This 4-hour course empowers ocean scientists with a comprehensive understanding and practical skills for using the Global Fisheries Atlas Virtual Laboratory within the Blue-Cloud Virtual Research Environment (VRE). During this course, you will explore the benefits of standardized, FAIR fisheries data via a Virtual Laboratory (VLab). You will also get familiar with virtual facilities, either through graphic user interfaces (GUIs) or through programmatic access (APIs), and learn how to access web mapping products to browse the Global Record of Stocks and Fisheries (GRSF) and datasets describing Tuna Atlas fisheries globally. The course also provides methods to reproduce, update, and customize the systems for other use cases.

The aim of this course is to equip ocean scientists with the knowledge and skills to effectively navigate, utilize, and customize the Global Fisheries Atlas Virtual Lab for accessing, analyzing, and contributing to global fisheries data and research. Through hands-on experience with the Data-Interpolating Variational Analysis in n dimensions (DIVAnd) framework, participants will learn to integrate and analyze multi-source observational datasets to reconstruct and interpret surface ocean current patterns.

Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of this training, participants will be able to:

• Describe the purpose and functionalities of the Global Fisheries Atlas Virtual Laboratory.
• Explain the benefits of using standardized, FAIR fisheries data within the Virtual Laboratory.
• Identify key partners involved in the development and maintenance of the Virtual Laboratory.
• Access updated time series of catch and fishing effort data for calibrating models and driving stock assessments. 
• Reproduce or customize the Global Fisheries Atlas for other species or processing levels, using the Virtual Laboratory RStudio server. 
• Identify and access data describing species distribution and abundance as Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs). 
• Apply DOI assignment for fisheries data and related code to foster open and reproducible science. 
• Utilize the GRSF API and SPARQL endpoint for complex queries on stocks, fisheries data, and vocabularies. 
• Execute R code from the Virtual Laboratory RStudio server, leveraging GitHub, Zenodo API, and Dockerization. 
• Use Shiny apps and dynamic reports (R Markdown) for data visualization and reporting within the Virtual Laboratory Environment. 

Course content

Module 1: Introduction of the Virtual Laboratory - This module provides an overview of the Global Fisheries Atlas Virtual Laboratory, including its partners and its services, and the role and impact of Global Fisheries Atlas.

Module 2: Global Tuna Atlas - This module guides on the use of GitHub and Zenodo API to access the main versions of data or code releases, execution of R code and projects in Virtual Laboratory RStudio server, dockerization, Zenodo DOIs for both data and code, use of Shiny apps, and creation of dynamic reports through R Markdown. 

Module 3: Global Record of Stocks and Fisheries (GRSF) - This module introduces to GRSF resources and main entities, including guidance to programmatic access, tools to explore stocks and fisheries data through GRSF API, complex query answering through GRSF SPARQL endpoint, and GRSF Vocabularies (code lists of species, areas, and fishing gears).

Target audience

• Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in marine and environmental sciences;
• IT professionals supporting research activities in scientific institutions; and
• Project managers and coordinators involved in research projects that utilise Virtual Research Environments (VREs).

Proficient in the following is required:

• The ability to be self-directed in learning new technology skills (e.g. following a step-by-step tutorial, online video help, or access to support to learn necessary skills)
• Basic computer skills
• Finding resources through search engines

Language of instruction

English

Instructors and Organizers

Content for this course was provided by:

• Julien Barde
• Yannis Marketakis
• Bastien Grasset

This training is organized by the EU BlueCloud2026 project in collaboration with the UNESCO IOC OceanTeacher Global Academy, RTC Belgium, and contributions from project partners' experts (Flanders Marine Institute VLIZ, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) of France, and Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas - Institute of Computer Science).

Blue-Cloud 2026 aims at a further evolution of this pilot ecosystem into a Federated European Ecosystem to deliver FAIR & Open data and analytical services, instrumental for deepening research of oceans, EU seas, coastal & inland waters. It develops a thematic marine extension to EOSC for open web-based science, serving the needs of the EU Blue Economy, Marine Environment and Marine Knowledge agendas.

Assessments and Certificate

This course contain a set of multiple-question automated assessments to evaluate your learning. Participants will be required to complete a pre and post self-assessment related to the course content, and be requested to fill out a feedback survey at the end of the course to reflect on your learning experience and identify areas for improvement. This will also provide valuable feedback for course teachers and organisers to enhance future training sessions.

To receive a Certificate of Completion, learners must:

• Achieve a minimum score of 80% on all quizzes.
• Complete every lesson, activity, and assessment.
• Complete the mandatory pre-test and post-test.
• Submit the required feedback form, which is mandatory for all OTGA courses.

Technology requirements

To complete this course, participants should have access to:

• Computer with a modern operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux)
• Latest version of either Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari web browsers
• JavaScript and cookies enabled
• Broadband internet access (minimum bandwidth of 0.5 Mbps (Receive and Send)
• Speakers or headphones, Microphone

Course duration and format

For this first round, the course will be available online between 17 September 2025 and 31 July 2026. The estimated time to complete the self-paced course is approximately 4 hours. 

Cost: This course has no tuition fees. 

The training course is Funded by the European Union, with additional support from UNESCO IOC.

How to enrol

Please register on the OceanExpert website (www.oceanexpert.org). Once your OceanExpert account is approved (this is not done immediately), you can self-enrol in the course. If you already have an OceanExpert account, you can self-enrol in the course using your OceanExpert username and password.

First log-in OceanTeacher, then access the course page and click on self-enrolment. The enrolment key for all courses is VLab5*2025EN1

Contacts

• OTGA Secretariat: ioc.training@unesco.org

For any questions please contact the OTGA Secretariat always using the name of the course as the email subject. 

Cancellation policy

In the event of cancellation of the course by the OTGA or its affiliates, we will provide notification of cancellation at least 7 days before the course date. In the event of cancellation by the attendee, we should receive notification of cancellation at least 7 days prior to the course date.