Displaying items by tag: Marine Institute
Deployment Of Sampling Nets At Bertraghboy Bay In Connemara
#MarineScience - The Marine Institute has begun deployment of bag nets for a scientific sampling of Bertraghboy Bay and surrounding waters in Connemara.
The nets — checked daily, weather permitting — will extend outward from the coast for some 30 metres, perpendicular to the shoreline. They will be clearly marked with brightly coloured buoys (mainly orange) and labeled with Marine Institute identification.
Deployment was set to begin at and around co-ordinates 53°25’19”N, 9°52’52”W this past Monday 26 June and will continue till Monday 21 August, weather dependent. They are being deployed using a small open boat powered by an outboard engine.
The Marine Institute contact for this survey is Dave Jackson at 091 387 200 or 087 699 3259.
#MarineScience - A new marine research cluster is planned for Connemara incorporating the Údaras na Gaeltachta facility at Pairc na Mara currently under development in Cill Chiaráin, NUI Galway’s Carna Campus Laboratories, and an aquaculture site in Beirtreach Buí near Carna.
The Connemara cluster will form part of a national aquaculture research cluster which includes the Marine Institute facilities at Newport, Co Mayo, with the Beirtreach Buí site touted as “an important part of the State’s marine research infrastructure”.
In 2016, the Marine Institute secured EU Horizon 2020 and Science Foundation Ireland funding for a range of research projects that will be carried out in close collaboration with Marine Institute teams in Newport and Galway as well as researchers at the NUI Galway campus in Carna and the Udaras na Gaeltachta facility at Páirc na Mara.
These research projects will include studies on cleaner fish, which are used to control sea lice and other external parasites; animal welfare; and poly culture of shellfish, fin fish and seaweeds to enhance biodiversity and reduce environmental impacts.
The Marine Institute says it has committed funding to create three jobs to run and maintain the Beirtreach Buí aquaculture research site and provide support to marine research teams and projects.
The Beirtreach Buí site is expected to support a number of research projects in the coming years, including the development of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture, which provides the by-products, including waste, from one aquatic species as inputs (fertilizers, food) for another. This research will be in association with project partners in both Irish third-level institutions and partners from other EU states.
The site will also be used to support a major international project TAPAS, which has received €7 million from the EU under Horizon 2020.
The TAPAS project aims to develop cost-efficient management tools and practices for the European aquaculture sector to investigate the limits to fish farming activity in a location, social interactions, potential environmental impacts and any future risks.
The Marine Institute has applied to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to amend the licence for the aquaculture site at Beirtreach Buí from a commercial to a research license.
This application to amend the aquaculture licence at Beirtreach Buí will involve a reduction in the size of the site, a decrease in the number of licensed structures, from 48 structures to a maximum of 12 cages and 12 smaller structures made up of a combination of long lines and sentinel cages/passive sampling structures.
The amendment also includes a reduction in the level of fish stock at the site from the current level of 100 tonnes to a maximum of 50 tonnes. The amended license will allow for holding a range of fish, shellfish and seaweed species for research purposes. No commercial production will be licensed at the site.
The site was originally used for farming salmon in the 1980s and, in 2010, the aquaculture licence was amended in order to carry out culture trials on cod in collaboration with NUI Galway and Údaras na Gaeltachta.
In 2013 the site was taken over by the Marine Institute to focus on research work on cod and related studies, including research into natural alternatives for antifouling.
The new research licence application will go to public consultation this week.
Take A Virtual Tour On Board The Celtic Explorer
#RVCelticExplorer - Pay a visit on board Ireland’s national marine research vessel wherever you are, thanks to a new immersive 360-degree virtual tour of the RV Celtic Explorer courtesy of the Marine Institute.
Conor Purcell writes in New Scientist on the top attractions aboard the busy marine science vessel, including its wet and dry labs, the tech-filled bridge, its sensor-studded drop keel and even the chief scientist’s cabin.
The RV Celtic Explorer most recently returned from its ‘health check’ of the Atlantic Ocean, which suggests a greater penetration of CFCs in the deeper ocean since the late 1990s.
If this tour whets your appetite, you can still pay a virtual visit to Hook Lighthouse among other coastal locations in Ireland.
Rewards For Capture Of Tagged Irish Sea Cod
#IrishSeaCod - The Marine Institute is encouraging the fishing industry and recreational sea anglers alike to report the capture of tagged cod in the Irish Sea and claim a monetary reward.
Tagging cod in the Irish Sea will enable research agencies in the Ireland the UK to develop a better understanding of cod mortality, abundance, distribution and movement patterns within the Irish Sea and surrounding areas.
Emma White from the Fisheries Ecosystem Advisory Service at the Marine Institute said that with a low population of cod in the Irish Sea, it is vital that this stock is investigated.
:A huge effort will be made to tag several thousand cod in the Irish Sea over the next three years,” said White. “Any reports of the tagged cod will provide useful information to help us better understand the current behaviour of the fish and any factors that may have affected the cod stock.
“Our collaboration with science and industry partners is essential to this project, and together we can build our knowledge and share insights to assist in the recovery of this cod stock in the Irish Sea.”
The project will award €25 for cod captured with a red tag, and €75 for cod with a blue, yellow or pink tag. The cod must be stored whole and ungutted on ice, with the tag in place. The date and location (longitude and latitude) of capture, length of the fish, tag colour and its number should also be recorded.
Tagged cod should be reported to Emma White at the Marine Institute at 091 387 200 or [email protected]. The Marine Institute will organise the collection of tagged cod captured in Ireland.
Cod in the Irish Sea have substantially declined in the last decades. Although the European Commission established measures to aid recovery in 2000, the stock has not responded as expected, and the population of cod in the Irish Sea remains low in 2017.
This three-year project is funded by the European Commission and is a partnership between three research agencies: Marine Institute (Ireland), Agri-Food and Biosciences institute (Northern Ireland) and Cefas, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (United Kingdom).
More information on the Irish Sea Cod Tagging Project can be found HERE.
Marine Institute Continues to Assist Rescue 116 Recovery
The Marine Institute is working closely with the Coast Guard, the Air Accident Investigation Unit, Commissioners of Irish Lights, Geological Survey Ireland, P&O Maritime Services, the Navy, An Garda Síochána, and local skippers.
The Marine Institute's ROV Holland 1 remotely operated vehicle was deployed from the Commissioners of Irish Lights vessel, the ILV Granuaile. The ROV has high definition cameras, powerful lighting, robotic arms, and has been fitted with other specialist equipment to assist with the operation. It was fitted with a 'ROV homer' provided by the National Oceanographic Centre Southampton, capable of receiving signals from a black box. During a dive on Wednesday 22nd March, the ROV located rescue helicopter R116 on the sea bed on the Eastern side of Black Rock, at a depth of approx. 40m. The ROV acquired extensive video footage of R116 until poor weather conditions required the ROV to halt operations.
Experienced surveyors from the national seabed mapping programme, INFOMAR – a joint Marine Institute, Geological Survey initiative - continue to assist with the operation. The INFOMAR team identified target points for investigation and created 3D and 2D images of the seabed in the search area to help direct the ROV and assist with planning and safety of diver operations.
The Marine Institute will continue to cooperate with the Air Accident Investigation Unit, the Coast Guard, An Garda Síochána, and local persons and agencies to recover the missing crew members.
#MarineScience - Fourth-class pupils from Cregmore National School in Co Galway are creating a marine science and art installation and short film with artist Louise Manifold that re-enacts the 2011 discovery of the Moytirra deep-sea hydrothermal vents.
Build Your Own Unknown sees the school children use images and footage from the ROV Holland I for inspiration to recreate the discovery of the gigantic rock formations, ‘smoking’ lava vents over 10m high, and areas teeming with unusual species new to science at the Moytirra vent field in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, some 3km below the surface north of the Azores.
Louise Manifold, the local artist leading the project, said: "As an artist I have always been fascinated by relationship between science and cinema, where often our connections to ocean is formed through our childhood imagination, from sci-fi films to childhood games and mythical stories.
“Build Your Own Unknown is not only about understanding our connections to the ocean, but it is about valuing human curiosity, and I am really enjoying the opportunity to work with the pupils of Cregmore to make an amazing piece of work that celebrates this."
Supported through the Marine Institute's Explorers Education Programme and the Tulca OFFshore programme, the marine science/art collaboration is welcomed by Marine Institute chief executive Dr Peter Heffernan.
"This is an innovative opportunity for artists, marine scientists and educators to engage and increase our awareness about the value, opportunities and societal benefits that the ocean provides us,” he said.
"Rediscovering the mystery of the ocean through the eyes of a scientist, the children have been given the opportunity to work with the Institute and Dr Andy Wheeler from UCC, who was the chief scientist on the research vessel RV Celtic Explorer, that had explored and aptly named Moytirra vents after a mythological Irish battlefield meaning plain of pillars.”
Build Your Own Unknown will be on show at SeaFest 2017, Ireland’s national maritime festival from 30 June to 2 July, which will promote the importance of ocean exploration as well as engage the wider community through visual arts.
The project will also include the development of cross-curricular education lesson plans and resources that teachers will be able to use for their own art-science project module. These will be available later this year at www.explorers.ie.
Marine Science Vessel RV Celtic Voyager Joins Search for Missing Coastguard Helicopter R116
The Marine Institute ship RV Celtic Voyager is providing specialist support to assist in a major sea search off the county Mayo coast approximately six miles west of Blacksod to locate an Irish Coast Guard helicopter believed to have entered the sea at approximately 1am on Tuesday 14th March.
The Dublin based search and rescue helicopter R116 had been providing 'top cover' during a medical evacuation of a crewman from a UK registered fishing vessel approximately 150 miles west of Eagle Island in County Mayo, which was completed by Sligo based Coast Guard helicopter R118.
The RV Celtic Voyager is assisting with the search operation this morning approximately six miles west of Balcksod. Marine Institute staff from the INFOMAR team, (the national seabed mapping programme) are assisting with the search using specialist multibeam sonar equipment onboard the national research vessel, RV Celtic Voyager.
The search operation is being coordinated by the Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Centre in Malin Head. The RV Celtic Voyager was diverted yesterday from an undergraduate training survey with GMIT, to assist with the search following a request by the Air Accident Investigation Unit of the Department of Transport. Coast Guard search and rescue helicopters, the Air Corps, Navy, RNLI and a number of local fishing vessels are involved in the search operation.
#MarineScience - Over 20 Transition Year students participated in a wide range of activities at the Marine Institute as part of Engineering Week this past week from Monday 27 February to Friday 3 March.
For the third annual TY training week at the Marine Institute headquarters in Oranmore, the fourth-year pupils from Mayo, Galway, Kerry, Cork and Tralee increased their understanding of and interest in marine science, research engineering and technology careers.
Scientists and staff from the State agency responsible for marine research and innovation welcomed the opportunity to share their passion and insights across a wide range of areas in the marine science and maritime sectors.
Ireland's marine sector is a vibrant part of our national economy and the need for education in the marine sector at all levels is highlighted by Ireland's Integrated Marine Plan, Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth, according to Marine Institute chief executive Dr Peter Heffernan.
“Increasing the student's knowledge and engagement with marine careers in science, technology and innovation, as well as the sustainable development and management of our marine resource, is key to support Ireland's ocean economy, where highly qualified and skilled professionals are needed in the coming years,” he added.
The annual TY training course offers students an intensive week of shadowing scientists and staff learning about marine science, technology and engineering as well as a range of diverse supporting disciplines.
Promoting ocean literacy, the students took part in interactive experiments involving IT applications, marine environment and food safety, fisheries sciences, research vessel operations as well as advanced mapping, maritime development and communications.
The students found themselves working with hairdryers, balls and vinegar learning about data collection to how human industrial activities affect the increased levels of carbon dioxide in the ocean.
Interactive activities included dressing up in wet gear, forming sand sculptures of shipwrecks and working on group poster presentations provided learning opportunities that extended their skills and interests as well as raising their awareness about the ocean.
“With the training week fully booked out, we were delighted to see the increased levels of interest and understanding of the marine and the direct benefits of the communications and team building training that form an essential part of this rounded programme,” said Marine Institute HR manager Catherine Quigley-Johnston.
The programme aims to ensure a diverse and well-educated generation of marine scientists and researchers for the future, she added.
“The feedback from students confirms the need for industry and third level institutes, as well as State agencies to promote training and access for young people in marine and maritime careers.
“The training programme also highlights the effort and willingness of the Institute's staff to share their areas of expertise with the younger generations. This is what helps makes TY open days and training weeks so successful,” said Quigley-Johnston.
Marine Institute Hosts Norwegian Ambassador’s Galway Visit
#Research - A recent visit to the Marine Institute by the Norwegian Ambassador to Ireland Else Berit Eikeland was an opportunity to discuss marine research collaborations with a North Atlantic partner.
That’s according to Marine Institute chief executive Dr Peter Heffernan, who added: "The essential role of international cooperation in developing our knowledge of the Atlantic and North Atlantic Ocean and its dynamic systems is necessary, particularly in a time when we need to adapt to climate and environmental changes taking place around the world.
"Aligning our research efforts in areas such as fisheries ecosystem management; marine environment and food safety in aquaculture and shellfish; as well as oceanographic digital research, provides us with future partnerships that can benefit and improve ocean health and stewardship as well as promote the sustainable management of our ocean resources.”
The Marine Institute hosted the visit of Her Excellency Else Berit Eikeland, Ambassador of the Royal Norwegian Embassy to Galway, where she met executive management at its headquarters in Rinville, Oranmore last Thursday 23 February.
15,000 School Children to Benefit from Marine Education Programme in 2017
The Marine Institute's has announced that over five hundred teachers and 15,000 primary school children will benefit from its Explorers Education Programme this year. Recent expansion in funding has enabled outreach centres in ten counties around Ireland, to triple the number of teachers and children being introduced to marine themes in the classroom.
Providing the opportunity to learn about the importance of engaging with the sea, and strengthening our marine heritage and identity, the Explorer education officers introduce marine biodiversity and marine environmental awareness and care into the class room through a range of exciting STEM marine based modules including aquariums in the class, seashore safaris, as well as marine projects and workshops.
Dr Peter Heffernan, CEO of the Marine Institute congratulated the new centres on a successful delivery of the Explorers Programme in the last six months saying "increasing our awareness and understanding of the value, opportunities and societal benefits the ocean provides us is key to sustainably developing Ireland's marine resource which is ten times the size of its land mass."
As the state agency responsible for marine research and innovation "we welcome the opportunity to work with educators to promote the development on our thriving marine economy as well as protecting and conserving our rich marine biodiversity," Dr Heffernan further said.
The need for education in the marine sector at all levels is highlighted by Ireland's Integrated Marine Plan Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth noting Ireland's marine sector is a vibrant part of our national economy. Ireland's Ocean Economy SEMRU, NUI Galway report states that Ireland's marine economy in fisheries and seafood production, maritime transport, marine tourism, as well as in emerging sectors and research and development has a turnover of €4.5 Billion annually, providing over 16,000 jobs directly and 13,000 related jobs in the general economy, providing an additional €3.3 Billion in turnover annually.
The centres representing the Explorers Education Programme™ were selected as part of a national procurement process and include Leave No Trace, Redrose Developments, Galway Atlantaquaria, Loophead Summerhedge School, Seasynergy Marine Awareness and Activity centre, Lifetime Lab, Oceanics Surf School and Marine Education Centre and SeaLife Bray. The centres are located in Sligo, Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Clare, Kerry, Cork, Waterford, Wicklow and Dublin. Free lesson plans, teachers resources and more information about the Explorers Education Programme™ is available at www.explorers.ie
The Explorers Education Programme is supported by the Marine Institute, and funded under the Marine Research Programme by the Irish Government.