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Displaying items by tag: Blue Bioeconomy

The panel of blue bioeconomy experts has been announced for the Marine Ireland Industry Network’s ‘MIIN in Kerry’ event next week.

Taking place during Bioeconomy Ireland Week on Friday 20 October at the Rose Hotel in Tralee, Co Kerry, as previously reported on Afloat.ie, the event will welcome blue bioeconomy experts as well as national and regional stakeholders a host of marine industry companies to discuss some of the key topics driving sustainability, growth and development of the sector.

The blue bioeconomy panel will be moderated by Máire Éinniu of Údarás na Gaeltachta and includes Catriona Power of Circular Bioeconomy Cluster, John Browne of De Brun Iasc Teo, Tim Yeomans of Shannon ABC and Deirdre Wall of Brandon Bioscience.

Registration for this event is free but limited, so MIIN recommends registering early to avoid disappointment. Those interested can register online and find more information on the MIIN website.

The blue bioeconomy panelists are as follows:

  • Máire Éinniu, Údarás na Gaeltachta (moderator): Máire supports high potential start-ups and assisting SMEs with their growth plans, and leading the strategic projects of Páirc na Mara development and Ros a Mhil. Meanwhile, Údarás na Gaeltachta (UnaG) is a regional state agency which is responsible for the economic, social and cultural development of Gaeltacht regions of Ireland.
  • Catriona Power, Circular Bioeconomy Cluster (panellist): Catriona is the project lead and contact point for the Circular Bioeconomy Cluster based at Munster Technological University, working at the intersection of innovation, sustainable technology and business for organisations in Canada, UK and Europe. Meanwhile, the Circular Bioeconomy Cluster South-west is the first-of-a-kind regional bioeconomy cluster in Ireland with a focus on marine, agriculture and waste-to-value thematic areas, our goal is to develop and promote the circular bioeconomy in the South-West region.
  • John Browne, De Brun Iasc Teo (panellist): De Brun Iasc Teoranta processes seafood in Ireland, and is based in Ballinaboula just outside of Dingle in Co Kerry. Set up in 1984, this second-generation business also supplies many restaurants and cruise ships with crab, prawns and salmon.
  • Tim Yeomans, Shannon ABC (panellist): Tim Yeomans works to devise and deliver projects to benefit the company’s bottom line, responsible for business development activities, scientific and strategic development of Shannon ABC, and financial reporting. Shannon ABC was established in 2008 as a collaboration between Limerick IT and IT Tralee, working with companies in the biotech, food, and life science sectors.
  • Deirdre Wall, Brandon Bioscience (panellist): Brandon Bioscience is a community of scientists, farmers, and innovators who share the goal of creating a more sustainable future for agriculture. Their mission is to provide targeted performance biostimulants that increase the quality and yield of food crops while delivering excellence in innovation, manufacturing and customer satisfaction. Founded in 1998 in County Kerry, Ireland, they have grown to export precision biostimulants to over 44 countries worldwide.

Supported by Enterprise Ireland and the Marine Institute, MIIN provides a key collaboration resource for Irish companies in the marine sector, facilitating not just inter-company engagement but also providing a one-stop shop for external buyers to get a view of Irish marine industry capability.

Published in News Update

The Marine Ireland Industry Network (MIIN) has announced its upcoming ‘MIIN in Kerry’ event on Friday 20 October at the Rose Hotel in Tralee, Co Kerry.

Taking place during this year’s Bioeconomy Ireland Week, the event will host blue bioeconomy experts as well as national and regional stakeholders such as Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Údarás na Gaeltachta, Circular Bioeconomy Cluster South West and a host of marine industry companies with expertise in the blue bioeconomy.

MIIN says it is looking forward to discussing some of the key topics driving sustainability, growth and development of the sector.

This year’s Bioeconomy Ireland Week theme is All Voices Together, where stakeholders across Ireland’s bioeconomy will demonstrate and share how the natural environment can be utilised in a sustainable and circular way to help achieve a fair and prosperous economy on the Irish shores.

MIIN aims to showcase a host of local and regional MIIN member companies at #MIINinKerry who boast plenty of experience and expertise working in the blue bioeconomy.

Registration for this event is free but limited, so MIIN recommends registering early to avoid disappointment. Get in touch with [email protected] for more information and follow updates on the MIIN website and social media channels.

Supported by Enterprise Ireland and the Marine Institute, MIIN provides a key collaboration resource for Irish companies in the marine sector, facilitating not just inter-company engagement but also providing a one-stop shop for external buyers to get a view of Irish marine industry capability.

Published in News Update

What is the ‘blue bioeconomy’? Who are the people working on it in Ireland and where do they get support?

Marine scientist and influencer Finn van der Aar will host the first in a series of online events later this month for those who want to learn more about this developing sector and the innovative researchers and businesses operating within it.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will also showcase the relevant supports available and an overview of projects already operating within the blue bioeconomy.

“Bioeconomy-The Blue Perspective” takes place next Friday morning 22 October from 10am to 11.30am. For the agenda and details of how to register, see the event’s Eventbrite page.

This event is organised by the Páirc na Mara Marine Innovation Development Centre, Údarás na Gaeltachta and the Marine Institute as part of Bioeconomy Ireland Week.

Published in Marine Science

Sharks in Irish waters

Irish waters are home to 71 species of shark, skates and rays, 58 of which have been studied in detail and listed on the Ireland Red List of Cartilaginous fish. Irish sharks range from small Sleeper sharks, Dogfish and Catsharks, to larger species like Frilled, Mackerel and Cow sharks, all the way to the second largest shark in the world, the Basking shark. 

Irish waters provide a refuge for an array of shark species. Tralee Bay, Co. Kerry provides a habitat for several rare and endangered sharks and their relatives, including the migratory tope shark, angel shark and undulate ray. This area is also the last European refuge for the extremely rare white skate. Through a European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) project, Marine Institute scientists have been working with fishermen to assess the distribution, diversity, and monthly relative abundance of skates and rays in Tralee, Brandon and Dingle Bays.

“These areas off the southwest coast of Ireland are important internationally as they hold some of the last remaining refuges for angel shark and white skate,” said Dr Maurice Clarke of the Marine Institute. “This EMFF project has provided data confirming the critically endangered status of some species and provides up-to-date information for the development of fishery measures to eliminate by-catch.” 

Irish waters are also home to the Black Mouthed Catshark, Galeus melastomus, one of Ireland’s smallest shark species which can be found in the deep sea along the continental shelf. In 2018, Irish scientists discovered a very rare shark-nursery 200 nautical miles off the west coast by the Marine Institute’s ROV Holland 1 on a shelf sloping to 750 metres deep. 

There are two ways that sharks are born, either as live young or from egg casings. In the ‘case’ of Black Mouthed Catsharks, the nursery discovered in 2018, was notable by the abundance of egg casings or ‘mermaid’s purses’. Many sharks, rays and skate lay eggs, the cases of which often wash ashore. If you find an egg casing along the seashore, take a photo for Purse Search Ireland, a citizen science project focusing on monitoring the shark, ray and skate species around Ireland.

Another species also found by Irish scientists using the ROV Holland 1 in 2018 was a very rare type of dogfish, the Sail Fin Rough Shark, Oxynotus paradoxus. These sharks are named after their long fins which resemble the trailing sails of a boat, and live in the deep sea in waters up to 750m deep. Like all sharks, skates and rays, they have no bones. Their skeleton is composed of cartilage, much like what our noses and ears are made from! This material is much more flexible and lighter than bone which is perfect for these animals living without the weight of gravity.

Throughout history sharks have been portrayed as the monsters of the sea, a concept that science is continuously debunking. Basking sharks were named in 1765 as Cetorhinus maximus, roughly translated to the ‘big-nosed sea monster’. Basking sharks are filter feeders, often swimming with their mouths agape, they filter plankton from the water.

They are very slow moving and like to bask in the sun in shallow water and are often seen in Irish waters around Spring and early Summer. To help understand the migration of these animals to be better able to understand and conserve these species, the Irish Basking Shark Group have tagged and mapped their travels.

Remarkably, many sharks like the Angel Shark, Squatina squatina have the ability to sense electricity. They do this via small pores in their skin called the ‘Ampullae of Lorenzini’ which are able to detect the tiny electrical impulses of a fish breathing, moving or even its heartbeat from distances of over a kilometre! Angel sharks, often referred to as Monkfish have a distinctively angelic shape, with flattened, large fins appearing like the wings of an angel. They live on the seafloor in the coastal waters of Ireland and much like a cat are nocturnal, primarily active at night.

The intricate complexity of shark adaptations is particularly noticeable in the texture of their skin. Composed of miniscule, perfectly shaped overlapping scales, the skin of shark provides them with protection. Often shark scales have been compared to teeth due to their hard enamel structure. They are strong, but also due to their intricate shape, these scales reduce drag and allow water to glide past them so that the shark can swim more effortlessly and silently. This natural flawless design has been used as inspiration for new neoprene fabric designs to help swimmers glide through the water. Although all sharks have this feature, the Leafscale Gulper Shark, Centrophorus squamosus, found in Ireland are specifically named due to the ornate leaf-shape of their scales.