Organised by the COASTALWARMING research group of CIBIO-InBio/BIOPOLIS, BioMARatona 2025 took place from May 3 to October 15 across Northern Portugal’s coasts with the overarching goal to continue increasing citizens’ knowledge of species in marine and coastal ecosystems. During this period, 17 citizen science activities were carried out with 7 different partnering organisations involved in mapping the marine and coastal biodiversity of mainland Portugal. The official results show that this year the initiative wrapped up with 3,407 observations collected in total, making it a huge success across both the public and the scientific community. Interestingly, some of the most significant highlights include the recording of one endangered species and nine non-native species. 

Compared to last year’s edition of bioMARatona, the 2025 campaign demonstrates even better results, with a notable increase in both data collection and community engagement. More specifically, there is a rise of 2,231 observations and 32 new additional participants in comparison to the previous year. In addition, this year prizes were distributed to the top three participants with the most observations taken and a special award was presented to the participant with the nicest photograph. 

To learn more about the initiative and look out for next year’s dates, keep an eye on our Instagram, Bluesky, X and Linkedin accounts for updates. Follow BioMARatona as well for more insights on marine citizen science.