Extreme marine events such as marine heat waves are increasingly threatening to degrade ocean ecosystems and seafood security with potential devastating consequences to aquatic related businesses.

In order to prepare for such events, the Marine Institute, with colleagues in the Horizon 2020 Innovation Action EuroSea project, has developed a new marine observatory specifically designed to address the needs of the aquaculture sector.

The observatory web platform provides an early warning system that can be accessed at eurosea.marine.ie with a help-desk service for end users to provide suggestions or comments on their user experience.

Frequent end-user interaction was essential from the beginning of the project to ensure the service was in agreement with the needs of the industry.

This observatory integrates data from multiple ocean observing platforms (in-situ databuoys; satellites; numerical models) and provides easy access to information about the oceanographic processes affecting the fish farm facilities and its neighbouring waters.

During the EuroSea project, two oceanographic moorings with sensors developed by Xylem were deployed at the pilot sites at Deenish Island in Co Kerry and El Campello on the Costa Blanca in south-eastern Spain.

For the Irish site, satellite observations of ocean colour and sea surface temperature are provided together with information on the occurrence of marine heat waves.

The web portal also provides access to sea surface temperature historical data, starting from 1982, for any site within the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) selected by the user in an interactive application.

Modelled forecasts (eg water temperature, significant wave heights) are linked to the warning system for the EuroSea demonstration sites with a facility for end users to receive notifications on their phone. The thresholds that trigger these warnings were agreed with the end-users when the system was developed.

Finally, best practice guidelines were developed for other partners around the world who plan to develop similar marine observatories. As such, the software is open-access and a scientific paper was recently published in Frontiers in Marine Science.

The Marine Institute has released a new high-resolution geomorphology map on Ireland’s Marine Atlas for most of the Irish continental shelf to support ocean science, environment and biodiversity management and offshore renewable energy development.

Geomorphology is the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them.

The project, funded via the Marine Institute research grant scheme, has been developed in collaboration with the Marine Geoscience Research Group in UCC and the Geological Survey Ireland.

Through the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications funded Irish National Seabed Survey (INSS 2003-2006) and INFOMAR programmes (2006-2026), over 90% of the seafloor within Ireland’s designated and extended continental shelf area, which is in excess of 714,000 km², has been surveyed in high resolution by Geological Survey Ireland and Marine Institute.

This extensive dataset has enabled numerous research groups to delve into the transformative forces that have shaped our ocean seabed over time, including glaciations, sea level changes, currents and tides.

The combination of high-quality data, the application of advanced semi-automated mapping techniques and the recent development of international classification standards has offered the opportunity to create the most detailed and comprehensive geomorphological map of the Irish continental shelf to date.

Classification of all seabed features has undergone rigorous validation, drawing from an extensive body of scientific literature spanning the past three decades. By applying a consistent approach nationally, the map provides a unique resource to inform on a range of pressing issues within the marine environment.

Seabed mapping plays a pivotal role in addressing future challenges for the development and protection of the Irish offshore region.

While bathymetry data (eg water depth) alone provide a fundamental metric for many applications, geoscientists can add significant value by providing further data, analysis, and knowledge to better characterise the seabed.

The Marine Institute says this new geomorphology map is a prime example of how to transform scientific data into an important digital reference for policymakers, marine industries (eg offshore renewables, fisheries and aquaculture) and future marine scientists.

Marine spatial planning and resource management decisions will continue to be informed by the increasing range of digital products produced by the Marine Institute and partners.

Examples of practical application of geomorphology include decision support for the optimal placement of new offshore infrastructure; decommissioning of existing structures with considerations for their potential impacts on marine ecosystems; identification of constraints related to potential offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS); designation of future marine protected areas; and the development of more accurate models for coastal change and resilience.

The primary results of this initiative comprise 10 GIS layers that not only show the extent and location of thousands of seabed features but also detail the geological characteristics and environmental conditions responsible for their formation.

These data are now freely accessible and integrated into Ireland’s Marine Atlas under the Geology theme.

Ireland’s Marine Atlas, developed and maintained by the Marine Institute with funding from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, serves as a comprehensive resource for viewing and downloading marine environmental data relevant to Ireland's reporting obligations under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).

A full description of the geomorphology mapping methodologies, the classification scheme and the outputs are available. A scientific peer reviewed article describing the mapping process and outcome has also been published in the Journal of Maps.

Young student scientist Juliette Ó Súilleabháin recently completed a project studying the conservation of white-clawed crayfish with the support of the Marine Institute.

Juliette — a second-year student in St Mary’s Secondary School Mallow — approached the institute’s Marine Environment and Food Safety Services team about her individual project: Assessing the Presence of White-Clawed Crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) in the Blackwater catchment area of Mallow using Environmental DNA Analysis and the identification of possible Ark Sites.

The student accompanied staff on fieldwork so she could learn non-invasive sampling techniques for this protected species. Subsequently, she visited the labs and learned how to extract DNA and run PCRs.

Her project has since qualified in the Biological & Ecological category for the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, which opens to visitors from Thursday 11 January at Dublin’s RDS.

Juliette explained how her project came about: “I wanted to do a Young Scientist project on an ecological topic and contacted some ecologists for guidance. My original project involved the investigation of the presence and distribution of white-clawed crayfish (WCC) on the stretch of the Blackwater River where I live. A very recent crayfish plague outbreak in the Blackwater Catchment decimated the catchment’s crayfish population and put an end to my project.

“After further consultation, I chose the identification of potential WCC conservation ark sites as an alternative project topic. From my research, I learned about environmental DNA (eDNA) and the National Surveillance Programme for Crayfish Plague. I thought eDNA would be a useful tool in screening ark sites, so I contacted Bogna Griffin of the Marine Institute, and she kindly allowed me to accompany her on an eDNA sampling field trip to the Blackwater Catchment, and subsequently invited me to conduct eDNA laboratory work for my project in the Marine Institute in Oranmore, Co Galway.

“A massive thank-you to Bogna and the Marine Institute for giving me such a wonderful experience of a fascinating science topic!”

Supervising scientist Bogna Griffin said: “I was very impressed with [Juliette’s] attitude, the level of her write-up, and the depth of her knowledge in ecology and molecular biology. We are all very proud of her in the Fish Health Unit and wish her and all students the best of luck in January at the exhibition.”

Staff from the Marine Institute will be on hand as part of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s Labs exhibit at the 2024 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, which runs until Saturday 13 January. Tickets are available HERE.

The new Chief Executive of the State marine research agency, Dr Rick Officer, takes up duty this morning, (Monday, January 8).

He has been Vice-President for Research and Innovation at the Atlantic Technological University, established in April 2022 when three Institutes of Technology – Galway/Mayo, Sligo and Letterkenny, with over 20,000 students - were merged.

He is looking forward to embracing the challenges and realising opportunities that the oceans present.

In this podcast interview, he tells me that he is looking forward to embracing the challenges and realising opportunities that the oceans present. “There are huge economic imperatives and opportunities that will require an enormous amount of greater knowledge to navigate towards achieving these possibilities.”

Dr Officer previously worked with the Marine Institute eighteen years ago. He says that demand for its services is expanding.

Listen to the Podcast below

The Marine Institute, in collaboration with the Socio Economic Marine Research Unit (SEMRU) at the University of Galway, has published an update on the performance of Ireland’s Ocean Economy. The 2023 Ocean Economy Report provides an update on Ireland’s ocean economy for 2022 across three main economic indicators: turnover, gross value added (GVA) and employment.

The report estimates the annual trends across all sectors as well as commentary on 5-year, 10-year and post-Covid recovery (where evident). The report also provides information on the relative contribution of each marine industry to the ocean economy, an overview of direct and indirect impact of Ireland’s ocean economy, and trends since 2010.

The 2023 Ocean Economy report shows that Ireland’s ocean economy, in nominal terms:

• generates over €7 billion in turnover;
• has a direct economic contribution, as measured by Gross Value Added, of €2.85 billion; and
• employs approximately 33,500 Full-Time Equivalents.

The Ireland’s Ocean Economy Report series provides a time series of nominal values for ocean economy industries. This year’s report reviews these values to also provide an estimate of ‘real values’ to adjust for inflation. The report shows that nominal and real values for the period 2010 to 2020 are similar and stable due to the low annual rate of inflation. However, from 2020 onwards the difference between the nominal and real values starts to increase due to higher inflation and the significant increase in gas prices in 2021 and 2022 in particular.

Preliminary results from the report were presented at SEMRU’s 13th Annual Marine Economics and Policy Research Symposium, which took place on 13th December 2023 in Galway City. The symposium presented an opportunity for national and international researchers to discuss their research in the area of marine socio-economics and policy. This included topics such as national and regional implementation of Maritime Spatial Planning (UCC), community—led coastal socio-economic development in the Connemara Gaeltacht (QUB), building coastal resilience (University of Galway), challenges to eco-innovation in shipbuilding networks (TCD), and incorporating social and economic data into ecosystem-based management and advice (Marine Institute).

The audience also heard from the Korea Maritime Institute on the work undertaken to value the Korean Ocean Economy, as well as hearing from the Center for the Blue Economy in California, on the US Government’s recently launched Fifth National Climate Assessment and some of the related socio-economic challenges.

The methodology used to value Ireland’s ocean economy was also presented by the Marine Institute and University of Galway at a recent workshop organised by the OECD as part of their ongoing work on ocean economy measurement, innovation and foresight. Discussions were held with the OECD and other International practitioners from Portugal, US, Korea and Norway on how best to measure the value arising from our oceans, and the challenges in incorporating spatial information, as well as the importance of the inclusion of non-market values to get a more holistic value of our blue economy and the ecosystem services it provides.

The work undertaken to measure Ireland’s ocean economy is being co-funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage through a Service Level Agreement aimed at providing technical and scientific data and evidence to support Marine Spatial Planning in Ireland.

Dr Rick Officer has been appointed as the next Chief Executive Officer of the Marine Institute, Ireland's state agency for marine research, technology development, and innovation.

Dr Officer joins the Marine Institute from the Atlantic Technological University (ATU), where he held the position of Vice President for Research and Innovation.

Charlie McConalogue TD, Minister for the Marine, announced the appointment earlier today.

“Much like the rest of the world, Ireland is at a crossroads where challenge meets opportunity in marine research and knowledge. As we tackle national and global societal challenges, our marine resource offers significant opportunities for Ireland to prepare for the impacts of climate change, and food and energy security. With Dr Officer’s extensive experience in sustainable fisheries, leading innovative and integrated research programmes and driving strategic collaborations nationally and internationally, the Marine Institute will continue to deliver the robust science and services to government and industry needed as we work towards delivering a knowledge-based, sustainable blue economy for Ireland,” Minister McConalogue said.

Welcoming the announcement, Dr John Killeen, Chair of the Marine Institute, said, "On behalf of the Marine Institute Board, I am delighted to welcome Dr Officer as CEO. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the role, and will be a dedicated champion of the Institute’s values and its mission to promote economic development, create employment, and protect the marine environment."

Speaking about his appointment, Dr Rick Officer said, “Ireland’s marine environment and industries are under enormous and urgent pressures. The Marine Institute has a vital role to play in providing the evidence-base to enable adaptation to changing social, economic, and environmental conditions. The excellent science and advice produced and supported by the Marine Institute are crucial to Ireland’s successful navigation of the major challenges of food security, climate adaptation and energy transition. It is a great privilege and honour to lead the Marine Institute through this exciting period of change. I look forward to working with the dedicated team at the Marine Institute as we embrace these challenges and realise the opportunities that the oceans present.”

Dr Officer joins the Marine Institute from Atlantic Technological University (ATU) where he held the position of Vice President for Research and Innovation. Dr Officer led the integration of Research and Innovation activities at the former Galway-Mayo, Sligo, and Letterkenny Institutes of Technology, through the merger into Atlantic Technological University. He also led the establishment of the Marine and Freshwater Research Centre, now ATU’s largest Research Centre comprising ~100 people. Dr Officer’s experience of international fisheries and aquaculture was gained through his Fisheries Scientist roles in Victoria and Tasmania, and his role as Science Leader for Fisheries and Aquaculture for the State of Queensland, Australia. He previously led the demersal fisheries research and assessment team at the Marine Institute. As Demersal Fisheries Team Leader, Dr Officer’s responsibilities included Chief Scientist roles aboard Ireland’s National research vessels, appointment as National Delegate to the European Commission’s Scientific, Technical & Economic Committee for Fisheries, and Chairmanship of International Working Groups and Expert Groups for the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) and the European Commission.

Dr Officer has a Science degree (1990) and PhD in Fisheries Science (1995) from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and a Masters in Business Administration (2019) from University College London.

Dr Officer will commence his appointment in early January 2024.

The Marine Institute has held an “Energy Awareness Day” to mark the launch of its Climate Action Roadmap.

This is part of the institute’s five-year strategy — Ocean Knowledge that Informs and Inspires — which sets a new vision and mission for the Marine Institute and identifies eight strategic priorities for the period 2023-2027.

Sustainability and climate is to the core of the strategy, it says, which gives priority to the delivery of the Climate Action Roadmap.

The Marine Institute boasts that combined efforts of staff have resulted in a 41% energy reduction in its Galway headquarters since 2015, improvements in waste management and energy management measures across its fleet of research vessels, including the RV Celtic Explorer and RV Tom Crean — the latter of which replaces the RV Celtic Voyager, now en route to its new home in northern Canada.

Other efforts include becoming a supporter of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, promotion of energy and sustainability awareness, and the commencement of My Green Lab certification in 2022.

Patricia Orme is director of corporate services at the Marine Institute and also serves as its ‘Climate and Sustainability Champion’ and energy performance officer.

She said: “The improvements already achieved are immense and are the result of the combined efforts of Colleagues across the Marine Institute. I look forward to seeing continual progress as we work through the projects detailed in the Climate Action Roadmap.”

A number of activities also took place during the Energy Awareness Day to recognise the energy savings achieved by the Marine Institute and how staff can continue to ‘get greener’ at work and home.

Staff participated in demonstrations of sustainable practices from Optimising Power@Work, household WEEE (Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment) collection, wildflower seed giveaways and tours of the recently upgraded boilers in the plant room.

Scoil Chaitríona Junior in the Galway city suburb of Renmore has been crowned the national winner of the Explorers Ocean Champion School Awards 2023 for the Healthy Ocean project, ‘Caring for our Ocean’.

It marks the second year the prize has gone to a Galway school, with the 2022 gong presented to Scoil Iósaif Naofa, Oranmore Boys National School.

The Renmore primary pupils applied marine themes (environmental care, cleaning up litter, looking after the animals in the ocean) across many different subjects throughout the year, from the sciences through to music and the arts.

They shared stories about the ocean with a primary school in France, performed at the Marino Institute of Further Education in Dublin and at the Féile Scoildrámaíochta inter-school drama competition.

“We were also extremely impressed with the school’s collaboration and engagement where the teachers and children worked with marine scientists from ATU to learn about seaweed and birdlife, and with artists through the Teacher Artist Partnership, as well as meeting with other marine educators,” said Mick Gillooly, interim CEO of the Marine Institute.

“These children stood out for their eagerness to learn about the animals in the ocean, and for sharing what they learnt with their community about protecting and caring for the ocean.

“Bringing the topic of marine conservation to local, national and international platforms shows an incredible amount of commitment from the staff, children and their parents.”

Congratulating the children, teachers and the Explorers outreach team, Gillooly added: “The children’s enthusiasm was evident in many ways — in their shadow puppetry films, when they went on beach cleans, and in their musical performance ‘Fadhb na Mara’ about ocean conservation. Their work was exceptional.”

On behalf of the teachers, school principal Caitríona Daly said the award recognised their school’s commitment to learning about local areas — particularly their own seashore, Ballyloughane Beach. “We’re also delighted to have received an EU Blue Schools Award,” Daly said. “This award recognises the school’s effort to becoming ocean literate and for being an ocean champion!”

Twenty-eight coastal schools participated in this year’s competition, creating healthy ocean school projects based on themes including marine STEAM, ocean literacy, Sustainable Development Goals, and ocean and marine outdoor education.

“Each school showed incredible initiative by using cross-curricular content in support of the curriculum framework that introduces key competencies for children’s learning. These projects certainly show how the ocean can be used for thematic learning and how a healthy ocean is relevant to daily life,” said Cushla Dromgool-Regan, strategic education and communications manager of the Explorers Education Programme.

The Healthy Ocean school project and Ocean Champion Awards are organised through the Explorers Education Programme and the latter is the only ocean-themed award for primary schools in Ireland. It recognises the effort, commitment and collaboration of school management boards, teachers, children and the Explorer outreach officers who have engaged in the all-school, marine-themed project.

The Marine Institute, alongside the Explorers Education Programme for primary schools, will be showcasing marine science at the 2023 Galway Science and Technology Festival this weekend.

Families are invited to the Bailey Allen Hall on the University of Galway campus on Sunday 12 November to learn more about Ireland’s shark species.

“We greatly enjoy the opportunity provided every year by the Galway Science and Technology Festival to highlight the work we do here at the Marine Institute, and to showcase in particular the Explorers Education Programme,” said Patricia Orme, director of corporate services at the Marine Institute.

“The event is perfect for fostering an interest in marine science in children and adults alike. With this year’s focus on sharks, we hope families will enjoy learning more about these fascinating creatures.”

Celebrating the launch of Explorers’ new children’s information book Fin-tastic Sharks: An Introduction to Elasmobranchs, the team will be sharing stories of the wonders of sharks from around the world to those found in Irish waters.

“We all know that children love sharks, skates and rays,” said Cushla Dromgool-Regan, strategic education and communications manager of the Explorers Education Programme. “The Explorers team is very excited about examining the jaws of the great white shark, to the giant teeth of the megalodon and to also learn about the super powers of many different shark species closer to home.”

A still from video captured of the shark nursery in deep waters off the West of Ireland during the SeaRover ROV survey in 2018 | Credit: Marine Institute

Ireland’s ocean resource is the perfect refuge for endangered species, such as the world’s second largest shark, the basking shark, the common stingray and the white skate which is critically endangered.

Dromgool-Regan added: “Seventy-one species of sharks, skates, rays and chimaeras are found in Irish waters. This is over half the number of all of these species in Europe. This highlights the importance of the collaborative work of the scientists at the Marine Institute who work with other scientists, fishers and local communities to help establish [the status of] sharks, skates and rays in Irish waters.”

The Explorers team will also be displaying lots of shark biofacts and some of their favourite sharks, including baby lesser spotted dogfish and shark egg cases, also known as mermaid purses.

Families will have the opportunity to learn more about the 2018 discovery of an extremely rare shark nursery. Very large numbers of mermaid’s purses were observed on the sea floor at depths of 750 metres. Such large concentrations are very uncommon, indicating that females may gather in this area on the seafloor to lay their eggs.

Video footage of an extremely rare angelshark sighting in Rinville during the summer by some student kayaking enthusiasts will also be on display.

The Marine Institute’s exhibition ‘The Wild Atlantic – Sea Science' is also open at the Galway City Museum. Free to visitors, the gallery features seabed mapping, amazing scientific discoveries and creatures of the deep. In the ROV (remotely operated vehicle) simulator, explore ocean depths like a marine scientist and discover cold-water corals, shipwrecks and a rare shark nursery.

For more information on the 2023 Galway Science and Technology Festival programme and to register for free event tickets, visit www.galwayscience.ie. It’s sure to be a fin-tastic day out for the whole family!

Maritime TV documentary North Atlantic: The Dark Ocean has been awarded the Grand Prix Best Film of Festival Award at the Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam, besting the likes of BBC’s Our Frozen Planet.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the natural history series supported by the Marine Institute follows Irish underwater cameraman Ken O’Sullivan as he searches the North Atlantic waters around Ireland for some of the largest marine wildlife ever to have lived, including fin and sei whales, killer whales and courtship aggregations of massive basking sharks.

The series was broadcast in May of this year to what RTE describes as “an incredibly positive public response”.

In presenting the award to Ken O’Sullivan, the judging panel said: “Myths about sea monsters have long shaped our exploitation and maltreatment of marine life. The film that wins the Flamingo Grand Prix 2023 debunks those myths with solid knowledge and, by showing the grandeur and beauty of ocean life, it makes you realise this should be loved and protected.

“The film is an epic voyage of discovery. Free diving along with the filmmaker himself, you actually come face-to-face with a multitude of sea creatures, ranging from sprat, herring, basking sharks to killer whales, common dolphins and fin whales. All lovingly portrayed in with great craftsmanship and years of experience.

“This engaging filmmaker grabs you and takes you down into the dark waters surrounding Ireland. We — the jury — all held our breath until the end.”