#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…

#MarineScience - A talk on how pollution is changing the chemistry of the seas around Ireland has been selected as a featured video by TED.com. The talk by Irish marine scientist and Fulbright Scholar Dr Triona McGrath discusses the process…

#ClimateChange - Preliminary results from the recent ‘health check’ of the Atlantic Ocean suggest a greater penetration of manmade chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) further into the deeper ocean since 20 years ago. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, an Irish-led international team of…

#CoastalNotes - Two beaches in the Dublin area and one in Donegal have lost their Blue Flag status in the latest list of EU beach quality awards. According to TheJournal.ie, Balcarrick in Donabate, North Co Dublin and Killiney in South…

#MarineWildlife - Whether you’re cruising around the coast or staying put on dry land, there’s much to see and explore during National Biodiversity Week, which kicked off yesterday (Friday 19 May) and continues till next weekend. Among the 50 free…

#SkelligMichael - Skellig Islands boatman Sean ‘Seanie’ Murphy has brought a High Court action over limits on the visitor season at Skellig Michael, as BreakingNews.ie reports. Murphy claims the move by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport to move…

#MarineScience - Marine Minister Michael Creed fficially opened Ireland's first sea science gallery at Galway City Museum yesterday (Thursday 18 May). ‘Sea Science - the Wild Atlantic’ is Ireland’s first marine science exhibition to have audio and visual displays accessible…

#CoastalNotes - Three beaches in Dublin and three in Galway have failed to meet the minimum standards for bathing water quality, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Irish Times covers the latest EPA Report on Bathing Water Quality,…

#GiantSquid - A giant squid measuring nearly six metres in length has been caught off Dingle in Co Kerry — the first encounter with the rare ocean creature in Irish waters in 22 years, as TheJournal.ie reports. Fisherman Pete Flannery…

All water users are being urged to take precautions after confirmation of an outbreak of Crayfish Plague on a stretch of the River Suir downstream of Clonmel to Carrick-on-Suir. It comes after large numbers of dead freshwater crayfish were reported…

#MarineWildlife - Cork residents near the River Lee are urged to be report any sightings of coypu after one of the large rodents was seen in Cork city last week. The invasive species was released within the last two years…

#MarineScience - The Marine Institute’s RV Celtic Voyager returned to Cork Harbour last week after the first of six INFOMAR seabed mapping surveys planned for 2017. The two-week seabed survey carried out its operations in the Celtic Sea south of…

#Salmon - Wild Atlantic salmon smolts migrating to sea from Irish rivers can become infected with sea lice from West Coast salmon farms and suffer increased mortality soon after leaving the coast, cutting their numbers by half. That’s the conclusion…

#CoastalNotes - A beach on Achill Island lost to storms 33 years ago has returned after a freak Easter tide. And locals at Dooagh are celebrating the return of their 300-metre sandy strand that in more recent years has been…

Rathlin is the only inhabited island off the Northern Ireland Coast and we think we are part of this island nation writes Tom MacSweeney. Our festival is about to happen celebrating all things Maritime and we would like as many…

#MarineResearch - The Marine Institute has announced a €2m Marine Infrastructure Call for 2017 with awards of between €20,000 and €200,000. Applications are invited from legal entities (higher education institutes, public research institutes, small-medium enterprises, etc) on the island of…