The fast-changing and evolving landscape of Ireland’s post-Brexit blue economy mean the skills needed for these types of jobs in coastal communities are also changing and evolving.

Individuals already working in the blue economy who want to develop their career or those who would like start to work in the blue economy are being urged to apply for training grants of up to €10,000 available under the €25 million Brexit Blue Economy Enterprise Scheme, which is being administered by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).

The blue economy covers a wide range of economic activities within coastal communities. In Ireland, about 1.9 million people live within 5km of the coast and many communities along the Irish coast depend on blue economy industries such as tourism, fishing and aquaculture.

As well as providing funding of up to €200,000 for capital projects, the recently launched Brexit Blue Economy Enterprise Scheme also provides funding of up to €10,000 per applicant for skills development and training.

Given that many courses begin term in the autumn, BIM is calling on all interested parties to visit its website to learn more about the grants that are available for skills and development.

Brenda O’Riordan, regional officer at BIM said having the right skills and training can help businesses manage change and the growing need to be more flexible and adaptable within today’s blue economy. 

“One of the certainties for anyone working today is the need to be able to adapt to change,” she said. “For example, having digital skills is increasingly important for many seafood and other blue economy businesses, as more transactions move online. This is just one example of where an individual could really enhance their skills for the benefit of themselves and the wider coastal community.”

The Brexit Blue Economy Enterprise Scheme is an initiative of the Government of Ireland and is being administered by BIM. The aim of this new scheme is to help address economic and social impact of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union for businesses operating in the blue economy and located in communities within 10km of the coastline.

The scheme has a €25 million budget available in 2022 and 2023, funded under the EU Brexit Adjustment Reserve. For more details visit bim.ie.

The Marine Institute and the Socio-Economic Marine Research Unit (SEMRU) at NUI Galway are conducting a survey of marine and marine-related businesses as part of the regular reporting on Ireland’s Ocean Economy.

Although the CSO and other State organisations provide some data on marine related economic activity, the Marine Institute says there is a need to supplement this data with company surveys across a number of sectors in the growing blue economy.

These include advanced marine technology products and services, offshore renewable energy, marine commerce and legal services, marine manufacturing, construction and engineering.

The survey began this month and will continue in July, with the results published later this year. In addition to general economic figures collected, this year’s survey includes a section on the impact of COVID-19 and other external factors effecting marine businesses.

Queries regarding the survey should be directed to Marie-Christin Lanser, scientific technical officer with the Marine Socio-Economic and Social Data Programme at [email protected] or Prof Stephen Hynes, director of SEMRU at NUIG at [email protected]

The European Maritime Day (EMD) the annual two-day (19-20 May) event takes place in Ravenna, Italy during which Europe’s maritime community meet to network, discuss and outline joint action on maritime affairs and sustainable blue economy.

EMD is the place where ‘Ocean Leaders Meet’. It provides an engaging and complete interactive experience to catch up on the current state of play on a broad range of issues concerning the blue economy and the marine environment and discuss ways of moving forward. It features a large number of excellent speakers, thematic sessions, stakeholder workshops and project pitch sessions organised by stakeholders and the European Commission as well as hundreds of B2B meeting opportunities. EMD targets professionals from businesses, governments, public institutions, NGOs and academia.

The 2022 edition of European Maritime Day is a hybrid event for 750 physical participants. This year’s main theme is ‘Sustainable blue economy for green recovery’.

All the sessions will be organised in a physical format, with speakers and moderators in the venue. In parallel, all the sessions (plenaries, workshops, pitch stage sessions) will be available for remote participants via webstreaming or ZOOM.

EMD 2022 will also host the EU4Ocean Summit (on day 2 – 20 May), focusing on Ocean and Climate, Food from the Ocean and Healthy and Clean Oceans. (See, related Marine Institute's celebratration of Marine Research Vessels and Ocean Explorers – Our Past, Present and Future).

The EMD is co-organised by the European Commission, the City of Ravenna, the Ministry of Sustainable Infrastructures and Sustainable Mobility and the Region of Emilia-Romagna.

In parallel with EMD Conference in Ravenna, there will be plenty of 'EMD In My Country 2022' events taking place all over Europe from April to October 2022.  

Marine Minister Charlie McConalogue has announced a new Brexit mitigation scheme to promote the blue economy and to be delivered through the seven Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs).

Announcing the scheme in his opening address at the Irish Skipper Expo in Limerick today (Friday 25 March), Minister McConalogue said it is “designed to assist coastal communities to overcome the impacts of Brexit and grow and diversify their local economies by promoting the growth of the wider blue economy”.

He continued: “The Brexit Blue Economy Enterprise Development Scheme will have a €25 million budget for the years 2022 and 2023, funded under the EU Brexit Adjustment Reserve. The scheme will offer grants of up to €200,000 for entrepreneurial initiatives by micro and small enterprises operating in the blue economy, within the 10km coastal remit of the seven FLAGs.

“Stimulating entrepreneurial activity in the blue economy will provide a post-Brexit stimulus to the economies of our coastal communities.

“The scheme will support capital investment projects and business mentoring and capacity development by enterprises engaged in the blue economy and also upskilling and training to support individuals to build on their existing skills and knowledge to develop new complementary skills that will enable them to exploit economic opportunities in the blue economy.”

Minister McConalogue also announced the implementation of a further recommendation of the Seafood Task Force: a Brexit Inshore Marketing Scheme designed to assist the inshore fisheries sector to mitigate the impacts of Brexit by growing value in existing markets and developing new markets.

“As part of this scheme, I have approved Bord Bia’s marketing plan for 2022 for inshore fisheries products and this will focus on supporting the sales and promotion of inshore species such as Irish crab, lobster, whelks, inshore herring/mackerel and line caught hake and pollock on both the domestic and export markets,” he said.

“The plan was developed by Bord Bia in consultation with industry stakeholders and the main inshore exporters and processors. The 2022 marketing plan will have a budget of €615,000.”

Continuation of both schemes after 2023 will be examined as part of the development of the forthcoming Seafood Development Programme, as recommended by the Seafood Task Force.

Further details will be available from Bord Iascaigh Mhara.

The Atlantic Smart Ports Blue Acceleration Network’s (AspBAN) programme for startups aims to develop innovative solutions to the needs, challenges and innovation priorities of the ports of the Atlantic.

Elisa Ferreira, European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, highlighted the role of the project — which is co-financed by the European Union under the European Maritime Fund and Fisheries — for its contribution to the implementation of the Action Plan for the Atlantic 2.0.

AspBAN’s Acceleration Services programme will consist of weekly workshops on topics related to product-market fit, collaborating within the blue economy, metrics, implementing and scaling and so on. These will be complemented by mentoring sessions with experts.

Every two months a pitch session will be hosted, where start-ups will be pitching to investors, ports and other relevant stakeholders in the ever-growing AspBAN network.

The programme is focused on strengthening innovation in the European blue economy, with a clear focus on sustainability. Therefore, it will be open for start-ups that are both able and willing to implement their sustainable solutions in AspBAN’s focus countries: Portugal, Spain, France and Ireland.

Also, start-ups should have at least a prototype ready and be prepared to raise money.

“The Acceleration Services programme is a deep dive into the European Innovation ecosystem of Atlantic blue ports,” says Ana Pinela, project coordinator for Beta-i Collaborative Innovation.

“It will involve sharing specific knowledge while connecting the participating start-ups to relevant investors, like-minded people and mentors to accelerate their businesses. Also, it will allow start-ups to connect with other start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs in a universe of Atlantic blue ports.

“We’re searching for innovative start-ups, whose cutting-edge solutions may contribute to boosting digitalisation and improve operational efficiency, green transition and positive impact on achieving sustainability metrics, and for the emergence of new businesses for the ports in the blue economy area.

“AspBAN aims at kicking off a dynamic start-up acceleration ecosystem where EU Atlantic ports will work as blue economy hubs.”

The Acceleration Services programme is free of charge and start-ups may apply until next Friday 15 October 2021. For further details, visit the AspBAN project 2021 microsite HERE.

An upcoming webinar hosted by the Marine Ireland Industry Network aims to highlight ‘Ireland’s Blue Edge in Innovation’.

The showcase of Irish marine clusters and technology companies will be hosted on the GoToWebinar platform on Thursday 30 September from 11am to 12.30pm. Registration is open HERE.

Three industry clusters will be showcased, namely offshore wind power, the marine bioeconomy and commercial fishing in Killybegs.

There will also be presentations from four Irish companies innovating in the marine sectorL Raceix, Cathx Ocean, Dublin Offshore Consultants and Druid Software.

For more details contact [email protected]

Embracing connectivity is the theme of the third Pillar I workshop for the Atlantic Action Plan: ports as gateways and hubs for the blue economy.

Connectivity: Staying Connected for Trade, Tourism and Economic Growth takes place online on Thursday 16 September from 9.30am to 12.15pm IST. See the workshop agenda HERE.

The workshop will be examining the significance of connectivity in promoting trade, tourism and economic growth in the maritime transport sphere.

It will focus on the Atlantic area and highlight post-Brexit issues, digitisation, the growing importance of regional ports and regional development in general.

To take part, complete the registration form by Tuesday 14 September.

Digitisation of port operations is the topic of the first in a new series of three workshops under Pillar I of the Atlantic Action Plan: ports as gateways and hubs for the blue economy.

The Current Status and Future Direction of Digitalisation in Ports in the Atlantic Sea Basin will take place this Wednesday 12 May from 9.30am to 12.45pm GMT. See the workship agenda HERE.

Digitalisation is of key importance for the future growth, sustainability and efficiency of the maritime industry. As part of this workshop, a panel of industry experts will discuss best practices of existing projects, with a focus on the user perspective.

The workshop will also seek to address the potential of future technologies to positively impact connectivity and facilitate trade.

Running from 2021-2027, Horizon Europe will be the most ambitious research and innovation programme in the world with a budget of €95 billion.

Building on the achievements of Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe offers a broad range of opportunities for Irish researchers, innovators and Irish companies of all sizes in the pursuit of new discoveries, scientific and technological advancement and innovation.

The virtual event this Thursday 25 March from 9.30am will provide an overview of the Horizon Europe programme, and offer practical advice for researchers and innovators on submitting competitive applications in Horizon Europe.

Registration is now open and is available, along with the event’s agenda, on the Enterprise Ireland website HERE.

This week also sees the fifth International Symposium on the Oceans in National Income Accounts, hosted online by SEMRU at NUI Galway this Wednesday 24 and Thursday 25 March.

Representatives from government, industry, academia and international organisations will share their perspectives on progress made in measuring the blue economy.

They will discuss ways in which ocean economy statistics can be improved through different accounting approaches, as well as examining how policymakers’ use of this data can be improved. For more see the agenda and registration page.

A new Blue Entrepreneurship Programme aims to foster innovative business ideas in the Blue Economy sector across the European Union’s Atlantic member states, including Ireland, France and Spain.

Thirty applicants with business ideas related to the marine environment will be selected by the MarENet consortium to be part of this online training and mentoring programme, which will run from March to October this year.

The programme aims to strengthen the knowledge and skills of all involved, as well as provide them with the necessary tools to pursue their ideas and turn them into projects with real potential.

Fifteen project proposals will also have the opportunity to take park in a ‘Blue Hackathon’ event in Cork this June, subject to pandemic restrictions.

This will give participants the opportunity to interact with industry, academic and research institutions, confederations and associations as well as other marine stakeholders.

At the final stage, the three winners at the Blue Hackathon will receive close assistance to identify potential funding opportunities and will be guided to create synergies with the industry to put their ideas into practice.

Speaking about the programme, Yvonne O’Byrne from Munster Technological University said: “It is a fantastic opportunity for budding entrepreneurs in the maritime sector to receive guidance and training to assist them in pursuing their business ideas.

“I think during the last 12 months, lots of us have taken some time to reflect on our careers and I’m sure there are many people out there working or interested in the maritime industry with a great idea for a new business but not sure what to do next. This programme, which is completely free of charge, is a great first step.”

If you have a business idea that responds to some of the challenges of the marine environment or maritime industry, apply today by filling out the online application form. Registration closes on Sunday 28 February 28.

To learn more about what the MarENet entrepreneurship programme includes and how you can get involved, download the brochure HERE.

The MarENet consortium, led by the University of Vigo - Campus do Mar, comprises Munster Technological University (MUT) and the Irish Maritime Development Office; Vigo Port Authority, Naval Cluster Association of Galicia (ACLUNAGA), Spanish Fisheries Confederation (CEPESCA) and Institute for Sustainable Business Growth (ICSEM) in Spain; and the University of La Rochelle in France. The MarENet project is co-financed by the European Commission’s European Maritime Fisheries Fund (EMFF).