Sciences

Acquire knowledge of the sea world order to protect it

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“I’ve always believed”, said Paul Ricard one day, “that business leaders had a certain obligation to the community”… which is why he began campaigning as early as the 1960s against the discharge of industrial waste or “red mud” into the Mediterranean. He succeeded in recruiting to his cause scientists, politicians, artists and those who lived from fishing and tourism. A major crusade against pollution took shape.
Paul Ricard then decided to go even further, and set up the Oceanographical Institute on the island of Les Embiez in 1966, in cooperation with Alain Bombard. His mission was to acquire knowledge of the sea world, educate people and protect it. Whether fighting pollution or protecting the huge diversity of marine life, the Institute’s scientists take practical action to defend everyone’s wellbeing and quality of life.

Education in how to protect the marine environment

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What makes the Institut Océanographique Paul Ricard unique is the way in which it combines the roles of information centre and research centre. From its very beginnings, public information, environmental awareness and education have been the Institute’s second mission.
Every year, the Aquarium and Museum at Les Embiez welcome tens of thousands of conference and exhibition visitors, whist schoolchildren come here on educational visits to discover and learn about the island habitat.    

The “Océanorama Online” magazine, a full range of publications and many video programmes are just some of the resources used to deliver information and raise awareness of how fragile the marine environment is. Every year, the institute partners 40 or more arts events, including the World Festival of Underwater Imagery, the Paris Diving Exhibition and the Festival Science Frontières in Marseille.
In recognition of its research work, the Institut Océanographique received the Grand Prix of the French Académie des Sciences in 1995, and in June 2006, Pernod Ricard published its Worldwide Sustainable Development Charter to mark the 40th anniversary of the Institute’s foundation.