All Projects
While currently there are valuable data assets residing across multiple Marine Institute teams and partner organisations, our ability to leverage these data to provide information which is current, reproducible, and readily available across multiple locations is limited.
Converting these data into usable information to meet new programme requirements requires improved access to data analysis and visualisation tools, services and techniques.
Currently data required for programmes such as MSP, MSFD and DCF are held by a number of organisations and in a range of formats. The development of data integration best practice for Ireland’s marine data will provide guidance as to how data from multiple sources (including across internal organisational boundaries) can be combined together for analysis and reuse. The publication of these best practices will also facilitate the connection of new nodes to the Institute’s data services platform, furthering the integration and reuse of marine data within Ireland.
Currently the availability of data required for programmes such as MSP and MSFD is limited, in part due to technical differences or limitations across organisational boundaries. The deployment of consistent data services interfaces will greatly facilitate access and integration of data held by different groups both within and external to the Marine Institute.
Horizon scanning and foresight activities provide important evidence and data to support strategic decision making. This includes stocktaking of national, EU and international current and future policies, regulations, and initiatives with potential relevance to Ireland’s blue economy. A number of marine foresight initiatives have been carried out at EU and international level, however these need to reviewed in the context of Ireland’s blue economy and the advancement of IMP in Ireland.
Many of the stocks which are caught by the Irish commercial fishing fleets are considered to be data-limited or are not assessed at all. These include a number of key stone species (like sprat, gurnards, saithe, pollack, ling) and species sensitive to the impacts of fishing (like rays and skates, john dory, brill and turbot).
This project is designed to measure the effectiveness of management or mitigation measures taken as part of aquaculture licencing decisions to reduce or minimise risk to conservation features. Such measures are likely to be of the form of, 1) licence conditions that place certain constraints on activities in certain areas or, 2) redrawing site boundaries.
This project will monitor the recovery of exploited deep-water species following the decline of the deep-water fisheries in Irish waters.
This project explored and developed the evidence on climate change implications for MSP. A review of existing MSP was carried out to summarise best practice approaches for incorporating climate change in marine spatial plans.
The aim of this project is to ensure reliable data storage and management systems. This will provide assurance of the availability and versioning of data. Improved data archiving will support legislative compliance and reduce costs by only retaining data which are required.
The aim of this project is to develop an integrated national sediment sampling and seabed imagery catalogue. It will provide a ‘signpost’ to the multiple sources of seabed data. The integration of this information will be vital to support the National marine planning process, in terms of habitat mapping, climate change assessment, resource assessment (e.g. aggregates) and invasive species incidence.
A number of short studies are required to complement the aquaculture advice provided by the Marine Institute to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in relation to licencing decisions and mitigation measures.
Several studies have indicated large accumulations of plastic microfibers in the gut of Dublin Bay prawns Nephrops norvegicus and in the sediments in which they live. The complicated gut system in this species is suggested to retain plastic fibers and places these stocks at potentially high risk of interference from marine microplastic pollution. Fibers which are too large or numerous to pass through the gut can form balls of aggregated material over time.
This project provides Research support to address any knowledge gaps in indicator development for MSFD criteria and OSPAR fish indicators assessments such that they align and answer Article 8 monitoring requirements for fish under Descriptors 1 and 4 of the MSFD.
The native European flat oyster is depleted throughout its former European range. Ireland still has a number of extant populations some of which are commercially fished but production and productivity is much reduced compared to historic levels. Oysters, in addition to being commercially valuable and a significant potential source of income for coastal fishing communities, provide valuable ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, maintenance of water quality and provision of structural habitat that may support high biodiversity.
This proposes to conduct intense sediment sampling and environmental data collection surveys on areas of interest in coastal waters to develop high resolution sediment and habitat maps. Knowledge of offshore and coastal seabed sediment characteristics enable marine spatial planning decisions and contribute to fisheries resource management, aquaculture site selection, habitat mapping, conservation objectives and reporting under various environmental legislation including the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
As part of the European Habitats Directive (EC 92/43/EEC), Member States need to take measures to avoid deterioration of protected habitats. Ireland is carrying out extensive mapping surveys of offshore reefs to evaluate status and introduce conservation and management measures in proportion to status and pressures from fishing. This study has been identified as high priority by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (DCHG) for the marine environment to fulfil Ireland’s obligations under the Habitats Directive.
This project was a desktop study that will relied on existing sources of information and extensive surveying of both harvesters/growers and businesses or organisations within the seaweed sector. Through a comprehensive survey of the key stakeholders, data and information was collated to map and value the seaweed supply chain, create an industry wide directory, develop best practice recommendations for seaweed resource management and reporting, and prepare the required final report and summary fact sheet and presentation.
This project proposal looked for funding to cover the costs of a Marine Mammal Observer (MMO) on an Underwater Television (UWTV) survey of nine days in August 2022 and 2023. This was the first time an UWTV survey was conducted on a Research Vessel with enough on-board space to accommodate an MMO and necessary scientific complement. UWTV surveys lend themselves well to MMO operations owing to their standardised operations in defined areas.