Tara Oceans

Edito

Tara is on her way to the Arctic. The first sampling station will take place today off the Irish coast.

For a sustainable management of the oceans, join us and sign the Paris Appeal for the High Seas, click here !

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Tara Oceans Polar Circle

journal de bord

05/19/2013

Tara Oceans Polar Circle is launched !



Over a year has passed since the previous Tara Oceans expedition ended, and Tara is finally heading out to the open ocean. Sunday afternoon May 19 the schooner cast off from Lorient to begin a nearly seven-month voyage around the Arctic. The Tara Oceans Polar Circle Expedition has begun.



All the sailors and scientists aboard had been anticipating this moment for weeks, or even  months. At 3pm, before a crowd of onlookers and friends from all over France, Tara left her home port of Lorient, and will return here only in December. Meanwhile, Tara and her crew will have traveled 25,000 kilometers around the North Pole, first along Russian and then North American coasts.



But Tara did not begin this journey alone. All around the schooner, dozens of boats, from the smallest dinghy to the largest sailboats, symbolically escorted Tara on this new scientific adventure. Over twenty people were on deck: journalists, Tara’s land team, and even the next crew. As the sea became rougher, the number of escorting boats decreased. 

At Groix Island, off Lorient’s coast, Tara followed tradition and the boat was blessed by the island’s priest. Then a second departure began: one after another the accompanying people  piled into dinghies, until only fourteen remained on board. Fourteen people who will share two weeks of life at sea before the Faroe Islands, our first stop.



Yann Chavance

Tara's current position

Download the updated map directly :

Focus

Tara's engagement for the High Seas continues at the UN

Following the strong mobilization in April around the conference "High Seas, the Future of Humanity", Tara continues our engagement at the United Nations, working towards an international governance of the High Seas. During consulting sessions conducted last May at the UN, Eric Karsenti, scientific director of Tara Oceans, and André Abreu, project manager for advocacy, presented the Tara Oceans program of research and  international cooperation. In addition to NGOs and highly respected international research institutes, other French organizations participated in these sessions, including the IDDRI and IFREMER, both vital in their respective fields of action.

Reminder of current issues

After the decisions taken at the Rio+20 conference concerning the establishment of a protocol for management of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdictions, member countries have now entered a decisive period for negotiations, aimed at creating an international governance of the High Seas. At the 67th General Assembly in December 2012, the UN Secretary General decided to convene a group of experts to inform negotiators about the sustainable management of marine biodiversity in the High Seas. Two specific topics were chosen for these sessions: marine genetic resources, and tools for managing and monitoring those regions of the High Seas with great ecological and biological importance.

Key discussion points for negotiations

These official consulting sessions at the UN marked the resuming of talks between the states, in view of negotiations scheduled to begin in August. Beyond some concrete examples of scientific research projects such as Obis, Tara Oceans and Marine Board, certain areas of discussion seem to monopolize attention. The many questions about sharing profits from genetic resources; the deep concerns of certain countries about regulation of fishing in the High Seas – these issues point up the differences and blockages that need to be overcome in order to reach an agreement. 
Regarding the position of France and Europe, negotiators at the sessions reaffirmed the desire to develop an agreement by December 2014, and committed themselves to preparing a convergence as soon as possible. Strategies must be developed to create a calm and constructive dialogue, and to ensure that controversial issues will not ultimately cause blockage. It is especially important that citizens mobilize to pressure governments into taking action. Following the recommendations of the Monitoring Committee for the Paris Appeal, Tara Expeditions continues efforts to inform the public, involve policymakers, and convince influential individuals to support the UN negotiations.
As stated in the Appeal:
"We affirm that the High Seas are not just a matter for specialists and professionals. They are at the heart of humanity's survival, and concern every one of us."

L'Equipe

  • Etienne Bourgois
  • Chris Bowler

  • Christian Sardet
  • Loic Vallette
  • Eric Karsenti
  • Romain Troublé
  • Samuel Audrain
  • Colomban de Vargas
  • Philippe Clais
  • Gaby Gorsky
  • Daniel Cron
  • Éloïse Fontaine
  • Xavier Bougeard
  • Stefanie Kandels-Lewis
  • Dominique Limbour
  • François Aurat
  • Emmanuel Boss
  • Myriam Thomas
  • Jean-Claude Gascard
  • Louis Wilmotte
  • André Abreu de Almeida
  • Yann Chavance
  • Marcel Babin
  • Anne Ghuysen Watrin
  • Philippe Duflot
  • Céline Dimier
  • Marc Picheral
  • Michael Pitiot
  • Julie Poulain
  • Et aussi
  • Lionel Guidi
  • Samuel Chaffron
  • Alison Palmer Chase
  • Lucie Bittner

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Langue/Language & social

  • langue française
  • English language
  • Português
  • Español
  • italiano

see also

Newsworthy

06/13/2013

Stopovers of the Tara Oceans Polar Circle expedition

06/13/2013


- Tromsö (Norway); From June 13 until June 21
- Murmansk (Russia) From June 24 until June 29
- Doudinka (Russia) From July 26 until August 1st
- Franz Joseph (Russia) From August 7th until August 9th
- Pevek (Russia) From August 30th until September 3rd
- Tuktoyaktuk (Canada) From September 18th until 21th September
- Resolute (Canada) From October 1st until October 5th
- Ilulissat (Canada) From October 15th until October 20th
- Québec (Canada) From November 10th until November 16th
- St Pierre-et-Miquelon From November 20th until November 24th
- Lorient From December 6th

05/19/2013

Follow Tara in live

05/19/2013

Follow Tara on www.marinetraffic.com

Insert the boats AIS number in the top right corner : 226070000

05/18/2013

Exhibition - Tara Expeditions discovery of a new world : the Ocean

05/18/2013

Discover the exhibition "Tara Expeditions discovery of a new world : the Ocean", on the Eric Tabarly Cité de la Voile Esplanade In Lorient, France.

Free entry on May 18th and 19th for Taras departure.
Exhibiton until Septembre 29th 2013.

05/13/2013

Taras' new flash

05/13/2013

To learn more about Taras new expedition in the Arctic, click here to read Taras' flash journal. 

04/25/2013

Explore Google Ocean with Tara

04/25/2013

Write "Tara" on the research of Sylviaearlealliance's website
or click bellow

04/11/2013

PARIS APPEAL FOR THE HIGH SEAS

04/11/2013

Discover and sign Paris Appeal for the High Seas !

03/21/2013

OCEANOMICS, funded by Investments for the Future

03/21/2013

02/12/2013

Tara in Nowness by Spencer Lowell

02/12/2013

Watch the video here. By Spencer Lowell (3min)

09/10/2012

Tara Expeditions Blogs

09/10/2012

Find Tara Expeditions content in our blogs in several languages: - spanish - italian - portuguese

06/21/2012

Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations speaks to Tara at Rio +20

06/21/2012

Part of the speach :

"Earlier this year, I had the chance to board the Tara Expeditions when it docked in New York.
The crew was really inspiring. They shared so much information with me about oceans and climate change. I am really grateful that they are raising awareness around the world … and I am very proud that the United Nations is supporting them.
As I stood on the Tara that day in February, I stood on the deck and looked out at downtown Manhattan. We were surrounded by skyscrapers but we had a window on the deep blue sea. It was a reminder that our worlds are connected.
I promised the crew that I would continue working with dedication for the planet’s oceans.
Now, Rio has to put more wind in our sails, so we can navigate the waves to a better future.
Let us advance for our oceans and our world."

Rio de Janeiro, 21 June 2012