#COASTAL NOTES - Oil exploration company Petrel Resources has identified a number of new targets off the southwest coast of Ireland as it seeks bigger partners for its venture. The Irish Times reports that the Dublin-based firm was awarded licensing…

#MARINE WILDLIFE - The Irish Wildlife Trust teams with the Galway Atlantaquaria to host a wildlife walk on Grattan Beach in Salthill tomorrow Saturday 22 September. Starting at 3.30pm at the lifeguard hut, the free walk will look at the…

#SHARK ATTACK - The UK Sun has posted a dramatic video of the moment when two anglers in the English Channel were attacked by sharks. Graeme Pullen and Wayne Comben had been fishing for Mako sharks to tag and release off…

#howth – Minister for the Marine, Simon Coveney TD, has signed a significant contract today in Agriculture House for remediation and upgrade development works at Howth Fishery Harbour Centre. The works will be carried out by an Irish company Wills…

#COASTAL NOTES - Coastwatch is appealing to the public to get involved in a country-wide 'eco audit' of Ireland's shoreline. The Irish Times reports that the survey marks the 25th anniversary of the first Coastwatch audit of the coastline of…

#MARINE SCIENCE - Galway will celebrate European Researchers’ Night on Friday 28 September together with 320 cities around Europe with its latest Sea2Sky event. Sea2Sky, organised by NUI Galway in collaboration with the Marine Institute, Galway Atlantaquaria and its new…

#MARINE SCIENCE - The Strategic Marine Alliance for Research and Training (SMART) has opened the call for applications for Science@Sea research vessel-based training courses aimed at students of marine-related sciences.  Science@Sea courses have been running since 2008 and are recognised by…

#MARINE WILDLIFE - The Northern Ireland Environmental Agency (NIEA) has indicated the possible presence of Japanese sea squirt on the bed of Strangford Lough, as the Press Associaton reports. Experts are attemping to confirm the identity of the invasive organism…

#MARINE SCIENCE - Apart from some of the world's largest concentrations of wave energy, the waters of Galway Bay and the west coast of Ireland are now providing something potentially even more valuable - information. That's according to IBM's Harry…

#MARINE WILDLIFE - Members of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) encountered the world's largest animals off the southwest coast of Ireland last Thursday. Two blue whales were witnessed by the team on board the Celtic Mist near the…

#MARINE WILDLIFE - A hat-tip goes to WorldIrish for this video posted on Vimeo by Monty Cantson capturing the moment when a playful dolphin paid a visit to a group of divers in Bones Bay at Doolin, Co Clare recently.…

#schoolproject – A Transition Year Photo Competition, entitled Water - Our greatest Resource, has been launched that will offer transition year students in Galway and Mayo an opportunity to conduct scientific research onboard the Marine Institute's research vessel the RV…

#COASTAL NOTES - The Barryroe field off the south coast of Cork may deliver even more oil than previously anticipated, according to the latest surveys. The Irish Times reports that Providence Resources has completed an evaluation of its Celtic Sea…

#EXCURSIONS – A series of day-long round trip excursion cruises, offering unusual routes from Northern Ireland to destinations in Scotland and the Isle of Man are to start before and during this weekend, writes Jehan Ashmore. The excursions are running…

#MARINE WILDLIFE - Marine wildlife experts are investigaing the causes of a mass stranding of pilot whales at Fife in eastern Scotland at the weekend. The Press Association reports that 16 whales from a 26-strong group died when they stranded…

#COASTAL NOTES - The famed Blackrock Baths are to be demolished after county councillors deemed the now-derelict facility as "dangerous", The Irish Times reports. Dating from 1839, the seafront baths were once Ireland's top venue for watersports, featuring a 50-metre…