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The call is now open for Marine Institute SMART Research Vessel Bursaries 2021 — but applicants must act fast, as the closing date for the first survey is this coming Tuesday 2 February.

This year up to 20 bursaries are being offered on dedicated FEAS surveys, where successful applicants for the Student at Sea Bursary (fixed at €95 per survey night) will be mentored by experienced marine scientists and research leaders as they develop core offshore data collection skills.

As with last year’s bursaries call, applicants should be marine-oriented graduates, postgraduates, researchers or practitioners in marine-oriented enterprises.

Surveys with bursaries include the second and third legs of the Irish Anglerfish and Megrim Survey (20 February-4 March and 10-24 April respectively), Western Edge Small Pelagics Acoustic Survey (9 June-20 July), Celtic Sea Herring Acoustic Survey (8-28 October) and Irish Groundfish Survey (29 October-14 December).

To read more about these opportunities, including how to apply please, see the SMART website HERE.

Published in Marine Science

The Marine Institute in collaboration with the Strategic Marine Alliance for Research and Training (SMART) is offering 22 bursaries on dedicated FEAS surveys throughout 2020 on the RV Celtic Explorer and RV Celtic Voyager.

Bursaries include groundfish, acoustic and underwater TV surveys (UWTV) on 13 survey legs between February and December of this year on the shelf waters of the Irish EEZ.

Successful applicants will receive a Student at Sea Bursary at a fixed rate of €95 per survey night.

Participants will receive hands-on training in data collection and sampling techniques, be fully integrated into the survey work programme and make an important contribution to achieving the survey goals for marine science.

In so doing they will gain valuable sea going experience and assist the Marine Institute in building the necessary capacity for offshore research and monitoring.

Applicants should be marine-oriented graduates, postgraduates, researchers or practitioners in marine-oriented enterprises. They must hold current ENG11 medical and Personal Survival Techniques (PST STCW95) certificates, and should have some prior sea-going experience.

Further information on the available bursaries can be found on the SMART website, which also has details of the online application process.

Published in Marine Science

#MarineScience - The call for applicants to take part in Training Through Research Surveys (TTRS) is now open to graduate and postgraduate students from across Ireland.

TTRS is a collaboration between the Strategic Marine Alliance for Research & Training (SMART) and the Marine Institute, which aims to increase national capacity in offshore marine research by providing placements on a range of dedicated research surveys.

TTRS surveys give students the opportunity to develop their careers in ocean science and gain hands-on research experience on board the Marine Institute’s research vessels, RV Celtic Explorer and RV Celtic Voyager.

Students can develop the skills required to work at sea including using advanced and up-to-date equipment and instrumentation as well as collecting and handling data.

Taking part in a TTRS survey enables students to establish new professional contacts with experienced scientists and researchers, as well as make a real contribution to the survey goals.

This year’s TTRS surveys are as follows:

To take part in a TTRS survey, visit the Smart Sea School website and complete an online application form. To read previous participants' experience of TTRS, visit the SMART blog.

Applicants for Training Through Research Surveys:

  • must hold a degree in marine-related science or technology or be in the final year of their undergraduate programme.
  • must hold a valid ENG11 medical certificate and a Personal Survival Techniques (PST) certificate (STCW95).
  • should have some prior seagoing experience.

Please note that ENG11 medical certificates must be renewed every two years and PST certification renewed every five years.

Information on obtaining medical and sea-survival certificates, and check lists for scientists embarking on national research vessels is available from the Vessel User Information page on the Marine Institute website.

TTRS participants are responsible for costs incurred in travelling to and from survey ports. For queries please contact [email protected].

TTRS surveys are supported by the Marine Institute. Grant-aided ship time is carried out under the Strategic Marine Research & Innovation Agenda of the Integrated Marine Plan for Ireland (Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth) under the Marine Research sub-programme of the Irish Government.

Participation in surveys is by kind agreement with the survey chief scientist. Applications are invited from graduate and postgraduate students of Ireland of Ireland higher education institutions.

Published in Marine Science

#MarineScience - The SMARTSkills 2013 Postgraduate Workshop on Research Funding Opportunities and Marine Data Access will be held on the 24 and 25 October 2013 hosted by the Marine Institute in Oranmore, Galway.

The two-day workshop is organised by the Strategic Marine Alliance for Research and Training (SMART) and is sponsored by Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), and aims to support postgraduate researchers by providing practical, concise information on accessing research funding and marine data sets, two topics identified as essential for emerging marine researchers.

Day one of the workshop will focus on funding mechanisms, researcher mobility, careers and access to infrastructure and training.

Speakers are drawn from a wide range of scholarship and research organisations including the Higher Education Authority, Erasmus Mundus, AquaTT, Science Foundation Ireland, Irish University Association, Enterprise Ireland, Marie Curie, Euraxess, European Research Council and UCD Innovation Academy, along with a number of research funding programmes including Horizon 2020 and Interreg V.

The second day will address how to access and mine the huge variety of marine biological, oceanographic, environmental and ocean energy-related datasets and model outputs available.

National and International marine data experts will present on online data portals and datasets including SeaDataNet, My Ocean, PlanktonNet, EMODNet, INFOMAR, MIDA, ICAN and ICES. The topic of data management will also be examined with a focus on formatting, metadata and archiving data.

SMARTSkills will also serve as a networking and social opportunity and facilitate marine researchers in communicating their research with potential future collaborations. All attendees are therefore also requested to give a two-minute flash presentation on their research.

The workshop is open to all postgraduate students of marine science, technology and engineering from across the island of Ireland.

The SMART postgraduate workshop is free to students from all member institutes. A registration fee of €75 is payable by students from institutes not involved with the SMART consortium, although some scholarships are available.

SMART partners include: Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT); Galway Mayo Institute of technology (GMIT); Marine Institute (MI); NUI Galway (NUIG); University College Cork (UCC) and University of Ulster (UU).

All prospective attendees register online before tomorrow Friday 18 October. Registration and further information is available HERE. For any further queries contact the SMART team at [email protected].

Published in Marine Science

#MarineScience - Suitable candidates in the marine science field are invited to apply for the accredited continuous professional development module (CPD) titled Applied Marine Biological Sampling and Data Collection

The module will take place from 30 September to 25 October 2013 and is offered by Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) and the Strategic Marine Alliance for Research and Training (SMART).

Applied Marine Biological Sampling and Data Collection aims to provide attendees with the detailed practical knowledge and skills necessary to design and implement biological sampling and data collection campaigns on marine commercial platforms.

The module is aimed at postgraduate students of marine science and marine industry personnel.  

Four days of ship-time sampling and data collection onboard the RV Celtic Voyager and the IWDG's Celtic Mist off Cork and in the Shannon Estuary respectively are supported by three days of intensive laboratory practicals and lectures in GMIT.  

  1. onboard, at practicals and lectures is required from 7-13 October with all other elements accomplished through student-centred distance learning.   

Themes addressed include quantitative sampling of fisheries and benthos; surveying and monitoring methodologies for cetaceans and seabirds; tissue sampling and preservation; and oceanographic data collection and sampling.  

Completion of the module results in an award of 5 credits at NFQ level 9 under the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).   
 
The Strategic Marine Alliance for Research and Training (SMART) is a marine science partnership programme designed to further develop capacity in carrying out offshore operations on board research vessels for third level students of marine-related science and technologies.

This strategic collaborative inter-institutional programme is led and funded by Irish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and the Marine Institute, and is also supported by the Higher Education Authority (HEA).

The online application forms is available HERE or my e-mailing [email protected]. Further details on the course and its instructors is included in a PDF available to read or download HERE.

Published in Marine Science

#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 the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) as a means of contributing towards a student’s professional development and career.    

The two-day training courses will be held between 7 and 12 November 2012 in waters off Cork and will offer students the opportunity to gain practical, hands-on experience onboard the national research vessel RV Celtic Voyager.

"Science@Sea is unique in that it gives students of marine related sciences a complete guide to working at sea," said SMART national co-ordinator Dr Paulha McGrane. "This not only increases national capacity in carrying out research survey operations but provides graduates with a competitive edge on the national and international jobs market.”

Dr McGrane explained that Science@Sea focuses on practical, cross-disciplinary skills such as sample collection and processing, operation of equipment and instrumentation, and data acquisition and processing.

"Other areas we look at, which are essential to working at sea, include survey design and planning, safety at sea, and post-survey analysis and assessment. To date, students who have participated in Science@Sea have found the course of enormous benefit in securing employment."

Course dates are as follows:

  • Postgraduates: 7-8 November 2012
  • Undergraduates 1: 9-10 November 2012
  • Undergraduates 2: 11-12 November 2012

Applications for Science@Sea and posters advertising the course are available online HERE. Completed applications should be received no later than Friday 5 October 2012.

Please note an administration fee of €50 applies and participants are liable for their own transportation and accommodation costs in Cork. For queries relating to any aspect of the course, contact [email protected]

Science@Sea is provided by SMART, a marine science partnership programme that provides quality offshore training for students of marine science, technology and engineering. The programme is carried out under the Sea Change strategy with the support of the Marine Institute and the Marine Research Sub-programme of the National Development Plan 2007–2013. Core partners include the National University of Ireland, Galway; University College Cork; Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology; Cork Institute of Technology; the National Maritime College; and the Marine Institute; with additional funding by the Higher Education Authority.

Published in Marine Science

Irish Fishing industry 

The Irish Commercial Fishing Industry employs around 11,000 people in fishing, processing and ancillary services such as sales and marketing. The industry is worth about €1.22 billion annually to the Irish economy. Irish fisheries products are exported all over the world as far as Africa, Japan and China.

FAQs

Over 16,000 people are employed directly or indirectly around the coast, working on over 2,000 registered fishing vessels, in over 160 seafood processing businesses and in 278 aquaculture production units, according to the State's sea fisheries development body Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).

All activities that are concerned with growing, catching, processing or transporting fish are part of the commercial fishing industry, the development of which is overseen by BIM. Recreational fishing, as in angling at sea or inland, is the responsibility of Inland Fisheries Ireland.

The Irish fishing industry is valued at 1.22 billion euro in gross domestic product (GDP), according to 2019 figures issued by BIM. Only 179 of Ireland's 2,000 vessels are over 18 metres in length. Where does Irish commercially caught fish come from? Irish fish and shellfish is caught or cultivated within the 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but Irish fishing grounds are part of the common EU "blue" pond. Commercial fishing is regulated under the terms of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), initiated in 1983 and with ten-yearly reviews.

The total value of seafood landed into Irish ports was 424 million euro in 2019, according to BIM. High value landings identified in 2019 were haddock, hake, monkfish and megrim. Irish vessels also land into foreign ports, while non-Irish vessels land into Irish ports, principally Castletownbere, Co Cork, and Killybegs, Co Donegal.

There are a number of different methods for catching fish, with technological advances meaning skippers have detailed real time information at their disposal. Fisheries are classified as inshore, midwater, pelagic or deep water. Inshore targets species close to shore and in depths of up to 200 metres, and may include trawling and gillnetting and long-lining. Trawling is regarded as "active", while "passive" or less environmentally harmful fishing methods include use of gill nets, long lines, traps and pots. Pelagic fisheries focus on species which swim close to the surface and up to depths of 200 metres, including migratory mackerel, and tuna, and methods for catching include pair trawling, purse seining, trolling and longlining. Midwater fisheries target species at depths of around 200 metres, using trawling, longlining and jigging. Deepwater fisheries mainly use trawling for species which are found at depths of over 600 metres.

There are several segments for different catching methods in the registered Irish fleet – the largest segment being polyvalent or multi-purpose vessels using several types of gear which may be active and passive. The polyvalent segment ranges from small inshore vessels engaged in netting and potting to medium and larger vessels targeting whitefish, pelagic (herring, mackerel, horse mackerel and blue whiting) species and bivalve molluscs. The refrigerated seawater (RSW) pelagic segment is engaged mainly in fishing for herring, mackerel, horse mackerel and blue whiting only. The beam trawling segment focuses on flatfish such as sole and plaice. The aquaculture segment is exclusively for managing, developing and servicing fish farming areas and can collect spat from wild mussel stocks.

The top 20 species landed by value in 2019 were mackerel (78 million euro); Dublin Bay prawn (59 million euro); horse mackerel (17 million euro); monkfish (17 million euro); brown crab (16 million euro); hake (11 million euro); blue whiting (10 million euro); megrim (10 million euro); haddock (9 million euro); tuna (7 million euro); scallop (6 million euro); whelk (5 million euro); whiting (4 million euro); sprat (3 million euro); herring (3 million euro); lobster (2 million euro); turbot (2 million euro); cod (2 million euro); boarfish (2 million euro).

Ireland has approximately 220 million acres of marine territory, rich in marine biodiversity. A marine biodiversity scheme under Ireland's operational programme, which is co-funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and the Government, aims to reduce the impact of fisheries and aquaculture on the marine environment, including avoidance and reduction of unwanted catch.

EU fisheries ministers hold an annual pre-Christmas council in Brussels to decide on total allowable catches and quotas for the following year. This is based on advice from scientific bodies such as the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. In Ireland's case, the State's Marine Institute publishes an annual "stock book" which provides the most up to date stock status and scientific advice on over 60 fish stocks exploited by the Irish fleet. Total allowable catches are supplemented by various technical measures to control effort, such as the size of net mesh for various species.

The west Cork harbour of Castletownbere is Ireland's biggest whitefish port. Killybegs, Co Donegal is the most important port for pelagic (herring, mackerel, blue whiting) landings. Fish are also landed into Dingle, Co Kerry, Rossaveal, Co Galway, Howth, Co Dublin and Dunmore East, Co Waterford, Union Hall, Co Cork, Greencastle, Co Donegal, and Clogherhead, Co Louth. The busiest Northern Irish ports are Portavogie, Ardglass and Kilkeel, Co Down.

Yes, EU quotas are allocated to other fleets within the Irish EEZ, and Ireland has long been a transhipment point for fish caught by the Spanish whitefish fleet in particular. Dingle, Co Kerry has seen an increase in foreign landings, as has Castletownbere. The west Cork port recorded foreign landings of 36 million euro or 48 per cent in 2019, and has long been nicknamed the "peseta" port, due to the presence of Spanish-owned transhipment plant, Eiranova, on Dinish island.

Most fish and shellfish caught or cultivated in Irish waters is for the export market, and this was hit hard from the early stages of this year's Covid-19 pandemic. The EU, Asia and Britain are the main export markets, while the middle Eastern market is also developing and the African market has seen a fall in value and volume, according to figures for 2019 issued by BIM.

Fish was once a penitential food, eaten for religious reasons every Friday. BIM has worked hard over several decades to develop its appeal. Ireland is not like Spain – our land is too good to transform us into a nation of fish eaters, but the obvious health benefits are seeing a growth in demand. Seafood retail sales rose by one per cent in 2019 to 300 million euro. Salmon and cod remain the most popular species, while BIM reports an increase in sales of haddock, trout and the pangasius or freshwater catfish which is cultivated primarily in Vietnam and Cambodia and imported by supermarkets here.

The EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), initiated in 1983, pooled marine resources – with Ireland having some of the richest grounds and one of the largest sea areas at the time, but only receiving four per cent of allocated catch by a quota system. A system known as the "Hague Preferences" did recognise the need to safeguard the particular needs of regions where local populations are especially dependent on fisheries and related activities. The State's Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, based in Clonakilty, Co Cork, works with the Naval Service on administering the EU CFP. The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine and Department of Transport regulate licensing and training requirements, while the Marine Survey Office is responsible for the implementation of all national and international legislation in relation to safety of shipping and the prevention of pollution.

Yes, a range of certificates of competency are required for skippers and crew. Training is the remit of BIM, which runs two national fisheries colleges at Greencastle, Co Donegal and Castletownbere, Co Cork. There have been calls for the colleges to be incorporated into the third-level structure of education, with qualifications recognised as such.

Safety is always an issue, in spite of technological improvements, as fishing is a hazardous occupation and climate change is having its impact on the severity of storms at sea. Fishing skippers and crews are required to hold a number of certificates of competency, including safety and navigation, and wearing of personal flotation devices is a legal requirement. Accidents come under the remit of the Marine Casualty Investigation Board, and the Health and Safety Authority. The MCIB does not find fault or blame, but will make recommendations to the Minister for Transport to avoid a recurrence of incidents.

Fish are part of a marine ecosystem and an integral part of the marine food web. Changing climate is having a negative impact on the health of the oceans, and there have been more frequent reports of warmer water species being caught further and further north in Irish waters.

Brexit, Covid 19, EU policies and safety – Britain is a key market for Irish seafood, and 38 per cent of the Irish catch is taken from the waters around its coast. Ireland's top two species – mackerel and prawns - are 60 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively, dependent on British waters. Also, there are serious fears within the Irish industry about the impact of EU vessels, should they be expelled from British waters, opting to focus even more efforts on Ireland's rich marine resource. Covid-19 has forced closure of international seafood markets, with high value fish sold to restaurants taking a large hit. A temporary tie-up support scheme for whitefish vessels introduced for the summer of 2020 was condemned by industry organisations as "designed to fail".

Sources: Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Marine Institute, Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine, Department of Transport © Afloat 2020