<b>To view all items in this collection click on the title tab in the search box above</b><br>This collection includes a series of reports presenting information on, and outcomes from, projects funded under the Marine Research Sub-programme of the National Development Plan (2007-’13), as part of the Sea Change Strategy.

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Marine Research Sub-Programme (NDP 2007-2013) Series

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  • Joined up Thinking from Joined up Data.

    Currie, D.; Gault., J. (Marine Institute, 2020)
    The primary aim of this project was to develop and implement a strategy which would integrate and enable data interrogation across all data sources used by the Marine Institute's Fisheries Ecosystem Advisory Services (FEAS) group.
  • Beaufort Marine Award: Economic and Social Research related to Development Dynamics of the Marine Sector in Ireland (BEAU/ECON/04)

    Hynes, S.; Corless, R.; Vega, A. (Marine Institute, 2018)
    The vision for this project was the creation of a unit that would underpin the development of the marine sector in Ireland as elaborated in the Sea Change Strategy; a unit that would contribute to the EU marine socio-economic research agenda and that would strengthen marine research in general through providing a complementary socioeconomic element into scientific projects and that would be involved in the transfer of tacit knowledge to marine industry, thereby enhancing innovation and raising its competitiveness. The Beaufort work programme was comprised of three major blocks: • Marine socioeconomic research capacity building • Constructing data bases and monitoring the evolution of the marine sector • A research programme which consisted of a number of key research topics: o The impact of policy and regulations on the development of the marine industry in Ireland o The economic and social impact of the marine sectors in Ireland o Valuing ecosystem service provision from marine resources in Ireland o Economic data collection and reporting on Ireland’s ocean and coastal economies Underpinning Research The “Economic and Social Research related to Development Dynamics of the Marine Sector in Ireland” Beaufort project involved research on a variety of marine related issues associated with the economics of fisheries, marine energy, shipping and other marine sectors as well as research that valued the marine environment and that examined issues surrounding the rural development of coastal communities. In particular it involved examining the economic utility of the marine environment (e.g. transportation, recreation) and the ecological value (e.g. fisheries, aquaculture) derived from the productivity of associated ecosystems. The coastal and contiguous marine environment surrounding Ireland and the EU in general provided the geographical focus for the research. Consideration of the human dimension in the management of marine ecosystems was also a critical component of the research programme. A key element of the project involves the compilation of information in relation to economic and social patterns in Irish coastal communities as well as the economic activity taking place in the seas surrounding Ireland. The project was also very successful in terms of the first element of the Beaufort work program: Marine socioeconomic research capacity building. The project team leveraged over NDP Marine Research Sub-Programme 2007-2013 €2 million in additional funding over the life of the Award, which included funded projects such as: • Horizon 2020. Project Title: ATLAS: A Trans-Atlantic Assessment and deep-water ecosystem-based spatial management plan for Europe - In association with 24 other European research organisations. • Horizon 2020. Project Title: MERCES:Marine Ecosystem Restoration in changing European Seas - In association with 25 other European research organisation. • Norwegian Research Council Funding Programme. Project title: AquaAccept: Developing novel socio-environmental indicators and management tools for a sustainable aquaculture • Environmental Protection Agency Science, Technology, Research & Innovation for the Environment (STRIVE) Programme 2014 Award. Project Title: Marine Ecosystem Service Valuation A full list of additional funding secured in the area of marine socio-economic research by the project team is provided.
  • Beaufort Marine Award: Sensors and Communication System for Marine Environments (BEAU SENS 2007)

    Regan, Fiona (Marine Institute, 2018)
    EU decisions 1600/2002/EC laying down the Sixth Community Environment Action Programme and EU Directive 2008/56/EC of 17 June 2008 establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy (Marine Strategy Framework Directive) emphasise that: “The marine environment is a precious heritage that must be protected, preserved and, where practicable, restored with the ultimate aim of maintaining biodiversity and providing diverse and dynamic oceans and seas which are clean, healthy and productive.” The same directive also required that:
“Each Member State should therefore develop a marine strategy for its marine waters which, while being specific to its own waters, reflects the overall perspective of the marine region or sub-region concerned. Marine strategies should culminate in the execution of programmes of measures designed to achieve or maintain good environmental status.” In response to the EU directives to promote sustainable use of the seas and conserving marine ecosystems, the Republic of Ireland via the Department of Communications, Marine & Natural Resources launched ‘The Beaufort Marine Research Awards (BMA)’ in June 2007. This Beaufort Award ‘Sensors and Communication Systems for the Marine Environment’ aimed to develop deployable marine analytical platforms with wireless communication capability to perform autonomous sampling for extended periods of time. This multidisciplinary Beaufort team includes skillsets of chemistry, sensing, separation science, molecular biology, engineering and image analysis contributing to six research sub-programmes or workpackages. The BMA project started in 2007 at DCU. In 2010 the Marine and Environmental Sensing Technology Hub (MESTECH) was established as a result of the growing expertise in marine sensing technology and monitoring in DCU. A MESTECH website was developed (www.mestech.ie), and MESTECH actively engaged with social media technologies such as Twitter to significantly increase the international and national profile of our marine research and the BMA. The project has published >70 peer-reviewed papers. BMA members have presented >70 conferences and workshop papers or posters, >10 invited talks and several visits to other marine research laboratories have taken place. Collaborations with other marine research institutions and with industries operating within marine sector across EU, US and Asia have been formed. These national/ international collaborations facilitate technical and knowledge exchanges that are important in promoting the research capability of Ireland, and would facilitate Irish companies in accessing new technologies to contribute towards building the future economy. These collaborations are also the basis of forming international consortia for 10 future non-exchequer funding applications. In addition to the academic achievements and growing network of collaborators, the outputs of the research include novel chemical and biosensing platforms, a significant long-term dataset from a variety of sites, data analytics platforms for decision support tool development and novel materials for marine and other applications. Despite these successes, there is still much to do to achieve the ultimate goal of promoting Ireland as a leading marine research nation and more resources (both financial and human resources) are required to bring the current work forward to sustain long-term, high-quality research. The Beaufort PIs and management team have been very active in funding applications. Greater than €5 million funding was secured since the start of the BMA programme from agencies including FP7 programme, QUESTOR and national agencies such as IRCSET, SFI, EI, HEA and EPA leveraging the success of the BMA programme.
  • Marine Functional Foods Research Initiative (NutraMara)

    Troy, D. J.; Tiwari, B. K.; Hayes, M.; Ross, P.; Stanton, C.; Johnson, M.; Stengel, D.; O’Doherty, J. V.; FitzGerald, R. J.; McSorley, E.; et al. (Marine Institute, 2017)
    NutraMara – Marine Functional Foods Research Initiative: The goal was to create new research capacity and build the capabilities required to maximise the potential of Ireland’s extensive marine bioresources. By supporting a strong interdisciplinary research team, capable of exploring marine animals and plants as a sustainable source of materials for use as functional ingredients and foods, the vision for NutraMara was to position Ireland to the fore in use of marine bioresources as health beneficial ingredients.
  • Aquaplan: health management for finfish aquaculture

    Ruane, N. M.; Geoghegan, F.; Rodger, H.; Murphy, K.; O' Sullivan, C. (Marine Institue, 2015)
    The AquaPlan project brought together key stakeholders from the finfish aquaculture industry and state agencies with the aim of drafting and implementing a national strategic plan for fish health in Ireland. Many countries already have well established comprehensive strategies for managing aquatic animal health which are deemed necessary for the sustainable development of the industry. A range of deliverables were produced by the project which are all essential components of the strategic plan for fish health management.
  • Desk Study Report: National, International and EU Legal Instruments Relevant to the Development of a Marine Spatial Planning Framework in Ireland

    Slater, Anne-Michelle; Kennedy, Alison; Grist, Dr. Berna; Barnes, Jerry; Berne, Sybil (Marine Institute, 2014-11)
    This study reviewed all international, European and national law relevant for the development of a framework for marine spatial planning (MSP) for Irish waters. The report details the identification of a range of options for MSP for Ireland and the criteria for testing these options. It explains the process of refining and developing both the options and the criteria in conjunction with the Enablers Task Force (ETF) to form preliminary conclusions.
  • QUB Report: Review of Marine Spatial Planning Best Practice of Relevance to Ireland

    Flannery, Wesley (Marine Institute, 2014-11)
    This aim of this project is to contribute to the development of an appropriate Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) Framework for Ireland by reporting on MSP relevant to Ireland. This report details case study selection, evaluation and presentation of case study findings. The report also focuses on outlining how the lessons learned could be transferred to the Irish context.
  • Biological Effects and Chemical Measurements in Irish Marine Waters

    Giltrap, Michelle; McHugh, Brendan; Ronan, Jenny; Wilson, James; McGovern, Evin (Marine Institute, 2014-08)
    The overall aim of this project was to increase Ireland’s capacity for the generation of integrated monitoring of biological effects and chemical measurement data and for the completion of a pilot scale assessment of the quality of the Irish marine environment at a number of selected locations.
  • AZASPIRACIDS – Toxicological Evaluation, Test Methods and Identifcation of the Source Organisms (ASTOX II)

    Kilcoyne, Jane; Jauffrais, Thierry; Twiner, Michael J.; Doucette, Gregory J.; Aasen Bunes, John A.; Sosa, Silvio; Krock, Bernd; Séhet, Véronique; Nulty, Ciara; Salas, Rafael; et al. (Marine Institute, 2014)
    Since the Irish monitoring program was set up in 2001 azaspiracids (AZAs) have been detected in shellfish above the regulatory limit every year with the exception of 2004. The south west coast of Ireland is especially prone to the onsets of AZA events. Over this period a number of poisoning incidents associated with this toxin group have occurred, all related to Irish shellfish. In 2003 the Marine Institute was awarded funding for a research project named ASTOX. This project was very successful in producing a range of reference materials (RMs, which are essential for accurate detection and monitoring, and which up to this point were unavailable. The project also examined the toxicity of AZAs, primarily using in vitro cell assays but some in vivo studies were also performed. The overall aims of the ASTOX 2 project were to strengthen knowledge on the causative organism and toxicity of AZAs. The project aims were grouped into three areas: ecology, chemical support and toxicology.
  • Technical Report: Review and Simulate Climate and Catchment Responses at Burrishoole (RESCALE)

    Fealy, R.; Allott, N.; Broderick, C.; de Eyto, E.; Dillane, M.; Erdil, R.M.; Jennings, E.; Hancox, L.; McCrann, K.; Murphy, C.; et al. (Marine Institute, 2014)
    This report demonstrates that the projected changes in the climate conditions of the Burrishoole catchment, if realised, will have wide ranging implications for all aspects of the catchment system, including water temperature and quality, stream flow hydrology, soil processes, and most notably the well-being of its aquatic environment. While the projected changes in climate and their implications, outlined in this report, are specific to the Burrishoole, they are illustrative of likely changes in similar characteristic catchments along the west coast of Ireland.
  • Ireland's Ocean Economy, Reference Year: 2010

    Vega, A.; Corless, R.; Hynes, S. (SEMRU, NUI Galway, 2013)
    In 2013, the Socio Economic Marine Research Unit (SEMRU) began the extensive task of data collection and analysis of Ireland’s ocean economy. Marine socio-economic data are not readily available in Ireland; however, it is essential in determining the value of the ocean economy in order to realise its full potential. This report is part of a series of economic reports and it provides an accurate and realistic monitoring of the ocean economy over time. It presents a complete and comparable sectoral profile, which allows us to observe progress on the targets set out in the Government’s Integrated Marine Plan (IMP) for Ireland - Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth (HOOW) (2012). The reference year of this report is 2010.
  • Marine Mammals and Megafauna in Irish Waters - Behaviour, Distribution and Habitat Use- Final Summary Report.

    Berrow, S.D.; O’Brien, J.; O’Connor, I.; McGrath, D.; Wall, D. (Marine Institute, 2013)
    Irish waters are internationally important for cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), with 24 species recorded to date. These range from the harbour porpoise, the smallest species in European waters, to the blue whale, the largest animal to ever have lived on Earth. All cetaceans and their habitats are protected under Irish and international law. The research termed Marine Mammals and Megafauna in Irish Waters – behaviour, distribution and habitat use was delivered under six Work Packages. The deliverables under this project will provide data which could be used to address a wide range of issues, and will contribute to developing policy advice on meeting Ireland’s statutory obligations.
  • Marine Mammals and Megafauna in Irish Waters - Behaviour, Distribution and Habitat Use- WP4 Research into Ecosystem Links and Habitat Use between Cetaceans and Fisheries in the Celtic Sea

    Healy, H.; Minto, C.; Wall, D.; O'Donnell, D.; O’Connor, I. (Marine Institute, 2013)
    Visual line transect survey data for cetaceans were simultaneously collected during synoptic acoustic sampling surveys of small schooling pelagic fish, i.e. herring (Clupea harengus) and sprat (Sprattus sprattus) in the Celtic Sea, off the south coast of Ireland, from 2004 to 2009. These data were used to investigate the interactions of cetaceans with biological and environmental variables in the survey area. Geographic information systems and generalized linear and generalized additive models were used in this study.
  • Marine Mammals and Megafauna in Irish Waters - Behaviour, Distribution and Habitat Use- WP3 Biotelemetry of Marine Megafauna in Irish Waters

    Berrow, S.D.; O’Connor, I. (Marine Institute, 2013)
    Biotelemetry is the transmission of information from biological organisms through the atmosphere by radio waves. It encompasses a wide range of devices that can record environmental variables while attached to an animal, such as depth, salinity and temperature, while permitting the recording and transmitting of the position of an animal, commonly referred to as tracking. A review of biotelemetry, with reference to relevant species in Ireland, is presented. Although a number of marine species have been tagged and tracked in Ireland, these studies were generally of short duration or involved small numbers of individuals. However, these studies have shown that tracking marine megafauna in Ireland can be successful and that there is great potential for biotelemetry.
  • Marine Mammals and Megafauna in Irish Waters - Behaviour, Distribution and Habitat Use- WP 2: Developing Acoustic Monitoring Techniques

    O’Brien, J.; Beck, S.; Wall, D.; Pierini, A. (Marine Institute, 2013)
    All cetaceans and their habitats are protected under Irish and international law. The research termed Marine Mammals and Megafauna in Irish Waters – behaviour, distribution and habitat use was delivered under six Work Packages. Cetacean line transect surveys were conducted under Work Package 1 with the following goals: 1. Providing a baseline cetacean distribution and relative abundance data set for the Irish EEZ; 2. Filling spatial and temporal gaps identified in cetacean survey effort within the EEZ; 3. Preparing an Atlas of cetacean distribution and relative abundance for Irish waters; 4. Assessing the temporal use of marine habitats by cetaceans in Irish waters.
  • Marine Mammals and Megafauna in Irish Waters - Behaviour, Distribution and Habitat Use- WP1 Monitoring Spatial and Temporal Habitat Use and Abundance of Cetaceans.

    Wall, D. (Marine Institute, 2013)
    All cetaceans and their habitats are protected under Irish and international law. The research termed Marine Mammals and Megafauna in Irish Waters – behaviour, distribution and habitat use was delivered under six Work Packages. Cetacean line transect surveys were conducted under Work Package 1 with the following goals: 1. Providing a baseline cetacean distribution and relative abundance data set for the Irish EEZ; 2. Filling spatial and temporal gaps identified in cetacean survey effort within the EEZ; 3. Preparing an Atlas of cetacean distribution and relative abundance for Irish waters; 4. Assessing the temporal use of marine habitats by cetaceans in Irish waters.
  • GILPAT: An Investigation into Gill Pathologies in Marine Reared Finfish

    Ruane, N. M.; Rodger, Hamish; Mitchell, Susie; Doyle, Tom; Baxter, Emily; Fringuelli, Elena (Marine Institute, 2013)
    The aims of the GILPAT project were to take a multidisciplinary approach in order to further understand the underlying causes of gill disease in Irish farmed fish. A specific aim was to establish a pilot zooplankton monitoring programme and use training workshops to enable fish farmers to upskill in areas such as zooplankton sampling and basic identification of the main zooplankton/jellyfish species common to Irish waters. Complimenting this was the development of a number of molecular diagnostic methods for the detection of potential pathogens suspected of being involved in the development of the condition. Together with a comprehensive literature review, epidemiological study, and experimental challenge studies, the project aimed to bring all these elements together with the objective of outlining potential mitigation measures and identifying areas for future research.
  • Development and Demonstration of Viable Hatchery and Ongoing Methodologies for Seaweed Species with Identified Commercial Potential

    Dring, Matthew; Edwards, Maeve; Watson, Lucy (Marine Institute, 2013)
    The main objectives of this project were to develop and conduct trials of industry-scale hatchery and ongrowing methodologies for three seaweed species with commercial potential. These included two edible red algae, Palmaria palmata and Porphyra sp., and the large brown kelp Laminaria digitata. During the project the large brown kelp Saccharina latissima was added to the work programme. In addition to developing ongrowing methodologies for each of the seaweed species, the project aim was to provide a platform for transferring the results and knowledge gained during the project, which would support the creation of new business opportunities in Ireland’s seaweed aquaculture sector.
  • GeoDI: Geoscientific Data Integration

    Lassoued, Yassine (Marine Institute, 2013)
    This report summarises the findings of the GeoDI project. Large volumes of geoscientific (i.e., geological and geophysical) datasets have been gathered by the Marine Institute and its partners over the past number of years, A key challenge now exists to derive maximum value from these very costly and valuable products by integrating these geoscientific datasets together, and with other resources such as biological, chemical, and environmental data. The project aimed to address this challenge by examining the critical issues involved in the integration of Irish marine geoscientific datasets, and by assessing tools and services for enhanced management, discovery, access, and analyses of geoscientific data.
  • Impacts of Increased Atmospheric CO2 on Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystems

    O’Dowd, Colin; Cave, Rachel; McGovern, Evin; Ward, Brian; Kivimae, Caroline; McGrath, Triona; Stengel, Dagmar; Westbrook, Guy (Marine Institute, 2011)
    Ocean pH is a function of the seawater carbonate system, which is a function of both the influx of CO2 from the atmosphere and the resulting concentration of CO2 in the water (i.e. pCO2). Uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is reducing ocean pH; a phenomenon referred to as ocean acidification. It is estimated that there has been a decrease of 0.1 pH units in the surface waters of the world’s oceans since the start of the industrial revolution with a reduction of 0.3 – 0.5 forecast by 2100. There is growing concern over the potential consequences of ocean acidification for marine ecosystems and the services they provide for mankind. This project was aimed at enabling the capability and developing the expertise within Ireland to measure and quantify the flux of CO2 into (or out of) the ocean; to monitor seasonal trends in pCO2 and CO2 fluxes; to determine the current baseline state and variability of the carbonate system; and to evaluate the potential impact of future changes on ecosystems with the ultimate aim of contributing to more informed policy development.

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