Our summer series celebrating 40 years of Ifremer takes us to the heart of the activities of the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea. First and foremost, Ifremer is a fleet of vessels that carries out dozens and dozens of scientific campaigns every year.
Ifremer has a dozen research vessels, each with its own specific features, to cover all or almost all areas (the polar zone is not covered at present). The institute conducts between 100 and 120 campaigns a year on all the world’s seas, with some 1,800 researchers, technicians and scientists on board.
The striking power of this fleet – one of the five largest in the world – is its complementarity. The Marion Dufresne can extract cores 60 meters long, the Thalassa can study fish on a large scale, and the Antéa can get as close to the coast as possible or cross the oceans.
Goulwen Peltier, head of the « Naval Operations » department at the French Oceanographic Directorate, tells us about this tool, which is « unique in the world ».
Source: Ici Par France Bleu et France 3
