The overall networking objective of EUR-OCEANS is to achieve lasting integration of European research organisations on global change and pelagic marine ecosystems and the relevant scientific disciplines. This will put Europe in an international leadership position in this field.

Presently, the 160 EUR-OCEANS Principal Investigators are scattered in 66 Member Organisations, located in 25 countries. The PIs belong to three research communities, which have traditionally often worked independently on: pelagic ecosystems, biogeochemistry and ecosystem approach to marine resources.

The initial integration within EUR-OCEANS will consist in bringing together research organisations and excellent researchers, through the Joint Programme of Activities of the 4-year EUR-OCEANS Network.

Steps from the presently fragmented situation to lasting integration (left to right).

Lasting integration will then be reached with the Network developing into a multi-site Institute.

The overall scientific objective of EUR-OCEANS is to develop models for assessing and forecasting the impacts of climate and anthropogenic forcing on food-web dynamics (structure, functioning, diversity and stability) of pelagic ecosystems in the open ocean.

To reach this goal, EUR-OCEANS will favour the progressive integration of research programmes and facilities of major research institutes in Europe. The Joint Programme of Activities of EUR-OCEANS comprises :

(1) Integrating activities on: networking, data, and model integration;

(2) Jointly executed research, organised around four broad modelling tasks (together with observations and experiments) on: (i) pelagic ecosystems end-to-end, (ii) biogeochemistry, (iii) ecosystem approach to marine resources and (iv) within-system integration;

(3) Activities to spread excellence, targeted at three different groups: (i) Researchers: training and education ; (ii) Socio-economic users of the knowledge resulting from the Network's research activities (these include the community of climate modellers involved in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and the marine resources management community); (iii) European public: public outreach through the Association of Aquaria for EUR-OCEANS public outreach, which is a Member Organisation of the EUR-OCEANS Network.

(4) Management Activities.

EUR-OCEANS is coordinated by a team composed of:
- the Scientific Directors, Paul Tréguer and Louis Legendre (CNRS, France)
- the Administrative and Financial Coordinator, Joseph de Macedo (FIST S.A., France)
- the Executive Director, Caroline Gernez (CNRS, France)