Dr. Martina Blümel

is a microbiologist working under the direction of Prof. Dr. Deniz Tasdemir in the Marine Natural Products Chemistry research unit of the GEOMAR Centre for Marine Biotechnology at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel. Her investigations concentrate on the components of ­marine fungi from which medicines and other multi-functional agents may be derived. As an expert in biotechnological processes, however, she also assists team members who are working with other marine organisms, including brown algae from the ­Baltic Sea. She also develops new techniques for cultivating fungi and other marine microorganisms in the laboratory. She is actively involved in the project management of the working group, and is responsible for the smooth workflow of all laboratory work at GEOMAR Biotech. > web

Dr. Kathrin Fisch

is a chemist working as a post-doc in the ­Marine Chemistry section at the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW). Her primary interest is the analysis of modern pollutants in the marine environment and, in connection with the MEGAPOL project, she is presently investigating the distribution of pharmaceuticals, body-care products (e.g. UV filters), and pesticides in the sediment layers and water column of the South China Sea. These studies are basically a continuation of her doctoral thesis, in which she developed new detection methods for pesticides, pharmaceuticals and cosmetic products in marine waters. > web

Dr. Dieter Franke

is a research specialist for energy resources at the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) in Hanover. One of the objectives of BGR research and analysis is to contribute to the security of Germany’s supply of energy resources. To this end, within various projects, Dieter Franke not only investigates potential natural gas and oil resources on land and in the sea, but also works with colleagues to prepare country studies and methodology reviews, and regularly reports on market developments in the energy sector. In addition to publishing their findings in scientific journals, the specialists produce a newsletter in the form of the annual BGR Energy Data, and also publish the BGR Energy Study – Data and Developments Con­cerning German and Global Energy Supplies, which appears every two years. > web

Torsten Frey

studied environmental and economic sciences. He is now a research specialist for management issues at the ­GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, focussing on munition waste sites in the sea. Currently, in collaboration with partners in the European BASTA (Boost Applied munition detection through Smart data inTegration and AI workflows) project, he is working to improve methods for detecting submerged munitions. These efforts have two major goals: First, the scientists want to facilitate the search for underwater munitions by opti­mizing tools like high-resolution echosounders or submersible vehicles for visual and magnetic detection of the materials. Second, they store all of the measurement data obtained in a database, and analyse them with the help of artificial intelligence and machine learning. This should make it possible to find and identify the sites of dumped munitions in the sea more quickly, effi­ciently and economically than ever before. > web

Dr. Rainer Froese

a fisheries biologist at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, investigates the condition of fish stocks around the world, develops approaches towards sustainable fisheries management, and is a co-founder of the FishBase database (fishbase.org), the largest scientific database for fish species in the world. One of his areas of focus is the assessment of fish stocks for which sparse data is available. Because this is true for three-fourths of all the fish stocks in the world, he and his colleagues have developed methods to estimate stock sizes and levels of fishing that work with only a fraction of the data normally required. These have made it possible to carry out at least preliminary surveys for many fish stocks. Rainer Froese has authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific publications, is one of the most frequently cited of marine scientists, and, in 2020, received the Ocean Award in the category “Most Influential Scientist for Marine Conservation in 2019”. > web

Prof. Dr. Jens Greinert

is a geologist, a recognized expert in the development of instrumentation, and leader of the Deep Sea Monitoring Research Unit at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel. After many years of building and testing new research technology for exploring the deep sea, he is now concentrating on developing new methods for detecting, monitoring and recovering dumped munitions in the sea. He coordinates several German and European research projects on this topic, particularly those related to the German Baltic and North Seas, devises recommendations for politics and administration, and manages the development of databases and information portals. One of his major goals is to establish a European-level centre of excellence for munitions to investigate the ecological impacts and provide competent guidance in the monitoring and disposal of the millions of tons of old munitions and explosives in European waters. > web

Dr. Lars Gutow

is one of Germany’s best-known experts on the impacts of microplastics on marine communities. For more than a decade, the marine biologist, working at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven, has been researching the extent to which various marine organisms ingest plastic particles and the physical reactions that the foreign particles cause. He is co-editor of the widely read textbook Marine Anthropogenic Litter, and is an expert contributor to several working groups and technical commissions. > web

Prof. Dr. Julian Gutt

is a marine ecologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven. He studies benthic communities of the Southern Ocean in terms of their diversity, ecosystem functions and vulnerability to environmental change. To this end, he primarily uses imaging methods as they spare the ecosystem from damage and depict the benthic communities in their natural state. He has conducted these investigations in the course of numerous expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic, twice as chief scientist on board of the German research icebreaker Polarstern. Julian Gutt contributes his expertise and many years of experience to numerous international organizations, such as the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the policy-advising Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). > web

Dr. Stefan Hain

heads the Environmental Policy Staff Unit at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven. Among other roles as part of this function, he is the institute’s contact person for the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), Germany’s regulatory body for all activities within the remit of the Antarctic Treaty. The marine biologist completed his doctorate at the AWI and then worked at the interface of science and policy for more than 25 years – first as deputy secretary of the Oslo-Paris Commission (OSPAR) in London, then as Head of the Coral Reef Unit of the United Nations Environment Programme in Cambridge, United Kingdom. In 2009 he returned to the AWI and since then he has been working as the institute’s environmental policy spokesperson, coordinating AWI’s contributions to a variety of international processes which could potentially impact on the institute’s research activities. In this capacity he vigorously promotes efforts to establish a Marine Protected Area in the south polar Weddell Sea, and monitors the international negotiations on the Third Implementing Agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. > web

Dr. Amir Haroon

is a marine geophysicist specializing in electromagnetics at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel. He is a member of the working group of Dr. Marion Jegen-Kulcsar, and specializes in geophysical applications in coastal ­regions. His work primarily involves developing measurement technology to search for groundwater reservoirs beneath the sea­floor and evaluating the data obtained. > web

Dr. Katja Heubel

heads the Coastal Ecology working group at the Research and Technology Centre West Coast (FTZ) of Kiel University (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel – CAU) in Büsum. In various projects, the biologist investigates the interactions among individual marine organisms, populations and communities, and how both individuals and entire communities react to anthropo­genic stress factors such as noise and climate change. Her studies frequently involve gobies, whose behavioural changes and adaptive strategies she has analysed in detail. She is currently investigating the influence of underwater noise on acoustic communi­cation and on predator-prey relationships between zooplankton and fish. She is also addressing the question of how species that have recently migrated or been introduced into the North Sea integrate with or alter the established communities. > web

Dr. Jan Hoffmann

is a transportation and shipping expert who has headed the Trade Logistics Branch of the United Nations Con­ference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva since 2016. He and his team conceive and implement education and ­training programmes on trade and transport in Africa, Asia, the Pacific region, Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition, they publish the annual UNCTAD Review of Marine Transport and ­provide information on current developments in world trade and transport, especially in shipping, through a number of other pub­lications. > web

Dr. Marion Jegen-Kulcsar

is a geophysicist at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel and an expert in marine electromagnetics. She and her colleagues use these techniques, originally developed for deep-sea research, to explore for freshwater reservoirs beneath the sea floor. In one current research project, for example, they are mapping occurrences of freshwater off the coast of the Mediterranean island of Malta, whose water reserves on land are being depleted due to drought and increased consumption. Marion Jegen-Kulcsar and her team are developing the measurement technology themselves, which is why they are one of the few research groups worldwide using marine electromagnetics in this way. > web

Dr. Marion Kanwischer

is a biotechnician and research scientist in the marine chemistry section of the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW), and heads the Analytics Group of the institute’s organic trace substance laboratory. With her team, she regularly examines water samples from the Baltic Sea for the presence of persistent organic pollutants, such as chlorinated hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Marion Kanwischer also develops and tests new methods for detecting organic trace substances in the marine environment. These include pesticides such as glyphosate, for example, but also natural organic phosphorus compounds like methylphosphonic acid. > web

Dr. Ulrike Kronfeld-Goharani

is a physical oceanographer and interdisciplinary marine researcher. As a research fellow, she teaches and carries out research in the group for International Political Sociology at the Institute of Social Sciences of Kiel Uni­versity (CAU) in Kiel. The focus of her research is sustainable development. She is especially interested in socio-ecological transformations in coastal regions due to maritime tourism, business sustainability in the maritime economy, and the development of approaches towards a more sustainable management of the high seas. She is currently exploring the roles that narratives play in the prevalent discourses about the ocean, and how new narratives can be developed to promote more sustainable use of the ocean. > web

Dr. Thomas Kuhn

is a researcher in marine geology at the ­Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) in Hanover and is a recognized expert on mineral resource deposits in the deep sea. His scientific career began in 1999 with a doctoral thesis on the geochemistry of ferromanganese crusts and deep-sea sediments. Since 2010 he has been studying the geology of manganese nodules in the Pacific and regularly participates in research expeditions to these marine regions. He contributes his expertise to assessing the deposits and is involved in projects to develop methods for the metallurgical processing of marine mineral resources. Since 2020 he has been in charge of the exploration for massive sulphide occurrences in the German contract area of the Indian Ocean. > web

Dr. Holger Kühnhold

is a scientist in the Experimental Aquaculture working group of the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) in Bremen. As a marine biologist, he performs research at the interface between ecophysiology and aquaculture. His research is centred on utilizing marine invertebrates (for ­example, sea cucumbers and jellyfish) and aquatic plants (such as duckweed) for human consumption. One aspect of this involves the determination of optimal culture conditions for highly pro­mising target species in a variety of aquaculture systems. Another is the extent to which environmental parameters such as temperature, light quality and UV radiation must be manipulated in order to increase the specific production of important nutrients. His research work should contribute to an improved use of biomass at the lower end of the marine food chain for long-term ­global food security. > web

Dr. Andreas Kunzmann

is a marine and fisheries biologist, and heads the Experimental Aquaculture working group at the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) in Bremen. His research focusses on the development of sustainable, environmentally sound methods in aquaculture, but also on the issues of the altered living conditions that fish and invertebrates are ex­posed to in aquaculture farming, the extent to which they are able to adapt, and how much fish and seafood can be produced in marine aquaculture in the future. For these purposes, the investigations of Andreas Kunzmann and his working group include ecophysiological studies of the stress metabolism of fish (oxygen consumption, energy production) at different life stages. In addition, the researchers are studying whether and how new aquatic food sources known as “novel foods”, such as jellyfish, sea cucumbers or green caviar, can be cultivated and used as healthy food in the future. > web

Dr. Felix Mark

is a marine biologist and research scientist at the Integrative Ecophysiology Section of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven. He has specialized in physiological adaptation mechanisms of marine ectotherms and investigates the organisms’ responses to marine warming, ocean acidification and oxygen depletion, from the organism as a whole down to the molecular level, and with a particular focus on polar fish. Felix Mark undertakes regular expeditions to the polar seas and was the consortium leader of “Theme 3: Ocean Acidification and Warming Impacts Across Natural Systems and Society: From Mechanisms to Sen­sitivities and Societal Adaptation” as part of the major German research programme on Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification (BIOACID). Furthermore, in recent months he co-authored the third chapter (Oceans) of the contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is due to be published in ­February 2022. > web

Prof. Dr. Nele Matz-Lück

is a lawyer and has held a Professorship of Public Law, with a focus on international law and the law of the sea, at Kiel University since 2011. She is also co-Director of the Walther Schücking Institute for International Law. In addition, she serves as spokesperson for the “Future Ocean” network, was a member of the steering committee of Kiel Marine Science, the University Centre for Interdisciplinary Marine Science, for several years, and is a judge on the Constitutional Court of Schleswig-Holstein. In June 2020, at the recommendation of the German government, she was added to the list of arbitrators and conciliators under Annex V and Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Her research and publication activities are focussed on the international law of the sea, international environmental law and the law of international treaties. > web

Dr. Katja Mintenbeck

was a marine biologist in the Integrative Ecophysiology section at the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven until 2017. Her work there focussed on the ecology of Antarctic marine communities, and specifically on the sensitivity of Antarctic fish response to disturbances and environmental change. Since then, she has been working as the Scientific Director of the Technical Support Unit of Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In this function, among other duties, she was responsible for the IPCC Special Report The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, which was published in September 2019, and Volume II of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, which is scheduled for publication in February 2022. > web

Prof. Dr. Christian Möllmann

is a fisheries biologist and ma­naging director of the Institute of Marine Ecosystem and Fishery Science at the University of Hamburg. His research examines structural and functional changes in marine ecosystems under anthropogenic pressures such as climate change and fishery exploitation. The aim of his work is to contribute to sustainable, ecosystem-based management. His approach to research is generally based on the natural sciences, but he is increasingly adopting transdisciplinary methods that involve direct interaction and knowledge-building with non-scientific individuals and groups. Christian Möllmann is one of the authors of the Sixth Assessment Report of Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on ­Climate Change. > web

Prof. Dr. Andreas Oschlies

is an oceanographer, and head of the department of Biogeochemical Modelling at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel. His research interests include the physical, biogeochemical and ecological processes of carbon uptake by the ocean and possible changes in these as a result of climate change. For example, he and his team develop biogeochemical models to investigate changes in the oxygen content of the oceans and the resulting ecological impacts. In addi­tion, Andreas Oschlies heads and coordinates large research projects related to the scientific assessment of potential climate engineering techniques, as well as a new collaborative project on marine carbon sinks. > web

Prof. Dr. Konrad Ott

is a philosopher and Professor for Philo­sophy and Ethics of the Environment at Kiel University. In recent years, his research has focused primarily on “strong sustainabi­lity” issues, the practical dimensions of nature and biodiversity conservation, climate change, water resources, agriculture, restoration and the ethical aspects of geoengineering. He is currently elaborating the foundations of environmental ethics and sustain­ability in the realm of social theory. He further contributes to numerous transdisciplinary research projects addressing, for instance, management strategies for highly radioactive residues, climate ethics, natural climate solutions and the ethical foundations of marine conservation. > web

Dr. Elvira Poloczanska

is a marine biologist and acknowledged expert on climate-induced changes in marine ecosystems. For over 15 years she has been studying the responses of marine biological communities, especially fish, to rising water temperatures, increasing acidification and persistent oxygen depletion. With the help of ecosystem models, she investigates the further climate consequences that can be expected in the course of progressing global warming, and the adaptive capacities of marine organisms as well as the people and economic sectors that depend on them. Elvira Poloczanska was a lead author on the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report and is presently serving as scientific advisor to the two co-chairs of IPCC Working Group II, and the Technical Support Unit on the Sixth Assessment Report of that Working Group (impacts, adaptation and vulnerability). > web

Prof. Dr. Hans-Otto Pörtner

is a marine biologist performing research at the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven, where he heads the Integrative Ecophysiology Section. He is also one of the two co-chairs of Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. During his scientific career Hans-Otto Pörtner has developed ground-breaking theories on the impacts of ocean warming, ocean acidification and oxygen deficiency on marine organisms and ecosystems, and has validated these in numerous studies. Two of his seminal topics involve the molecular, biochemical and physiological mechanisms that determine the tolerance, performance and adaptive capacity of marine animals, and whether and how these mechanisms apply universally to all animals, including humans. His technical publications are currently among the most-cited works in the field of climate and ocean research. He is an elected member of the European Academy of Sciences and was appointed by the German government to its Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) in 2020. > web

Dr. Carsten Rühlemann

heads the Exploration Group of the Marine Geology section at the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) in Hanover. From 2006 to 2019 he coordinated the exploration of manganese-nodule occurrences in the German contract area in the Pacific. A globally recognized expert, he has been a member of the Legal and Technical Commission of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Kingston, Jamaica since 2020. The marine geologist is interested in all aspects of deep-sea mining, and he was a participant on the latest research expedition to the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in April 2021. On this MANGAN-2021 Expedition, the team of international ­scientists deployed the manganese-nodule collector Patania II made by the Belgian company Global Sea Mineral Resources (GSR) in its first two successful deep-sea operations, and conducted intensive accompanying research to learn more about the possible consequences of manganese-nodule mining for the ­marine environment.

Dr. Jörn Schmidt

is a fishery ecologist and presently adjunct professor of the marine affairs programme at Dalhousie University. He was head of the Marine Food Security research group at the Center for Ocean and Society at Kiel University before taking over the Chair of the Science Committee of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) in August 2020. He had already chaired the ICES Strategic Initiative on the Human Dimension from 2015 to 2019. His work focusses on socio-ecological systems and concepts of sustainability in the ocean, fishery management, science communication, the development of practical management recommendations, and direct interaction with fishermen and women. For example, he is involved with the Sustainable Nunatsiavut Futures project, which focusses on the joint production of knowledge related to rapidly changing environmental conditions in Nunatsiavut, northern Canada, and the impact of these on the local communities. Jörn Schmidt was one of the German authors of the Second United Nations World Ocean Assessment Report, and since 2021 has been a member of the expert group for the Third Assessment Report, which will be published in 2025.

Prof. Dr. Corinna Schrum

is an oceanographer and head of the Institute of Coastal Systems – Analysis and Modeling at the Helmholtz Centre Hereon in Geesthacht. Coupled system models are developed at the institute by which processes and complex interactions can be represented and changes in coastal systems can be described. Her research centres on the question of how the elements of land, sea and atmosphere interact in the coastal realm and how the activities of humans directly affect coastal systems. For example, Corinna Schrum and her team analyse the physical, biogeochemical and ecological effects of offshore wind farm construction, and examine the social and planning aspects that need to be considered in advance. > web

Dr. Klaus Schwarzer

worked as a geologist and associate scientist in the Coastal Geology and Sedimentology group at Kiel University (CAU) until his retirement. He is an expert in coastal and nearshore processes and coastal development, and is still active today in investigating how both humans and the sea itself are changing coastal zones in the North and Baltic Sea realms, as well as other marine regions of the world, through sediment displacement or resource extraction. His work also examines the changes to coasts caused by sea-level rise, storm events and tsunamis. In joint projects with biologists, he addresses the extent to which sedimentological changes in coastal regions, on beaches, steep coastlines, mangroves in tropical regions or deltas in estuarine ­areas alter the living conditions for humans and the native animal and plant species in those areas. This topic also had a great influence on his teaching activities, both in classroom lectures and ­training sessions on research vessels and excursions. He taught at Kiel University, but also abroad (for example in Brazil, Vietnam and Malaysia) in the framework of research and teaching collaborations.

Prof. Dr. Deniz Tasdemir

leads the Marine Natural Products research unit at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, and is also director of the GEOMAR Centre for Marine Biotechnology (GEOMAR Biotech). She has taught on the subject of marine natural products chemistry at Kiel University since August 2014. She began her scientific career researching sponges. She is an award-winning and globally recognized expert in natural marine active substances, now focusing her research on algae and microorganisms in the Baltic Sea and, with her research group, is pursuing the goal of developing drugs to combat cancer, highly contagious diseases, and pest infestation in plants. She also works as a scientific advisor, is on the editorial boards of a number of professional journals in the field of bioactive natural products, and serves on the scientific advisory boards of international research projects and centres. > web

Dr. Annemiek Vink

works as a biologist at the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) in Hanover. She coordinates and is responsible for the numerous investigations there aimed at understanding the environmental impacts that ­possible deep-sea mining would have on the marine environment and its biodiversity. Since 2019 she has coordinated the explo­ra­tion efforts for manganese-nodule occurrences in the German ­contract area in the Pacific. In April 2021, she led the MANGAN-2021 expedition to the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, which included accompanying scientific research on the first successful deep-sea operations of the manganese-nodule collector Patania II built by the Belgian company Global Sea Mineral Resources (GSR). She and her team hope that the many new measurement data will allow far-reaching conclusions to be drawn about the environmental risks of potential manganese-nodule mining at an industrial scale, possible measures to reduce the risks, and the monitoring procedures required to adequately oversee possible deep-sea mining. > web

Prof. Dr. Martin Visbeck

is a physical oceanographer, heads the Physical Oceanography Research Unit at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, and acts as co-speaker of the Kiel “Future Ocean” network. In addition, he has been teaching at Kiel University (CAU) since 2004, and is one of the best-known science communicators in Germany on the topic of the world ­ocean. The scope of his research includes the influence of the ­ocean on natural fluctuations of the global climate as well as the variability of regional marine currents. Other areas of interest include deep-water formation and the origins of tropical oxygen-minimum zones. Martin Visbeck is active in various committees for the planning and implementation of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, and coordinates the international Digital Twins of the Ocean (DITTO) programme. > web

Prof. Dr. Klaus Wallmann

is a geoscientist, leads the Marine Geosystems research department at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, and teaches the foundations of marine biogeochemistry at Kiel University (CAU). His research interests include material turnover at cold seeps and mud vol­canoes on the sea floor, the formation of gas hydrates, microbial degradation of organic matter in surface sediments, and the ­recycling of nutrients from the sediments into the ocean. In addition, he investigates the long-term geochemical evolution of the oceans and the atmosphere, led an EU research project on the consequences of carbon-dioxide storage below the sea floor from 2011 to 2015, and is now participating in a new large project on marine carbon sinks. > web

Uwe Wichert

is a retired naval officer and a member of the “Bund-Länder-Ausschuss Nordsee-Ostsee” (BLANO) expert panel on munitions in the sea. This group of specialists has taken on the task of compiling, evaluating and reporting all of the available data and information on the dumping of munitions in German marine waters. An important aspect of their work is the examination of historical documents stored in archives in Europe and the USA that contain relevant information. Uwe Wichert coordinates this task and evaluates the information retrieved. This is the starting point for all the steps that follow, from investigations of the current situation to the eventual removal of the munitions waste. All of the expert panel’s findings to date are made available to the public in annual updates to the comprehensive report Munitions in the Sea.

Julian Wilckens

is a certified lawyer focussing on international and administrative law, and heads the Department of Coastal, Marine and Polar Research at Project Management Jülich in Rostock. In this function he advises, among others, the German Research Ministry on international maritime law and assists in international processes, including negotiations within the framework of the Antarctic Treaty System, the International Seabed Authority (ISA), and the Third Implementing Agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. His main focus in all processes is to secure the freedom of marine research in negotiations and international legislative procedures and to ensure that German marine research has the appropriate leeway to carry out its investigative projects