Horizon Europe Mission Ocean — OCEAN-03: Fishers Co-Management of Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (2026)

Enriched EU · Found: 2026-03-15 04:28

EU Horizon Europe call under Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters: enables adaptive co-management of fisheries with environmental sustainability; EUR 7-7.75M per project; deadline September 23 2026.

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/HORIZON-MISS-2026-03-OCEAN-03

Funding Details

Funder

European Commission – Horizon Europe

Funding Goal

Fund innovation actions supporting fishers' co-management of marine and freshwater ecosystems. Projects must empower fishers (including small-scale and recreational) to transition to sustainable fisheries through participatory ecosystem management, habitat protection and restoration, citizen science, and co-management approaches across specific EU sea basins.

Funding Amount

EUR 7,000,000–7,750,000 per project; indicative total budget EUR 31,000,000 for 4 grants under this topic. (7.000.000 € – 7.750.000 €)

Deadline

2026-09-23 (Fixed)

How to Apply

Single-stage submission through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Application open since February 4, 2026. Submission portal available for this topic. Use standard application form (HE RIA, IA). See EU F&T Portal: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/calls-for-proposals?callIdentifier=HORIZON-MISS-2026-03

Target Region

European Union and Associated Countries; sea basins: Atlantic/Arctic, Mediterranean, Baltic/North Sea, or Danube/Black Sea. One basin per proposal.

Contact

EU Funding & Tenders Portal Helpdesk; 48 partner search announcements active.

Last Checked

2026-04-20 13:37

Application Checklist

Eligibility

• Consortium must demonstrate activities in at least 5 sites in 3 different Member States/Associated Countries within one sea basin
• Active fishers must be involved in the project from the start

Project Scope

• One sea basin per proposal: Atlantic/Arctic, Mediterranean, Baltic/North Sea, or Danube/Black Sea
• Activities must reach TRL 6–8 by project end

Required Documents

• Submit through EU Funding & Tenders Portal (submission open from February 4, 2026)
• Use standard Horizon Europe Innovation Action application form

Constraints

• If using satellite observation, must use Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS data
• Contribute collected in-situ/marine data to EMODnet under FAIR principles
• Cooperate with Mission Lighthouse CSAs and Mission Implementation Platform
• Deadline: 23 September 2026 at 17:00 Brussels time

Summary

This Horizon Europe Innovation Action call (HORIZON-MISS-2026-03-OCEAN-03) seeks projects that empower fishers to co-manage marine and freshwater ecosystems. The call is part of the EU Mission 'Restore our Ocean and Waters' and is aligned with the European Ocean Pact and the EU Action Plan on marine ecosystem protection and sustainable fisheries. Programme objectives are twofold: (1) protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity (Mission objective 1), and (2) advance a sustainable, carbon-neutral, and circular blue economy (Mission objective 3). Projects must show measurable improvements in habitat status, increased sustainability of fishing practices, socio-economic benefits for local communities, and enhanced co-management governance at local and basin level. Thematic scope includes: adaptive co-management approaches for sustainable fisheries; empowerment of small-scale and recreational fishers; participatory ecological monitoring and citizen science; regenerative fishing practices; prevention and control of invasive species; stock recovery plans; low-impact fishing technologies; multipurpose marine space use; carbon sequestration in coastal habitats (mangroves, saltmarshes, seagrass); and cross-border fish movement data collection. Social Science and Humanities (SSH) expertise is encouraged for capacity building and gender/intersectional considerations. Eligible activities must reach TRL 6–8 by project end and include demonstration at a minimum of 5 sites across 3 Member States or Associated Countries within a single sea basin. Projects must contribute data to EMODnet and support the Digital Twin Ocean. Replication plans and stakeholder roadmaps are required. Geographic scope covers four EU sea basins (one per proposal): Atlantic/Arctic, Mediterranean, Baltic/North Sea, or Danube/Black Sea. Consortium members must be legally established in the countries of the addressed basin. Applicants can include research institutions, NGOs, SMEs, public authorities, and coastal communities in EU Member States or Associated Countries. Active fishers must be involved from project start. Budget is EUR 7–7.75 million per grant; 4 grants are planned, with at least one per sea basin.

Historical Context

Part of Horizon Europe Mission 'Restore our Ocean and Waters' (HORIZON-MISS-2026-03), 2026-2027 work programme. Innovation Actions require TRL 6-8 by end of project. This call is part of a broader Mission call with 5 topics total (OCEAN-01 through OCEAN-05).

Why it was added

grant-scan-eu-ft-2026-03-15

Sources

• https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/HORIZON-MISS-2026-03-OCEAN-03

Similar Programs

← Back to list