There is a huge amount of research being done in Irish waters. But are marine scientists getting their message across to the general public?

“We have to get into a space where we put the complexity aside and move to simplicity,” says Dr Paul Connolly, Chief Executive of the Marine Institute, the State research agency.

“Explain what we are doing very simply, why are we doing it, here are the outputs and here are the benefits of that output to policy, people and planet,” Paul Connolly said when I spoke to him for my podcast at the European Commission’s conference on restoring the oceans.

The Marine Institute's new research vessel Tom Crean 

Scientists are busy with so many tasks that it is sometimes hard to keep abreast of all of it, as it is to be aware of the regular conferences where results are distilled. So I wondered if the message of what is being achieved from research is getting through to the public. His message, stressing simplicity in communication, impressed me.

Listen to the Podcast below.

The Marine Institute hosted a Postgraduate Scholarship Symposium on Wednesday, 30th November 2022, where the postgraduate students funded under the Cullen Scholarship Programme and Eoin Sweeney Scholarship Programme presented the progress and current findings of their marine research projects on a wide range of topics.

The Cullen Scholarship Programme is not only a valuable training and capacity-building measure, but research carried out by Cullen scholars adds value to the Marine Institute’s role in providing scientific and technical advice and services to support sustainable management of Ireland’s marine resources and a sustainable ocean economy. This combination of capacity build and knowledge generation will be especially important to support recovery in maritime sectors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Eoin Sweeney Scholarship Programme aims to provide research training opportunities for scientists in oceanography, marine engineering and related marine science disciplines leading to the acquisition of a higher degree. Through the annual placement of the researchers at PLOCAN (Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands) the programme increases collaboration between Ireland and Spain through research undertaken using the test-bed and demonstration facilities in both countries.

A total of 41 scholarships with total grant aid of €3.9 million have been awarded for research under the Cullen Scholarship Programme from 2014 to 2021, with a further six Scholarships currently under contract negotiation following the 2022 funding call. Two scholarships were awarded under the Eoin Sweeney Scholarship Programme call in 2020. A list of students who presented at the Symposium is included below:

Presenter	Higher Education Institute	Project Title
Catherine Jordan	University of Galway	Space based observations of marine phytoplankton
Aileen Kennedy	University of Galway	Fisheries Data Integration and Analytics
Amy Fitzpatrick	Munster Technological University, Cork	Next generation sequencing for Norovirus Genotypes
Elliot Murphy	University of Galway	Culture optimisation, and bioactivity of selected toxic Irish microalgae
Signe Martin	Atlantic Technological University, Galway	Evaluate the disease status of velvet crab, brown crab, lobster & shrimp
Colin Guilfoyle	Atlantic Technological University, Galway	Biodiversity conservation and restoration in the Wild Nephin Ballycroy National Park
Callum Sturrock	Atlantic Technological University, Galway	Biological changes in key commercially exploited fish in the light of Climate & Ocean Change
Grace McNicholas	Trinity College Dublin	Ecology of Irish tunas
Aideen Kearney	University of Galway	Enhancing farmed Atlantic salmon quality through new production technologies
Madhuri Angel Baxla	Atlantic Technological University, Galway	Machine learning assisted detection & prediction of climate change related anomalous events in complex marine systems
Ashly Kalayil Uthaman	Maynooth University	Seasonal to decadal sea level and ocean waves predictions through numerical modelling and statistical analysis
Anna Stroh	Atlantic Technological University, Galway	Improving fishing survey indices though the use of spatio-temporal models
Virginia Morejon	University College Dublin	Development of a Cumulative Effects Assessment Framework for Ireland’s Marine Planning Process
Bela Klimesova	Atlantic Technological University, Galway	Epidemiological investigations of the salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis on Irish Atlantic salmon farms
Iain McLeod	Maynooth University	Wave-powered data buoy
Bríd O'Connor	University College Cork	The status of sensitive fish species within Irish waters and their vulnerability in relation to fishing and discarding practices
Patrick McLoughlin	Maynooth University	Recovering legacy tidal records to elucidate trends in sea level rise in Ireland
Nicolé Caputo	Atlantic Technological University, Galway	Development and Implementation of molecular assays for the routine detection of toxigenic and harmful phytoplankton species in Irish coastal waters and sediments
Felix Butschek	University College Cork	Celtic Sea acoustic data analytics for improved habitat mapping and ecosystem assessment

President Michael D. Higgins was among the 160 guests at an event held in Cork Harbour on Friday to launch the European Union’s Mission to protect and restore ocean and inland waters in the Atlantic and Arctic regions by 2030. The National Maritime College of Ireland was the venue for the gathering which brought together Ministers and high-level representatives from Atlantic and Arctic countries, the Lord Mayors of Cork city and county and actors and stakeholders from government, academia, business and civil society.

The Mission to Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030 is one of five such missions being funded and supported by the €97bn EU Horizon Europe Programme. But while research will be a key part of the mission, success will depend on action and buy-in from citizens, businesses and decision makers. According to Dr. John Bell, Director of Healthy Planet at the European Commission’s DG Research & Innovation directorate, which manages the Horizon Europe Programme, ‘we need to make peace with nature using all the means at our disposal using laws and programmes, science & innovation, and the will of the people to make things happen on the ground.”

The Mission is designed to deal with the severe threat to our ocean, coastal and inland waters that has been brought about by decades of pollution and human activity. At the Cork event, concrete measures and actions in the Atlantic-Arctic were highlighted to address the ambitious targets for the restoration of our ocean and seas by 2030, namely to:

• Protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity, in line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030;
• Prevent and eliminate pollution of our ocean, seas and waters, in line with the EU Action Plan Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil;
• Make the sustainable blue economy carbon-neutral and circular, in line with the proposed European Climate Law and the holistic vision enshrined in the Sustainable Blue Economy Strategy.
• Broad public mobilisation and engagement and a digital ocean and water knowledge system, known as Digital Twin Ocean, are cross-cutting enabling actions that will support these objectives.

In hosting this event, Ireland is hoping to lead the way in advancing the goals of the mission. Step one is to sign the Mission Charter, a commitment of intent that can be signed by any entity, from a small company to a university, a city council or a public authority.

Speaking at the event, Dr Paul Connolly, Chief Executive of the Marine Institute, said, “the mission Charter has been signed by the Marine Institute and the Mission is strongly supported by our Government. As a public organisation, the Marine Institute is committed to protect and restore biodiversity, prevent and eliminate pollution in our oceans and make the blue economy circular and carbon-neutral.”

The event in Cork marks the start of an accelerating programme of activities across the Atlantic and Arctic bordering countries and Europe that will be critical to deliver a healthier and more productive ocean upon which our current and future societies will depend.

More from Tom MaCSweeny on the conference and an interview with the European Commission's Dr. John Bell

The Marine Institute has published the report, New Connections IV - A Review of Irish Participation in EU Marine Research Projects 2014–2020. The report illustrates the success of the Irish marine research community in competitive European Union-funded programmes from 2014 to 2020.

Over the six-year period from 2014-2020, Irish organisations participated in 314 marine-focused collaborative projects resulting in over €158 million in total grant-aid. Horizon 2020 was the programme with the highest grant-aid of €91.5 million and the highest number of projects at 147 with Irish participation. A total of 84 Interreg V projects received grant-aid of €58 million.

Small and Medium Enterprises were the main recipient of this EU grant-aid, based on a number of participating organisations across the six programmes reviewed, followed by public bodies and Higher Education Institutes.

“This publication shows the breadth and scale of marine-related research, training and innovation being undertaken in Ireland,” Dr Paul Connolly, CEO of the Marine Institute, said. “For the next phase of EU funding instruments, we have a unique opportunity to evolve marine research capacity in Ireland, by collaborating and integrating international expertise, for example, through the Horizon Europe Framework Programme.”

Horizon Europe includes the five EU Missions which aim to address societal challenges, to connect with citizens and empower them as actors of change. One of the five Missions sets out to Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030, which requires a new systemic and global approach. The UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) also offers a unique opportunity to engage with the global community in addressing the UN Sustainable Development agenda, and the potential of the ocean to contribute to this agenda is huge.

Dr Connolly added, “We are at an exciting moment in our relationship with the ocean. The decade ahead is crucial as we all pursue the vision of a healthy, clean, sustainable ocean that will allow future generations to thrive on our planet.”

The report New Connections IV complements its predecessors, New Connections I, II (2007– 2013) and III (2014–2016). New Connections IV includes projects funded under the following EU programmes: Horizon 2020, Interreg V, European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST), Erasmus+, LIFE and European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).

The report, New Connections IV, A Review of Irish Participation in EU Marine Research Projects 2014–2020, is available to download here

You don’t want to run out of Marmite, butter or Guinness on board a yacht in a remote part of Greenland.

One piece of advice from a very elated Richard Darley, who sailed the 3,300 nautical mile trip by Danú of Galway to Greenland and back to the west coast with skipper Peter Owens.

A calm sea and a beautiful setting sun marked the yacht’s arrival at Parkmore pier on Thursday evening, with Kinvara musicians and many friends and family turning out to welcome the crew after a successful scientific, sailing and mountaineering expedition to the world’s largest and deepest fjord system in Greenland.

Among the welcoming party were Owens’ wife and accomplished sailor, Vera Quinlan, and the couple’s two children Ruairí and Lilian.

Peter Owens, his wife Vera Quinlan and two children, Lilian and Ruairí, along with family and friends celebrate the return of Danu at Parkmore Phone: Tony Maguire

The group of independent adventurers had recorded some new mountaineering achievements in the remote Scoresby Sound fjord system on Greenland’s eastern coast.

Kinvara musicians who play with Peter Owens, Danú of Galway skipper, welcoming the yacht at Parkmore pier Photo: Tony Maguire

They also took daily sea and freshwater samples to assess the extent of microplastics spreading into Arctic waters and affecting marine life as part of a research project with Trinity College, Dublin’s Centre for the Environment.

“Mesmerising” was how Owens, a University of Galway scientist, described the experience in the remote Greenland fjord system.

He was speaking en route from the Aran island of Inis Mór where he and his crew spent Wednesday night.

Danú of Galway had left Kilrush, Co Clare, bound for Iceland and then Greenland, in late June with Owens, Darley and Paddy Griffin, also from Kinvara, on board.

They were joined on the Iceland-Greenland leg by Paul Murphy from Carran, Co Clare and Dublin mountaineer Sean Marnane.

The Scoresby Sound expedition aimed to be self-sufficient in the Arctic, with a strict policy of “leave no trace” on the environment.

Owens has paid tribute to his crew, family and friends for their support, and to the expedition sponsors - the Gino Watkins Arctic Club awards, the Ocean Cruising Club challenge grant and Mountaineering Ireland.

Wavelengths spoke to Owens, who had his violin out, and his fellow sailors, and to Vera Quinlan, who recalled how it was just over two years since the Owens-Quinlan family berthed Danú of Galway at Parkmore after their own Atlantic adventure.

Irish yacht Danú which set off on a scientific, sailing and mountaineering expedition to the Arctic last month has reported a highly successful trip to the world’s largest and deepest fjord system, Scoresby Sound in east Greenland.

The group of independent adventurers on board the 13m (43ft) steel ketch led by NUI Galway scientist and mountaineer Peter Owens has now reached Iceland on its return passage south and departs for Ireland early next week, weather permitting.

The crew took daily sea and freshwater samples to assess the extent of microplastics in northern waters, and also collected information on new anchorages, which can be added to sailing guides.

Owens and crew members Paddy Griffin, both from Kinvara, Co Galway, and English sailor Richard Darley, experienced challenging weather during their passage north to Iceland from Kilrush, Co Clare.

Irish adventurers Paddy Griffin, Peter Owens and Richard Darley of Danú, bound for Greenland

Heavy Atlantic waves smashed one of the yacht’s windows en route, and they had to effect temporary repairs.

The crew had to fix Danú’s engine in Husavik on Iceland’s north coast, and then spent time analysing daily ice charts sent from England to plan their passage further north. Paul Murphy from Carran, Co Clare and Dublin mountaineer Sean Marnane joined the crew in Iceland.

“We took a chance and left for Turner island on the eastern coast of Greenland, which was very wild and remote,” Owens said.

“From there we headed for the settlement of Ittoqqortoormiit, formerly known as Scoresbysund or Sound, where we got a rifle in case we needed it for polar bears,”Owens said.

“Every day it was never above five degrees Celsius, though it didn’t snow, and when we sailed into Scoresby Sound there was fog and we saw what looked like a bank of cloud ahead of us - but in fact it was pack ice,” Owens said.

Eielson glacier in Rype Fjord Photo: Paddy Griffin

Icelanders had told him several weeks before that it was one of their most unsettled summers in 30 years.

“We waited several days in Jameson Land, an eastern Greenland peninsula, for the ice to clear, we anchored in a very remote place, and we took another chance and sailed south, motoring along the edge of the ice – though for a while there was no lead, no openings, and a lot of running on engine only as there was very little wind,” he said.

“We had to go back, wait several more days, and then we found the whole system had changed, there was no ice and very large icebergs which came and went in Scoresby Sound,” Owens said.

“We spent the next few weeks in this area, visiting a series of remote anchorages and surveying each one around Milne land and Renland,” he said.

“We also took sea and freshwater samples for assessment of microplastics, in a research link up with Trinity College, Dublin’s Centre for the Environment,” he explained.

Owens and Sean Marnane tried three different areas for climbing, adding a new 10-pitch route above the Skillebugt fjord anchorage on the south coast of Renland. It often took hours of scrambling up scree rock to reach the base of routes, Owens said..

Danú then circumnavigated Milne Land, a large island within the fjord system. Owens and Marnane, who had the use of kayaks to gain access to the mountain routes, ascended to the summit of Hermelintop.

The 1172m-high peak, which offers a panoramic view of the confluence of three ice-choked fjord systems, involved ascending a spectacular and enormous gully that “went on for miles and terminated not far from the main summit”, Owens said.

Danú of Galway in Romer Fjord, its first anchorage in Greenland Photo: Paddy Griffin

The yacht was in its last bit of concentrated ice as it sailed around Milne Land. The ice was “constantly cracking, forming, changing and emitting big, loud bangs”, he said.

“It sounded like a rockfall in the Alps, so we would be climbing and would hear this loud bang, and I’d be waiting for something to fall on me – but it was just the icebergs,” Owens said.

“After that, we could see a weather window and thought it would be a good time to start heading back, so we returned to the Ittoqqortoormiit settlement to leave back the rifle – which we didn’t have to use,”he said.

“The pure expanse of the whole place was wonderful, and we could spend a lifetime exploring this region, but given the time we had, we are happy with the outcomes,” Owens said.

The crew “worked very well through the highs and lows of Arctic travel”, he said.

“We didn’t have a watermaker on boat, so we resupplied with freshwater from streams,” he said.

“We did see other boats occasionally, but if you found yourself in trouble, there was nobody physically living there to help and no emergency services,” he said.

“We didn’t get to wash for two-and-a-half weeks, and our first shower was in Ittoqqortoormiit,” he said.

“It took us two-and-a-half days to return from Scoresby Sound to Iceland, and two of our crew then flew home from Reyjkavik, as pre-arranged,” he said.

After another crew change, Danú is preparing to head further south to Ireland, and to Parkmore pier in Kinvara around the last week of August, weather permitting.

Owens is a mountaineer sailor with many years experience. He and his wife Vera Quinlan, and two children, Lilian and Ruairí spent 14 months sailing, climbing and hiking around the Atlantic several years ago.

The Scoresby Sound expedition aimed to be self-sufficient in the Arctic, with a strict policy of “leave no trace” on the environment,

Owens thanked the expedition sponsors, the Gino Watkins Arctic Club awards, the Ocean Cruising Club challenge grant and Mountaineering Ireland.

Danú of Galway in Skillebugt Fjord Photo: Paddy Griffin

A UCC researcher has called for mandatory biosecurity measures to curtail the spread of invasive species through Ireland’s waterways.

As The Sunday Independent reports, post-doctoral researcher Dr Neil Coughlan warns the Corbicula clam could pose a serious threat to salmon and trout spawning beds in river systems.

The Corbicula clam is so clever that it resembles gravel on a river bed, and has the ability to reproduce without requiring a mate.

It can also interfere with power plant operation, drinking water abstraction and other industries using raw water.

Dr Coughlan, who has led a recently published study on the species in European waters, says that the vast majority of freshwaters on the island of Ireland are, unfortunately “suitable habitats” for the invasive species.

UCC researcher Dr Neil Coughlan, invasive species expert

“Whereas zebra mussels, another invasive species, need a male and female, one single individual Corbicula clam can produce one long thread of clams which can spread from rivers overland, contaminating equipment,” Dr Coughlan explains.

It was first detected in the river Barrow in April, 2010. It has since spread to the river Nore, and has been discovered on the river Foyle and on the river Shannon where leisure craft can help its distribution.

Working with Queen’s University, Belfast, Coughlan’s UCC research examined invasive freshwater bivalves on the river Seine, upstream of Paris for a paper published in the journal Science of The Total Environment.

Improving biosecurity by thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting equipment – such as angling gear and boats - is the best way to prevent any further spread,” he says, as there has been no successful eradication programme in the world.

Biosecurity is required at some Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) events, but it is not mandatory in Ireland.

Since 2014, an EU regulation targets transportation, exchanging, keeping and releasing of “black-listed” invasive alien species, Dr Coughlan says.

Dr Coughlan says that although national campaigns such as “Check, Clean, Dry” promote best-practice biosecurity protocols, these techniques remain “underutilised, underfinanced, and data-deficient”.

He believes legislation is now required to underpin mandatory controls.

Read more in The Sunday Independent here

An Irish yacht on a scientific, sailing and mountaineering expedition to the Arctic has reached Iceland en route to the world’s largest and deepest fjord system, Scoresby Sound in east Greenland.

The group of independent adventurers on board the 13m (43ft) steel ketch Danú is led by NUI Galway scientist and mountaineer Peter Owens.

The crew aim to research the extent of microplastics in northern waters, while also exploring the remote Arctic region.

The Scoresby Sound fjord area is currently inaccessible due to ice conditions, but the crew are receiving regularly updates from Iceland, which they reached several days ago.

Irish yacht Danú, which is bound for Greenland, berthed in Husavik, Iceland Photo: Paddy Griffin

The crew of Owens and Paddy Griffin, both from Kinvara, Co Galway, and English sailor Richard Darley, experienced challenging weather during their passage north to Iceland from Kilrush, Co Clare.

Heavy Atlantic waves smashed one of the yacht’s windows en route, and they had to effect temporary repairs.

“The wind changed out of nowhere, went up to gale force in seconds and a flailing rope took out the “doghouse” window in front of the steering position,” Owens said.

“The seas also ripped away one of our solar panels,” he said.

“Conditions were so heavy during the seven-and-a-half-day passage that we were rarely out of gales, and landed in Djuvipogur in Iceland in a force nine gale with four-metre seas,” Owens said.

The yacht berthed in Husavik on the north coast of Iceland, where several other vessels have been taking refuge. The crew have been working on engine repairs and will await favourable ice conditions before setting off for Greenland.

Owens said that Icelanders told him it was one of their most unsettled summers in 30 years.

The crew of Danú are gathering samples of salt and fresh water sources, which they are filtering to test for microplastic evidence in a scientific collaboration with Trinity College, Dublin’s Centre for the Environment.

“There is not much data for microplastic presence in Arctic waters, and we hope to improve global knowledge of this when the information is analysed,” Owens explained.

Joining the yacht in Iceland are Paul Murphy from Carran, Co Clare and Dublin mountaineer Sean Marnane.

Marnane aims to climb with Owens in Milne Land and Renland, a peninsula in eastern Greenland, around the remote Scoresby Sound landscape- extending over almost 300 km from northeast Greenland national park.

Owens, expedition leader is a mountaineer sailor with many years of experience. He and his wife Vera Quinlan and two children Lilian and Ruairí spent 14 months sailing, climbing and hiking around the Atlantic several years ago.

The Scoresby Sound expedition aims to be self-sufficient in the Arctic, with a strict policy of “leave no trace” on the environment. It has received funding from the Ocean Cruising Club and the Arctic Club in Britain.

Marine Researchers at NUI Galway (NUIG) say an Atlantic coral that they discovered on Ireland’s Continental Shelf has a chemical compound which can act against the Covid-19 virus.

The cauliflower coral was found on the seabed about half a mile below the surface on the edge of Ireland’s Continental Shelf.

The coral contains a previously unknown chemical compound, and research into its make-up is being conducted in partnership with North America’s South Florida University.

The compound was isolated, and named "tuaimenal" – a blend of "tuaim" from the old Irish word for sounds of the sea, and “enal”, a chemistry term for a compound with an alkene aldehyde functional group.

The research showed that Tuaimenal A can block the major enzyme of the Covid-19 virus, known as Main Protease, which is responsible for the manufacture of virus particles inside the infected cell, according to NUIG.

Dr Carolina De Marco Verissimo of NUIG’s Molecular Parasitology Laboratory conducted a study of the coral-derived Tuaimenal and how it interacts with the Covid-19 enzyme

NUIG professor of zoology Louise Allcock said that while the scientists did not set out to find this specific species, they were “hunting for corals, especially soft corals, because of their potential in bio-discovery”.

Prof Allcock, who is director of NUIG’s Ryan Institute Centre for Ocean Research and Exploration, deploys the ROV Holland I submarine from Marine Institute research ship Celtic Explorer to hunt for deep-sea corals and sponges which may have novel chemical compounds with pharmaceutical potential.

"Nature never ceases to amaze - to think that a coral, which spends its life on the sea bed and is never exposed to viruses and diseases which affect humanity so profoundly, has the potential to influence treatments and therapies,”Prof Allcock says.

“Drug development is a lengthy process, but the first step is finding the magic compounds with bio-reactivity in the laboratory,” she says.

Dr Carolina De Marco Verissimo of NUIG’s Molecular Parasitology Laboratory conducted a study of the coral-derived Tuaimenal and how it interacts with the Covid-19 enzyme.

“Tuaimenal A represents what we term in science as a ‘lead compound’ – that is, a basic structure from which scientists can produce more potent and specific drugs that could be used for the treatment of Covid-19 and perhaps other viruses,” she has said.

Results of the recently published work can be found here

Irish companies, researchers and NGOs involved in climate action supporting oceans and a “sustainable blue economy” in developing countries could qualify for grants under a new €1m government fund.

Work in small island developing states may also qualify if related to climate action.

Individual grants of up to €300,000 are available under the Irish Aid Enterprise Fund for International Climate Action announced by the Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid and Diaspora Colm Brophy.

The fund is aimed at Irish organisations, working alone or as part of international partnerships, who will be invited to submit proposals for climate-related activities with a commercial or enterprise aspect

“Irish Aid and our partners work hard to support climate action in developing countries but the level of action needed means we need all hands on deck,” Mr Brophy said.

“ Climate change is the greatest challenge that we face. We must pull out all the stops"

“The private sector, as well as researchers and NGOs, have an important role to play in both supporting and delivering climate action,” he said.

“ The Irish Aid Enterprise Fund for International Climate Action will allow Irish Aid to engage Irish entrepreneurship, talent, experience and knowledge in support of climate action for those who need it most.”

Particular consideration will be given to activities targeting:

• Climate action taking place in “Least Developed Countries” or “Small Island Developing States”;
• Clean energy (including clean cooking) projects that reach the community level;
• Climate action with an adaptation focus;
• Climate action that supports oceans and sustainable blue economy;
• Climate action with cross-cutting impacts for gender and/or biodiversity.

The fund will support a variety of activities, including project funding, research and feasibility studies, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The fund will also support capacity building and knowledge exchange activities between organisations in Ireland and developing countries.

The department said that the private sector plays an integral role in financing the climate response, but it is “crucial” that it increases.

By 2030 annual climate finance of $4.35 trillion will be required to reach our climate objectives, it says.

The closing date for applications is April 29th, 2022, and further details on eligibility and application forms are at the Irish Aid Enterprise Fund for International Climate Action - Department of Foreign Affairs.