Surfrider Foundation Europe

30/09/2026

🌊 Europe is preparing its Ocean Act.

In Brussels, Surfrider and our NGO partners are calling on European institutions to turn commitments into concrete action for a healthy, protected ocean.

What will the Commission’s proposal deliver? 👀

Stay tuned. 🌊🇪🇺

29/09/2026

A day with Mathilde, a Surfrider volunteer in Northern Finistère, France 🌊

She shares what brought her to Surfrider and what keeps her coming back, beach clean-up after beach clean-up, to take action for the ocean.

Because every clean-up is an opportunity to make a difference on the ground. And at Surfrider, every piece of litter collected also contributes to citizen science: the data gathered helps us better understand coastal pollution and take more effective action.

👉 Ready to take action too? Join Surfrider’s volunteer community → https://surfrider.eu/become-volunteer/ 🔗

28/09/2026

OCEAN WEEK 2026
When: 28 Sept - 4 Oct
Where: Brussels

24/09/2026

Imagine a world where the ocean teems with life, marine ecosystems flourish, and coastal communities thrive in harmony with nature. This vision is not just a dream; it’s an achievable reality.

To celebrate our blue lung, Surfrider Europe alongside its Blue NGOs partners Blue Marine Foundation , BLOOM , BirdLife Europe and Central Asia , ClientEarth , Environmental Justice Foundation, Oceana Europe , Seas At Risk , and WWF, organizes the Ocean Week, aiming to be a key moment for the ocean's protection.

As the EU Commission prepares its Ocean Act, this week underlines that a healthy ocean must be at the heart of Europe’s future resilience, blue economy and environmental sustainability.

Various events are organized during the whole week. Screenings, happenings, gathering, European policy meetings. Explore the whole program across Europe on the Ocean week's website : https://www.oceanweek.eu/

16/09/2026

🧶 The Unravelers.

17 minutes. That is how long it took Ursula von der Leyen to start discussing the impact of climate change in her annual State of the European Union Speech this morning. Yet, it took her only a few minutes to talk about ‘simplification’.

Under the guise of ‘simplification’, held up as a totem, the European Commission is in fact proposing nothing more than to unravel and dismantle the laws that protect our health, our climate and the ocean – laws for which we have fought fiercely. It is attempting to weaken the Green Deal, to delay the ban on toxic substances, to ease the rules for polluters, and caves to industrial lobbies (chemicals, mining, pesticides, etc.).

The result?
❌ Environmental safeguards swept aside in fast-track procedures, without democratic debate.
❌ Protecting citizens’ health, the ocean and ecosystems is no longer what guides this Commission’s actions.

The risk?
⚠️ Ever-increasing pressure on the ocean.

Together with you, let’s not give up. To make the ocean’s voice heard, your voice counts.

👉 Sign the petition to say STOP to this massive rollback that is harming the ocean:
🔗 handsoffnature.eu

Share widely: every signature is a bulwark against these setbacks.

Video produced without artificial intelligence by Antonio Paterniti & Raphaëlle Imperatori - ALAIA PROD.
- - . Hand-knitted world map by

24/08/2026

🌊 A day with Maria, a volunteer from Spain!

She tells us how she joined Surfrider and why she hasn’t stopped since.
Because every waste collection starts with a decision: the decision to stand up and take action.
At Surfrider, every waste collection contributes to citizen science: the data collected by volunteers helps us better understand marine pollution and drive more effective action.

👉How about you? Become a Surfrider volunteer → https://surfrider.eu/become-volunteer/

12/08/2026

26/07/2026

Mangroves are precious ecosystems with “superpowers” that are still too little known.

As true natural bulwarks against erosion and flooding, they can serve as the foundation for Nature-Based Solutions (NBS): an approach that relies on the functioning of ecosystems themselves to address the sometimes devastating effects of climate change.

These solutions concern us all, since we are all, in our own way, users and beneficiaries of coastal areas.
And everyone can take action to ensure their success: by learning more, supporting, or getting involved in a conservation or restoration project near home.

03/07/2026

🌊 PFAS are everywhere. Even in the waters where we swim.

In June 2025, Surfrider analysed 107 swimming and water sports sites in France in partnership with the Eurofins testing laboratory.

The results?
❌ PFAS were detected at 100% of the sites.
❌ 23 different PFAS were quantified across all sites, with up to 19 detected at a single site
❌ TFA was present in all samples.
❌ 78% of inland sites exceeded the European thresholds for PFOS.

PFAS, known as ‘forever chemicals’, persist in the environment for decades and are linked to numerous adverse health effects.

This study confirms a worrying reality: PFAS pollution affects every ecosystem without exception. It also affects the areas where we swim and enjoy our leisure activities, from rivers and lakes right out to the ocean.

👉It is time to step up the monitoring of these substances and above all, take action to curb pollution at source

👉 Find out the results of the study and let’s take action for cleaner water : https://surfrider.eu/news/pfas-in-bathing-waters-what-surfriders-study-reveals/

25/06/2026

🌊 96% of Europe's bathing waters are rated "excellent".

Sounds like a success story. And it is...partly.

Bathing water quality is currently assessed using only bacteriological indicators. Toxic algal blooms, cyanobacteria, PFAS and other harmful chemical pollutants still go under the radar.

While monitoring focuses on the summer bathing season, Europe's waters are used all year round by surfers, paddlers, divers, sailors and open-water swimmers.

The lesson from 20 years of Bathing Water Directive implementation is clear: strong environmental policies, monitoring and investment improve water quality. As key water legislation like the UWWTD and WFD face increasing pressure and heavy lobbying, protecting these essential safeguards is more important than ever.

Healthy waters mean thriving ecosystems, biodiversity, clean rivers and coasts, and protecting everyone who depends on them every day of the year.

📣 if the UE wants resilient water systems and healthy blue spaces for all, it must safeguard the legislation that made this progress possible.