Earlier this month, 19 young people graduated on the Loughs Agency’s Carlingford Ambassador Programme, an expansion of its successful Foyle Ambassadors scheme. Supported through funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Ireland, in partnership with Co-operation Ireland,…

A dredging campaign for this year is currently underway as the Dublin Port Company was granted a loading and dumping permit at sea, writes Jehan Ashmore. Back in September 2016, a Dumping at Sea Permit was issued to DPC by…

Minister of State Ciarán Cannon has announced €4 million in funding to the Ocean Initiative, which supports research for small island developing states in the area of coastal and marine management. Speaking ahead of the Our Ocean Conference in Oslo,…

In what is a key variable in the fight against climate change, the world’s oceans cannot be a mere afterthought on the global economic and environmental agenda. As the Irish Examiner reports, The Earth’s oceans face many threats, none of…

An encounter with late poet and sailor Danny Sheehy enlivens author Philip Marsden’s adventure along Ireland’s wild Atlantic way, as he writes for The Irish Times. Marsden had set out to research a book about mythical islands — which took…

The development of an app to help fishermen target areas with fish for which they have quota and avoid fish for which they don’t is just one of the innovations being developed by researchers at the Marine Institute. The app,…

A new review of the state of the seas off Northern Ireland and the UK reveals a ‘mixed picture’ in terms of biodiversity, as BBC News reports. While the UK Government’s marine strategy assessment had good things to say about…

A bottlenose dolphin was recently rescued by quick-thinking locals after live stranding on Mutton Island near Galway city. The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) reports the story related to it by friend of the group Jason, who was alerted…

More than 90 shellfish producers and processors, scientists, agencies and stakeholders attended the 11th Shellfish Safety Workshop earlier this month to discuss the latest advances in the field in Ireland. The workshop, which took place on Tuesday 8 October in…

Galway Bay FM reports that almost €100,000 has been ring-fenced for the completion of coastal protection works on Inis Mór in the Aran Islands. The works will focus on arresting erosion at the island’s coastal cemetery, which locals fear will…

The EU has permitted the Irish government to introduce legislation restricting use of plastic microbeads to protect marine wildlife and the environment writes Lorna Siggins. Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government Eoghan Murphy confirmed the European Commission’s clearance last…

Dublin Port Company (DPC) has launched a public consultation on the future of cruise liner tourism at Dublin Port. To help inform the consultation process, DPC has published a discussion paper setting out key considerations to be addressed. DPC has…

An ‘Irish ocean observing system’ is among six research projects to receive €25 million in funding through the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Research Infrastructure Programme. Innovation Minister Heather Humphreys yesterday (21 October) announced the investment as part of Future Jobs…

Ken O’Sullivan spent the summers of his youth in what he describes as a ‘Huckleberry Finn-type existence’ on Fenit Island, Co Kerry, his father’s home place and that of his family since 1750. Getting the fishing bug at aged 10,…

A €1.5 billion offshore wind farm stretching from Booterstown to Greystones could generate enough electricity to power 600,000 homes. The Irish Times reports on proposals by an Irish-German partnership for the ‘Dublin Array’ offshore energy venture that could see as…

The annual INFOMAR Seminar is a celebration of the year’s work by Ireland’s national seabed mapping programme. INFOMAR is funded by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment and is jointly managed and operated by Geological Survey Ireland and…