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  INFOMAR Survey Report CE20_01, Celtic Sea.

  Sheehan, Kevin (Marine Institute, 2021)

  The Geological Survey Ireland (GSI) and Marine Institute (MI) conducted seabed mapping between 2003 and 2005 under the auspices of the Irish National Seabed Survey (INSS) and from 2006 to present day under the INtegrated mapping FOr the sustainable development of Irelands MArine Resource (INFOMAR) programme. INFOMAR is a joint venture between the GSI and the MI. The programme succeeded the INSS which was one of the largest marine mapping programmes ever undertaken, with a focus on deep water mapping. INFOMAR is funded by the Irish Government through the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC). INFOMAR Phase 1, 2006 to 2015 focused on mapping 26 priority bays and 3 priority areas around Ireland and creating a range of integrated mapping products of the physical, chemical and biological features of the seabed in those areas. INFOMAR Phase 2, 2016 to 2026 intends to map the remainder of Ireland’s entire seabed. Figure 1 shows the extent of the mapped area under INSS and INFOMAR and the outstanding areas as of January 2020. Grey have already been mapped, blue and coloured hatched areas are unmapped.
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  INFOMAR Survey Report CE19_01, Celtic Sea.

  Sheehan, Kevin; INFOMAR Survey Team (Marine Institute, 2020)

  The Geological Survey Ireland (GSI) and Marine Institute (MI) conducted seabed mapping between 2003 and 2005 under the auspices of the Irish National Seabed Survey (INSS) and from 2006 to present day under the INtegrated mapping FOr the sustainable development of Irelands MArine Resource (INFOMAR) programme. INFOMAR is a joint venture between the GSI and the MI. The programme succeeded the INSS which was one of the largest marine mapping programmes ever undertaken, with a focus on deep water mapping. INFOMAR is funded by the Irish Government through the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE). INFOMAR Phase 1, 2006 to 2015 focused on mapping 26 priority bays and 3 priority areas around Ireland and creating a range of integrated mapping products of the physical, chemical and biological features of the seabed in those areas. INFOMAR Phase 2, 2016 to 2026 intends to map the remainder of Ireland’s entire seabed. Figure 1 shows the extent of the mapped area under INSS and INFOMAR and the outstanding areas as of January 2019. Grey have already been mapped, blue and coloured hatched areas are unmapped.
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  Status of non-assessed fish species in Irish waters

  Palma-Pedraza, S.; Sarrazin, V.; Clarke, M.; Stokes, D. (Marine Institute, 2020)

  This report gives the latest assessment results for abundance of several fish species not otherwise assessed by international bodies or national agencies within Ireland. The assess-ment was performed to support Ireland’s obligations under the EU’s Marine Strategy Frame-work Directive (MSFD) to assess the state of commercial and non-commercial fish stocks. The commercially important stocks included in this assessment are recorded as being caught in Irish MSFD waters, from ICES FISHSTAT database, and for which sufficient trawl survey data are available to assess them. The non-commercial fish species included in this assess-ment are those present in the Irish MSFD area, which are either listed as being of conserva-tion concern under the EU’s data collection programme for fisheries, those on the OSPAR list of threatened species, elasmobranch species prohibited from being caught in commercial fisheries under the EU CFP legislation and/or those listed as endangered with extinction on the EU fish red list. The evaluation of the status of commercial and non-commercial species in the subareas VI and VII of FAO fishing area 27 was carried out using data from research vessels surveys. Data since 1998 were used and results show that only 4 of 10 commercial stocks were above the Good Environmental Status (GES) threshold value. The results of this work were then used to populate an overall assessment of GES for MSFD Descriptors D1 and D3 by Ireland in 2019.
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  Science Communication: Stakeholder perceptions of Real-time Incentive Fisheries Management

  Pedreschi, D.; Vigier, A.; Höffle, H.; Kraak, S.B.M.; Reid, D.G. (Marine Institute, 2021)

  In these changing times, with political and environmental uncertainty surrounding us, fisheries management needs to become more adaptive in order to respond to the changes in our natural environment and changing management frameworks. Based on close to real-time information updates, and harnessing modern technology, Real-Time Incentive (RTI) fisheries management is designed to evolve with the fish stocks, enabling managers to respond more quickly and efficiently to management issues as they arise. Through the use of a credit system that makes use of regularly updated fine-scale information, incentives can be incorporated as rewards to encourage desirable actions such as data collection or ‘fishing-for-litter’ activities. However, in order for a new system such as this to be useful and become accepted, stakeholders must be involved in the development and design process. This paper details the consultative process carried out with Irish demersal fishery stakeholders in an effort to identify their likes and dislikes of the system, and work towards tailoring the RTI system into a practical solution that works for them. In this process, we achieved a detailed understanding of the fishery, the complexity of the system, and the challenges faced by the stakeholders, all of which must be considered when attempting to implement a new management system such as RTI. A range of proposals were made by stakeholders, including new ideas for the future development of the RTI system. Most striking were the numerous ideas and approaches to tackling key issues currently facing the industry, many of which also have relevance to existing fisheries management. Given the freedom and support to do so, fishing industry stakeholders are eager to contribute to solving many of their own problems.
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  Marine Foresight Study

  APBmer; MacCabe Durney Barnes (Marine Institute, 2020-09)

  Ireland is experiencing a period of major change in terms of the legal and policy framework for marine decision-making, the political and socio-economic context for marine activities, the influence of technological change on marine activities and resultant societal impacts. Furthermore, increased awareness of the marine environment by the general public, owed to increased education and increased access to resources, as envisaged by the previous Integrated Marine Plan for Ireland, Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth (HOOW), continues to provide increased engagement with marine issues. Ireland is beginning the process of developing a successor to HOOW, and this foresight study seeks to support that process. The study has reviewed existing information, both in relation to past and current trends and potential future changes, in seeking to identify the key drivers of change across social, technological, economic, environmental and political topics. The results of the study are captured in an Evidence Database and summary report.

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