Integration of innovative and reliable socio-ecological models and user-driven solutions into the Digital Twin Ocean, to facilitate what-if scenarios and decision support, under a co-creation approach

Project Information

SURIMI

Grant agreement ID: 101157456

DOI

10.3030/101157456

EC signature date 2 May 2024

Start date 1 May 2024

End date 30 April 2027

Funded under

• Climate, Energy and Mobility

Total cost

€ 3 026 332,50

EU contribution

€ 3 026 332,50

Coordinated by

NORCE RESEARCH AS
Norway

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SURIMI (Integration of innovative and reliable socio-ecological models and user-driven solutions into the Digital Twin Ocean, to facilitate what-if scenarios and decision support, under a co-creation approach)

Reporting period: 2024-05-01 to 2025-10-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The health of the ocean and its diverse ecosystems is crucial for life on Earth. To understand its current state and predict future changes, it is essential to gather detailed information about how the ocean is impacted by society, ecology, and human and environmental pressures. The SURIMI project is part of the European Digital Ocean Knowledge System under the EU Mission ‘Restore Our Ocean and Waters’. This mission plays a key role in the European Green Deal, which aims to make Europe climate-neutral by 2050 by promoting sustainable practices and reducing environmental impacts. Additionally, SURIMI aligns with the goals of the UN Ocean Decade, a global initiative focused on improving ocean health by fostering scientific research and collaboration to address the challenges facing marine ecosystems.
SURIMI’s mission is to build partnerships with stakeholders from industry, science, policy, and society to develop nine socio-ecological models for integration into the European Digital Twin Ocean (EDITO). By using simulated ecological and fisheries data, SURIMI aims to enhance our understanding of how fishing activities affect sensitive species, seabed habitats, and biodiversity hotspots. Additionally, SURIMI seeks to broaden participation in ocean sciences and sustainability efforts by making EDITO more accessible through a user-friendly toolkit, graphical user interface, and the co-creation of tools. These innovations will strengthen EIDTO’s ability to support informed decision-making and policy development, particularly in marine management strategy evaluation analyses.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Between May 2024 and October 2025, SURIMI advanced integration of socio-ecological models into EDITO, focusing on data harmonization, model development, and interoperability.
The SURIMI data lake was established as a central repository for harmonized biological, ecological, and socio-economic datasets. All data comply with FAIR principles and include detailed metadata. Protocols for standardization and interoperability were implemented, aligned with INSPIRE and OGC standards. Innovative methods linked socio-economic and environmental data across spatial and temporal scales, enabling integrated analyses for fisheries and ecosystem assessments. Preliminary indicators for stock status and socio-economic conditions were derived.
Five socio-ecological models—Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE), POSEIDON (agent-based), MICE, CMSY++, and a system dynamics market model—were either developed from scratch or tailored to SURIMI needs and subsequently containerized.
A functional interoperability layer was developed using gRPC communication protocols to ensure seamless data exchange between the models. Preparations for onboarding models and data onto EDITO are underway as planned.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

In the first reporting period, SURIMI delivered key technical results for integrating socio-ecological models into (EDITO):
• Data Infrastructure: A harmonized socio-ecological data lake was established, hosting biological, ecological, and socio-economic datasets aligned with FAIR principles.
• Model Development: Five interoperable model prototypes—Ecopath with Ecosim, POSEIDON, MICE, CMSY++, and a system dynamics market model—were containerized.
• Tools and Interfaces: A functional interoperability layer was developed using gRPC communication protocols to ensure seamless data exchange between the models.
All software components will be released as open source under permissive licenses, ensuring transparency and reuse.

Potential Impacts:
SURIMI’s innovations will enable robust scenario simulations and decision-support for sustainable ocean management. Long-term impacts include:
• Integration of socio-ecological models into policy workflows for fisheries and marine governance.
• Enhanced capacity for stakeholders to assess climate, economic, and management scenarios.
• Uptake of simulation models and interoperability protocols by the EDITO community and related initiatives.

Key Needs for Further Uptake:
• Technical: Full onboarding of the modelling suite and data into EDITO requires resolving challenges related to the dynamically developmental character of EDITO.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Continued community engagement is required to tailor the SURIMI tools to stekholder needs, validate the usability and establish trust in outputs.
• Capacity Building: Tutorials, documentation, and training is needed to support adoption by scientific and policy communities.
• Scientific collaboration: Strengthened links with sister projects, ICES, and EU Mission Ocean initiatives to ensure successful dissemination.