Ifremer
From the abyss to the surface, from the coast to the high seas

France and Costa Rica are organizing the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice from June 9 to 13, 2025. It will bring together UN Member States, their heads of state and government, specialized agencies, civil society, the private sector, and international donors, and will lead to new commitments for the preservation of the ocean. Still largely misunderstood and often treated as a marginal issue, the ocean deserves strong, rapid and coordinated action to respond to the state of emergency it is facing. This conference should contribute to the success of multilateral processes related to ocean protection, mobilize funding for its conservation and sustainable use, and improve the dissemination of ocean science knowledge to society. To ensure that the political decisions taken within the framework of the Nice Agreements are based on science, Ifremer and CNRS are organizing the One Ocean Science Congress (OOSC), an international scientific conference, from June 3 to 6, which will bring together 2,000 experts from around the world. On board the oceanographic vessel Le Thalassa, Ifremer will host meetings for policy makers, maritime stakeholders and representatives of the international scientific community to mobilize them to address ocean challenges. Numerous interactive and educational initiatives will also be offered to make marine science and its challenges accessible to civil society, especially young people. 

Commissioned in 1984, the Nautile submersible, one of the jewels of the French oceanographic fleet operated by Ifremer and its commissioning subsidiary, Genavir, has completed 2,122 dives.Its first dive to a depth of 6,000 metres took place on 03 April 1985.The yellow submarine remains a major player in deep ocean exploration. Only five countries in the world currently have a submarine with similar abilities.Although its mission was due to end in 2025, the decision has been taken to extend the work of the only manned scientific submarine in Europe able to reach the ocean floor until 2035.

Every year, a Europe-wide assessment of fish stocks is conducted. Ifremer is responsible for coordinating the review of the populations fished in France. The 2024 review for mainland France shows that 58% of fish volumes landed in 2023 came from sustainably fished stocks (not overfished), compared with 52% in 2022. Overfishing affected 19% of the volumes landed, and 2% came from populations considered to be “collapsed”. The proportion of non-overfished stocks has grown very slowly in recent years, and there has been an increasingly marked reduction in the renewal of the generations (fewer young and juvenile fish), leading to a risk of declining abundance for certain stocks.