MARINE INSTITUTE TO SHOWCASE SHELLFISH FISHERIES AND MARINE BIODIVERSITY AT THE IRISH SKIPPER EXPO

Marine Institute to showcase shellfish fisheries and marine biodiversity at the Irish Skipper Expo. The Marine Institute will exhibit at the Irish Skipper Expo on the 21st and 22nd March 2025 at the University of Limerick. Attendees can visit the Marine Institute at Stand F9, where our scientists and experts will be available to discuss fisheries assessment and advice and the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) Marine Biodiversity and Marine Knowledge Schemes.

The Marine Institute’s Shellfish team will present their current work on data collection, assessment and advisory services on shellfish species. The newly published Shellfish Stocks and Fisheries Review 2024 will be available in both hard copy and online. This publication includes data on all major shellfish species which are important to the inshore fishing fleet. This data is also available on the Marine Institute Shellfish Fisheries App (https://shiny.marine.ie/ShellfishFisheries). The fishing industry contributes to the data collection for shellfish assessments and the Irish Skipper Expo is an opportunity to discuss inputs and outputs from this important programme for the inshore fishing fleet in Ireland.

In addition, Marine Institute scientists will be available to discuss the current inshore Vessel Monitoring System (iVMS), the Skipper Self-Sampling programme, the Electronic Sentinel Vessel Programme App and the ICEco (Irish Coastal Ecosystem) and IGFS (Irish Groundfish) surveys. There will also be an interactive exhibit on ageing fish.

The EMFAF Marine Biodiversity and Marine Knowledge Scheme team will also attend the Irish Skipper Expo to showcase to industry and stakeholders the priorities being implemented under the scheme. This work contributes to the protection and restoration of aquatic biodiversity, and to strengthening sustainable sea and ocean management. Marine Institute staff will provide information on the implementation of the EMFAF Operational Programmes, highlighting the projects funded and implemented by the Marine Institute.

The EMFAF Operational Programme funds work which underpin European and national policies. The objective of the Marine Biodiversity Scheme is to support the identification and monitoring of the impact of fishing/aquaculture activities on the marine environment, and for the benefit of the fishing and aquaculture industries as a whole. It also supports the conservation and restoration of marine biodiversity and ecosystems.

Dr Ciaran Kelly, Director of Fisheries and Ecosystem Advisory Services at the Marine Institute said:

“In order for seafood production to be sustainable, it is important that not only is the resource carefully managed, but the impacts of harvesting that resource on the wider ecosystem are also considered. The Marine Biodiversity Scheme under Ireland’s EMFAF programme helps provide the science and evidence base to support a sustainable seafood production programme that also protects and restores marine biodiversity.”

The Marine Knowledge Scheme aims to enable the collection, management, analysis, processing and use of marine data to improve the knowledge on the state of the marine environment and to inform a sustainable blue economy. An important goal is to contribute to the achievement of climate change related objectives. The scheme will improve understanding of impacts of climate change on marine activities and on the environment.

EMFAF has many projects currently underway under both schemes, including the assessment of the crayfish fishery to restore the crayfish stocks and protect critically endangered species. This work programme, which is an EU Operation of Strategic Importance, seeks to reduce the by-catch of endangered species, and the interaction between net fisheries and wildlife (seals, porpoise, dolphin), and contribute to the restoration of crayfish stocks so that pot fishing becomes viable.

The EMFAF Marine Biodiversity and Marine Knowledge Schemes are co-funded by the Irish Government and the European Maritime Fisheries & Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) 2021-2027.

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