Monday, April 25, 2022
Since its origin, in January 2011, the philanthropic association of general interest OceanoScientific primarily targets young people in CE2-CM1-CM2 classes with the aim of making them RESPECT and LOVE the Ocean. To this end, Carla Di Santo, Scientific Coordinator & Diving Manager of theOceanoScientific Expeditions, assisted The Sea Workshop on Wednesday April 13 to take a group of twenty-four girls and boys aged six to twelve on a snorkeling trip to raise their awareness of the marine environment and to discover the animals of the Mediterranean shallows in their natural habitat. These children are from one of the programs offered by Synergy Family, co-founded by Laurent Choukroun and Frank Tortel, which has offered for more than ten years the opportunity for all kinds of activities aimed at individual and collective development. This trip to sea, financed by"Marseille Capital of the Sea", registered in operation "A step towards the sea", resulting from the collaboration of four partners: Marseille Capitale de la Mer, Synergie Family, Le Cercle des Nageurs and the CMA CGM Foundation. Thus, children learn to swim and live edutainment experiences to understand, love and respect the sea. Let us remember on this occasion that "Marseille Capital of the Sea" brings together the living forces of the Marseille city, whether economic, cultural, industrial, craft, sporting, gastronomic, environmental, academic, social, or institutional, to enhance the sea as an urban resource. The association team OceanoScientific is therefore happy to support this initiative to raise awareness of the major role of the sea in our urban lives.
2025 News
Thursday 12 June 2025
118 ambassadors for a sustainable Ocean
On Sunday 8th June, thanks to financial support of the Région Sud, the OceanoScientific association contributed to the organisation of La Grande Parade pour l'Océan - OCEAN WONDERS, which was both a celebration of the World Oceans Day 2025 and the nautical event preceding the opening of the third United Nations Ocean Conference - UNOC3, scheduled for 9:00 AM the following morning. Three separate fleets made the show in the Baie des Anges: in Antibes, Nice and Villefranche-sur-Mer, for a total of 118 vessels that paraded as ambassadors for a sustainable ocean. It should be noted that this exceptional event could not have been organised without the crucial technical assistance of the Yacht Club de Monaco and the strong experience of Thierry Leret.
ALBA is the first 100% hydrogen-powered training ship. It is operated by the Lycée Maritime et Aquacole de Bastia, directed by Julien Cometto. Its arrival in Monaco and then Nice marked its first crossing between Corsica and the mainland, with a crew of high school students. A perfectly successful premiere! Photo: OceanoScientific
Nice showcased 18 vessels under 38 meters and nine between 42 and 98 meters. The first group included the unmissable TARA, ENERGY OBSERVER, LA GOELETTE 7e CONTINENT and BLUE PANDA. But there was also ALBA, the brand-new training ship of the Lycée Maritime et Aquacole de Bastia, which has the unique feature of being powered entirely by hydrogen. Among the largest vessels, the Spanish ODÓN DE BUEN, probably the most modern oceanographic vessel in Europe, which has just been commissioned, was particularly noteworthy. And while the Portuguese four-masted SANTA MARIA MANUELA embarking the Oceano Azul Foundation team and Jean-Louis Étienne's PERSEVERANCE attracted a lot of attention, it was the majestic 98-meter Norwegian three-masted ship STATSRAAD LEHMKUHL that brought this astonishing nautical parade to a close, witnessed by the President of the French Republic and his guests coming from Monaco aboard the THALASSA, the flagship of the French oceanographic fleet.
Victorien Erussard has closed the fantastic chapter of the ENERGY OBSERVER saga 2017-2024, opening a new one that began in Nice on Friday 6 May, with the aim of sailing until 2033. This involves major international projects with three new ships: EO1, EO2 and EO3. Photo OceanoScientific
A few years ago, Roland Jourdain abandoned carbon in his ocean racing prototypes to demonstrate that natural fibers, such as linen, can be used to build high-performance sailing boats, such as his catamaran WE EXPLORE. Photo OceanoScientific
The iconic ship of the second United Nations Ocean Conference held in Lisbon in 2022, the Portuguese four-masted ship SANTA MARIA MANUELA, embarking the Oceano Azul Foundation team, was one of the most beautiful ships to parade among the largest vessels present in Monaco and Nice. Photo OceanoScientific
The strong easterly breeze enabled STS BODRUM - built in 2001 thanks to contributions from the people of Bodrum (Turkey) under the direction of the Bodrum and Carian Culture, Art and Promotion Foundation (BOSAV) - to mainly navigate with its sail during La Grande Parade pour l'Océan, bearing the face of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey. Photo OceanoScientific
The crowd gathered on the Promenade des Anglais watched the parade of large ships. Here on the left is the SANTA MARIA MANUELA (Portugal) and the PALINURO ex-COMMANDANT LOUIS RICHARD, a three-masted schooner built in 1934 in France by Dubigeon for the Société des Pêches Malouines. Nowadays, it is a training ship for the Italian Navy. Photo OceanoScientific
Antibes welcomed 67 of the most beautiful classic sailing boats that regularly line up at the start of major Mediterranean competitions for the 30th edition of Les Voiles d'Antibes, perfectly organized by Yann Joannon and Jérôme Bikard. This elegant armada competed in the World Oceans Day Regatta.
Divided into several classes, the 67 competitors in the 30th edition of Les Voiles d'Antibes put on a spectacular show at the foot of the ramparts with a south-westerly wind, while at the other end of the Baie des Anges, a strong easterly wind was blowing.
Photo Gilles Martin-Raget
TUIGA, the superb 1909 Fife design owned by the Yacht Club de Monaco, flew the World Oceans Day 2025 flag alongside the 66 other competitors in the 30th edition of Les Voiles d'Antibes. Photo Gilles Martin-Raget
A gentle breeze and stunning sailboats create images that never cease to amaze! Here, the fleet returns from the Lérins Islands to the finish line, located in front of the ramparts of Antibes. Photo Gilles Martin-Raget
Imported from the East Coast of the United States – based on an idea by Bruno Troublé, long-time organiser of the Louis Vuitton Cup, a prelude to the America's Cup - the classic P-Class sailing boats designed in 1902 by American architect Nathanael Herreshoff are uniquely elegant. Four boats now race on the classic Mediterranean circuit. Photo Gilles Martin-Raget
In Villefranche-sur-Mer, Joël Carrillo, President of the Association des Bateliers Plaisanciers de Villefranche-sur-Mer (Villefranche-sur-Mer Recreational Boat Owners Association) and Christophe Trojani, Mayor, brought together 23 traditional boats and a guest of honour: TORNADE, the Round Yawl of Martinique skippered by Christophe Dédé.
When there is no wind – often in the Baie des Anges – the rowing boat LAISSA ANNA from Villefranche-sur-Mer, owned by the association chaired by Rita Moreilhon, gallops merrily along as soon as the breeze picks up... Photo ABPV
The strong breeze on Pentecost Sunday did not dampen the enthusiasm of the crews of the Pointus boats in the Rade de Villefranche-sur-Mer, mobilised by the Association des Bateliers Plaisanciers (Association of Pleasure Boat Operators) and by the Mayor, Christophe Trojani, himself at the helm of the Pointu BOUBOU Ier, which was launched by his grandfather. Photo ABPV
TORNADE, the Round Yawl of Martinique, put on a spectacular show in the harbour of Villefranche-sur-Mer, in conditions reminiscent of the regattas held in the trade winds of the Caribbean. Photo ABPV
Wednesday 28 May 2025
Mobilising as many persons as possible, especially young people!
Ahead of the third United Nations Ocean Conference - UNOC3 Nice-Monaco 2025, awareness-raising operations have been stepped up at a rapid pace, with the aim of mobilising as many people as possible, especially children from elementary schools, the main target of the philanthropic association of general interest OceanoScientific, with over 400 persons reached in two months!
Cécile d'Estais, General Delegate, and Justine Camus, Coordinator of the OceanoScientific Expeditions, have had a busy spring: on April 3rd in Nice, mobilisation of 64 students from the Magnan Professional High School; April 25 & 26 in La Seyne-sur-Mer, participation in the MARE NOSTRUM show organised by the Rotary Club Toulon Levant Liberté, which allowed to raise awareness among 57 children from local schools, and to broadcast the 26-minute documentary TÉMOINS DE MÉDITERRANÉE to the general public; May 13 in Nice, meeting with 60 pupils from the elementary school of the Institution Stanislas; on the morning of May 25, at "Mon École", the elementary school of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, a dynamic exchange with 25 pupils who were very aware of the marine environment of their coastline; in the afternoon, 21 pupils from Jean Piaget, an elementary school of Nice, were learning the importance of the Ocean its biodiversity at the École Départementale de la Mer Jean-Pierre Dick, run with enthusiasm and efficiency by Olivier Heuleu.
Our outreach operations will now start again in September, after the UNOC3 sequence (June 2nd to 14th) and the third OceanoScientific eDNA Mediterranean Southern Region Expedition aiming to collect environmental DNA on 45 Marine Biodiversity Sentinel Sites (MBSS) between Menton and Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.
Justine Camus, Coordinator of the OceanoScientific Expeditions and in charge of the eDNA collections, which enable to inventory the marine biodiversity of France's Mediterranean shores - thanks to sequencing carried out by the SpyGen company - took advantage of the MARE NOSTRUM show to try and get children to recognize the most common fish species of the French Mediterranean coast. There is still work to be done.... Photo OceanoScientific
Cécile d'Estais, General Delegate of the OceanoScientific association, introduces elementary school pupils to activities designed to help them learn more about the wonders of the Ocean, of which the Mediterranean Sea is a jewel. Photo OceanoScientific
Don't be fooled if you think that 9 to 11 years old are confused when we talk about DNA to evoke environmental DNA (eDNA), which is essential for inventorying the fish species of a coastal site. But let's be honest, TV series help us to introduce the subject (Thanks HPI TV Serie!). Photo OceanoScientific
Justine Camus always devotes a part of her OceanoScientific intervention to the importance of the Ocean for the life of Humanity on the Planet, whether we live by the sea or in the mountains. The Ocean is our Future, let's preserve it! Photo OceanoScientific
Surprising as it may seem, it is not the 12 to 17 years old who feel most concerned by climate change and the environmental threats that are increasingly weighing on humankind. They have other interests and concerns. It's urgent that we let their teenage years pass – we will find them later, guaranteed... Photo OceanoScientific
Under the tent, sheltered from the sun whose rays are getting stronger every year, Cécile d'Estais explains to the children that when they go swimming at the beach, they are not at home, but in an environment where over thirty different species of fish live in large families that need to be respected. Photo OceanoScientific
Wednesday 26 March 2025
Awareness-raising from 7 to 77 years old
As the third United Nations Ocean Conference - UNOC3 Nice-Monaco 2025 approaches, interest in the marine environment is growing among schools and decision-maker networks, as well as among the general public. This is an opportunity for the OceanoScientific association to develop its outreach activities with its priority target: pupils in elementary classes, as well as with adults, in particular by evoking the results of the OceanoScientific Expeditions. Recently, Cécile d'Estais and Justine Camus visited 25 pupils in the Elementary School Bornala - Louis Fiori in Nice, then two classes with a total of 45 pupils in the Elementary school Marinoni in Beaulieu-sur-Mer to raise their awareness. On his side, Yvan Griboval held a conference to some 30 members of the Rotary Club Cannes, who were captivated by the positive messages conveyed on this occasion, whether discussing the state of health of the Mediterranean coastal fauna, or the "Nice Agreements" which will undoubtedly bring UNOC3 to a close at the end of the day on Friday 13 June, marking the first major step towards regulating the "High Seas" - which cover 40% of the Planet surface.
Justine Camus, Coordinator of the OceanoScientific Expeditions and in charge of the eDNA collections, which enable to inventory the marine biodiversity of France's Mediterranean shores - thanks to sequencing carried out by the SpyGen company - invites pupils from Marinoni elementary school in Beaulieu-sur-Mer to recognize the most common fish species along our coasts.
Photo OceanoScientific
Cécile d'Estais, General Delegate of the OceanoScientific association, explains our activities to pupils from Bornala - Louis Fiori elementary school in Nice, and our objective to learn more about the Ocean to better preserve its biodiversity.
Photo OceanoScientific
Yvan Griboval (standing on the left), President of the OceanoScientific association, held a conference in Cannes to some 30 members of the Rotary Club, in the presence of Yves Boyer, District Governor, and Jean-Louis Matout (standing on the right), Secretary of the Rotary Club of Cannes. Photo OceanoScientific
Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice and President of the Nice Côte d'Azur Metropolitan Area, officially launched on March 6 at Pointe Rauba-Capeu, where the #ILoveNice logo is displayed, the countdown of the last 100 days before the third United Nations Ocean Conference - UNOC3 - co-organized by France and Costa Rica on behalf of the United Nations. Photo OceanoScientific
Wednesday 26 February 2025
Heading towards the United Nations Ocean Conference
Whether in Paris on February 13 for an after-work conference held in the premises of EXCO "Business fertilizer", following the invitation of Pierre d'Agrain, or in Nice on Tuesday 25 February at the Lycée Albert Calmette directed by Gaëlle Frontoni, the presentation of the OceanoScientific Expeditions gives pride of place to the third United Nations Ocean Conference - UNOC3 Nice & Monaco, orchestrated by Olivier Poivre d'Arvor, the French President's Special Envoy in charge of this event. Indeed, there is nothing more practical than UNOC3 to mobilize a wide audience, from business leaders to secondary school pupils, to the importance of a healthy and virtuous exploitation of the Ocean and its marvelous resources for the benefit of Humanity. The aim is to ensure that the planet's eight billion people, soon to be nine billion, can live in the best possible conditions. As Yvan Griboval, President of OceanoScientific, repeats often: "It is not the Planet that is in danger, but the Humanity that inhabits it today. The good news is that we have our destiny in our hands. It is up to us to know what we want for future generations. Let's preserve the Ocean, which is our greatest asset for the future..."
A group of secondary school pupils from the Lycée Albert Calmette in Nice, involved in the "Oceans 2025" academic project, attended a conference given by the team of the OceanoScientific association, based in Nice. With the high school teacher & librarian: Valérie Bertolo on the far right of the picture, Justine Camus, OceanoScientific Expeditions Coordinator on the far left, Yvan Griboval, President, in the center and Cécile d'Estais, General Delegate, taking the photo. Photo OceanoScientific
The secondary school pupils from the Lycée Albert Calmette in Nice, involved in the "Oceans 2025" academic project, are representing three countries: Monaco, Sweden and Japan, with very different maritime issues, but with one constant: the importance of the Ocean in our lives as inhabitants of the Earth. Photo OceanoScientific
After-work conference in Paris on February 13 in the premises of EXCO "Business fertilizer", at the initiative of Philippe de Boucaud, OceanoScientific Board Member, and following the invitation of Pierre d'Agrain, EXCO Partner. Photo OceanoScientific