The ocean’s biodiversity provides us with vital services: it sustains 32 out of the 33 known animal phyla and supports the livelihoods of over three billion people. These services are endangered by human pressures and climate change. To understand the pressures on the ocean and manage resources in a sustainable manner requires comprehensive, accurate and timely data.
The Copernicus Marine Service produces ocean monitoring products by integrating satellite and in situ ocean observations with marine models. However, the models currently applied are restraining the provision of information on biodiversity and marine food-webs.
Our vision is to build new and innovative models that will accurately simulate the marine ecosystem, including higher trophic level organisms and the benthic environment. NECCTON will use state-of-the-art techniques and incorporate new data streams to produce a fully integrated modelling system that more closely represents the functioning of the marine ecosystem.
Integrating our systems into the Copernicus Marine Service will enable a greater number of more reliable ocean products to be delivered to support biodiversity conservation and food security.
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The overall objective of NECCTON is to enable CMEMS to deliver products that inform marine biodiversity conservation and food resources management, by fusing innovative ocean ecosystem models and new data.
Read our case studies showing how NECCTON tools and products have been used and co-developed with stakeholders in the fisheries management and biodiversity conservation sectors.
Governments and marine authorities increasingly rely on accurate, forward-looking information to protect marine life, respond to climate impacts, and manage the growing pressures on our oceans....
Learn moreNECCTON News | December 2025 is out now NECCTON is entering a key phase, with nearly 30 new marine ecosystem products now being validated — spanning fisheries, pollution, benthic habitats, biogeochemistry, and climate risk. This issue highlights major scientific advances, new AI-driven tools, climate and ecosystem projections, and how NECCTON is strengthening the Copernicus Marine Service to ...
Learn moreNECCTON was featured in early November at the RISE FR-UK event at The Royal Society in London, celebrating outstanding Franco-British collaborations driving European research. Hosted by the French Embassy, the event highlighted projects where cross-Channel partnerships play a central role in scientific excellence....
Learn moreThe latest NECCTON report marks a major step forward in developing higher trophic level (HTL) models — representing fish, invertebrates, and marine mammals — to support marine biodiversity conservation and sustainable food resource management....
Learn moreWe’re excited to share NECCTON Deliverable 6.2, which details major improvements to the marine biogeochemical models used in NECCTON — focusing on benthic systems, suspended particulate matter (SPM), and habitat suitability for benthic flora and fauna....
Learn moreNew NECCTON Video: The Future of Tuna – Managing Climate Risks and Sustaining Island Economies Tuna fisheries are essential for global food security and a cornerstone of economic livelihoods in many Pacific and Indian Ocean nations. However, climate change is reshaping ocean conditions and threatening the stability of tuna stocks—and the communities that depend on them. ...
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