Around 1,200 maritime stakeholders gathered last week in Cork for the 2025 edition of European Maritime Day (EMD). Organised annually by the European Commission in a different maritime city, EMD is the key forum to shape and debate the future of Europe’s sustainable blue economy. The event featured workshops, networking sessions, side events, and award ceremonies.

This year’s discussions centred on the forthcoming , an ambitious initiative aimed at creating a coherent EU vision and strengthening integration across marine policies.

Many EU-funded projects and initiatives took part in EMD 2025, hosting sessions and exhibiting their work at dedicated stands.

Highlights included discussions on the energy transition in fisheries, maritime transport, the empowerment of women and young people in the maritime sector, and cutting-edge technologies in ocean energy, aquaculture, and algae-based innovation.

took centre stage during a workshop supported by the WINBLUE and WIN-BIG projects. Aneta Willems, Head of Department at CINEA, delivered a closing speech emphasising the importance of gender-inclusive approaches for policies and funding programmes:

“Let’s continue to champion gender equality—not just as an aspiration, but as a commitment to ensuring that women have equal access, equal opportunities and an equal voice in shaping the future of our seas.”

EU4Algae and EUMOFA, which are funded by the European Commission under EMFAF, discussed . The EU is supporting the transition to regenerative ocean farming. To this end, it provides targeted funding for pilot projects that help fishers shift careers, promote innovative small and medium companies, and advance algae sector development.

During the session, Deputy Head of Unit at CINEA, Luca Marangoni, presented the results of the portfolio analysis of EU funded projects in the algae sector, which CINEA released in April 2025.

CINEA also organised a workshop on the role of aquaculture in the multiuse of the sea, which was opened by CINEA Head of Unit Vincent Favrel.

Aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing food production sectors in the world. The workshop explored its role in – especially alongside offshore renewables. EU-funded projects, like Aquawind, OLAMUR and ULTFARMS, showed promising innovations in the multiuse of the sea, despite regulatory and spatial challenges.

Support initiatives like the European Maritime Spatial Planning Platform and EU Aquaculture Assistance Mechanisms can be pivotal to scaling up. The lively Q&As session gave space to interesting reactions and positive perspectives from practitioners. Collaboration and forward-thinking planning are certainly essential to success.

Twelve EU-funded initiatives took part in the EU stand, sharing innovative solutions to current maritime challenges. Areas covered included:

Visitors could interact with games, prototypes and models, engaging with some of Europe’s most ground-breaking solutions.

As per tradition, the 2025 MakeEUBlue Awards, organised by the EU4Ocean Coalition and supported by the European Commission, celebrated outstanding ocean literacy initiatives across Europe. The awards recognised four outstanding initiatives promoting ocean literacy and public engagement:

Winners received certificates, handcrafted ocean-themed trophies, and financial rewards during the closing session of EMD.

As the 2025 edition came to a close, the energy and ideas exchanged in Cork left participants inspired for the future. Planning is already underway for , which will take place in .

Stay tuned for more updates and opportunities to get involved in shaping the blue economy of tomorrow.