MARE-Madeira Joins SEAMPHONI Project to Monitor Offshore Marine Protected Areas
The MARE-Madeira regional research unit is one of the 24 European partners in the new SEAMPHONI project, which allocates 700,000 euros under the coordination of researcher João Canning-Clode, for the development of projects and research in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Madeira. 
SEAMPHONI, fully funded by the Horizon Europe program, aims to improve the assessment and monitoring of marine protected areas located offshore. With a total budget of 11 million euros, the project brings together partners from all over Europe, including the outermost regions of Madeira and Réunion. “It's quite a big project and one that we think will bring a lot of added value to Madeira,” said João Canning-Clode in an interview with RTP Madeira.
Coordinated by the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, SEAMPHONI will make it possible to strengthen research into seamounts, pelagic ecosystems and deep sea areas in Madeira's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), without depending on regional funds, further consolidating Madeira as a center of excellence in these areas. In 2026, the project will bring a major scientific expedition to Madeira, with a research vessel and an international team of scientists.
Focusing on offshore areas (located beyond 12 nautical miles), SEAMPHONI will study the seamounts northeast of Madeira and Porto Santo, regions of great biodiversity, but which face significant challenges due to the lack of adequate protection and dependence on expensive monitoring methods, such as research vessels.
To solve these problems, the project will test, integrate and validate three innovative monitoring solutions: “Environmental DNA, so the more molecular part, the placement of acoustic sensors, and also the placement of image sensors, that is, camera systems to develop a shared and integrated observation system,” explains João Canning-Clode.
In addition, the researcher hopes that “this project, even at European level, will make a significant contribution to the 30x30 target - a target that aims to reach 30% of aquatic, continental and oceanic test environments by 2030”.
With a duration of four years, SEAMPHONI will begin in the second half of this year, and the deep sea expedition will take place between 2026 and 2027. In line with MARE's strategy of boosting deep sea research, this project is the first European project to cover the offshore Marine Protected Areas of the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Autonomous Region of Madeira.
To listen to the interview with RTP Madeira click HERE