as ghost net detection and awareness of their ecosystem impacts. Mariana Bordes, a Data Science and Engineering student at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), contributed technological solutions for the application’s functionality and was one of the team members who presented the proposed solution to the Atlantic jury panel.
The proposal was awarded the Hackathon Champion Award; however, the main value of the experience lay in the collaborative spirit, the trust built among teams, and the focus on the social impact of the solutions, beyond any competitive logic. The narrative used during the final pitch highlighted the figure of a local fisherman and how data-driven tools can transform everyday decision-making at sea.
Beyond the hackathon, PLOCAN’s presence at the AAORIA Forum 2026 enabled the creation and strengthening of synergies with organisations from Europe, Africa, and the Americas through plenary sessions, workshops, and bilateral meetings. These spaces facilitated the exchange of experiences and the identification of collaboration opportunities in areas such as ocean governance, blue innovation, data integration, and capacity building.
At the end of the week, PLOCAN also participated in the OKEANO project meeting, a Horizon Europe-funded project coordinated by the Marine Institute of Ireland, which acts as one of the key structuring projects of the AAORIA Forum itself. The meeting advanced coordination among the Atlantic Alliance’s Working Groups (WGs) and Joint Policy Actions (JPAs), reinforcing PLOCAN’s role in driving these collaborative processes.
Through its participation in the 2026 AAORIA Forum, PLOCAN further consolidates its position as a leading scientific infrastructure in the Atlantic, aligned with the objectives of AAORIA and the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030,” reaffirming its commitment to a sustainable blue economy based on cooperation, shared knowledge, and people.
PLOCAN’s participation in the forum is also framed within its role in the European project BlueActionAA, funded by Horizon Europe and aligned with the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030.” Within this project, PLOCAN leads the work package focused on network building and synergy creation, aiming to facilitate strategic connections between initiatives, communities, projects, and key actors in the Atlantic and Arctic ecosystem. Its presence at the forum has contributed to strengthening these coordination and cooperation dynamics, promoting the exchange of experiences, the identification of synergies, and the creation of networks that support the implementation of community actions and marine and coastal ecosystem restoration processes at the European scale.
PLOCAN’s participation in the 2026 AAORIA Forum reinforces its commitment to Atlantic cooperation, applied innovation, and the promotion of shared solutions for ocean sustainability.
