News
Royal distinction awarded to Jan Andries van Franeker
30 September the retirement symposium of Jan Andries van Franeker took place. All five PhD students that he supervised during career held a short talk about the work they conducted with Van Franeker. He himself gave a talk about the scientific and social highlights of his career. The mayor of Texel awarded a royal distinction as an appreciation for all his work: Van Franeker was appointed Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion.
Jan van Franeker started his work at Wageningen Marine Research (and previous institutes) in 1986. He focussed his scientific attention on the Antarctic food web, but when he discovered plastic in seabirds from the remote areas around the north- and south pole, he also started to investigate plastic ingestion by northern fulmars. He continued both lines of research until his retirement.
Samples collection under sea-ice
In the Southern Ocean, Van Franeker and fellow researchers discovered that more marine mammals and birds were present than would be possible according to calculated estimates of the available food. The estimated food stock (mainly krill) were based on data from fisheries conducted in open water. The question how much food was available in the water covered by sea ice remained unanswered. Van Franeker and colleagues, therefore, developed the Surface and Under Ice Trawl (SUIT) which can collect animal samples from underneath the sea ice.
Long-term monitoring of plastic in fulmar stomachs
Van Franeker encountered a lot of plastic in the stomachs of northern fulmars from the North Sea. Partly on his insistence, the northern fulmar is currently still being used as an indicator for plastic pollution in the North Sea. He built a large network of colleagues and volunteers, resulting in all countries surrounding the North Sea contributing to collecting data on plastic pollution in northern fulmars in a standardized way.
Patience and endurance
All five former PhD students emphasized the important role Jan van Franeker had during and after their graduation. They enjoyed, and enjoy, the time and patience he takes for supervising his students. He often combines work with pleasure, for example, sorting plastic in exchange for a nice meal or having a drink after a long working day. During their talks, his students stressed his critical view on nearly everything and told many anecdotes about their time on research ships, the lab or research stations.
Surprised by royal distinction
To Van Franeker’s great surprise, the mayor of Texel, Michiel Uitdehaag, took the stage and proclaimed the appointment of Jan van Franeker as a Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion. This royal distinction is one of the oldest and highest of the Dutch civil orders and is appointed to people that contributed to scientific and social developments in an exceptional manner. Van Franeker did a lot of work for nature protection around Antarctica and contributed significantly to the social and political awareness regarding (the effect of) plastic pollution at sea. Furthermore, he is co-founder of the Dutch Sea Bird Group.
