The Regional Government, through the Regional Fund for Science and Technology, participates in the European project designated as Marine Earth Observation. This initiative has launched in the Official Journal of the European Union an international call for the development of innovative services that are currently non-available in the market. They are based on the Copernicus programme and are intended to develop information services based on terrestrial observation data.
 
Interested companies may submit proposals in the fields of Maritime Safety and Marine Monitoring, through an individual application or in a consortium, until March 15 on the portal of the Directorate-General for Marine Policy at https://www.dgpm.mm.gov.pt/marine-eo-proposal.
 
The procurement of services will be made under an innovative funding scheme designated as "Pre-Commercial Procurement." It is developed into three phases: presentation of proof-of-concept, prototype validation and testing in operating environment.
 
In the first phase, the project will select up to a maximum of five companies/consortia per thematic areas, while in the second phase three companies will be selected per thematic areas. In turn, two prototypes will be tested in each one of the areas during the third and last phase.
 
Companies will have at their disposal a sum of 3.4 million Euros.
 
"It is expected that this project will provide access to new technologies for the monitoring of marine protected areas, identify abnormal movements of vessels and also verify the compliance with biotic and abiotic parameters of the Azores," said the Regional Director for Science and Technology. According to him, "they have particular strategic relevance for the Region."
 
Bruno Pacheco also pointed out that the Azores were designated as "Areas of Interest" and, therefore, it is expected that "some of the services will be tested in the archipelago."
 
During the negotiation phase, the Regional Fund for Science and Technology assured that the Regional Directorates for Fisheries and Sea Affairs will have free access to the platforms to be developed in the field of Marine Monitoring for a 10-year period.
 
With an overall budget of 4.4 million Euros, the Marine Earth Observation project is coordinated by Greece's National Centre for Scientific Research - Demokritos and comprises nine European partners from Greece, Portugal, Spain and Norway.
 
Those who are interested may find more information about the project on the Internet at https://marine-eo.eu/call-tender.