News & Events

Final conference of the WIN-BIG project

SEMRU’s Prof Edel Doherty took part in a panel discussion at the final conference of the WIN-BIG project. The conference took place on the 24^th September 2026,  in Aveiro, Portugal. The topic of the panel discussion was “Advancing Gender Equality in EU and the Blue Economy — Beyond WIN-BIG”. Others on the panel included Wenche Uksnøy (AKP/NCE), Charlotte Jagot (CINEA), Tatiana Morais da Silva (NOVA-LAW), Ruben Eiras (FO). The panel was moderated by WiBig coordinator Dr Helena Veira.

MAREA (MARine Ecosystem Accounting for integrated coastal planning) Project Workshop

On Wednesday, 9^th  September, Professor Stephen Hynes attended the final workshop of the MAREA project in Oslo, Norway. Stephen gave an account of the current state of ocean accounting from Ireland. Similar perspectives were also provided from delegates for Koprea, Norway and Finland. MAREA's main project objective was to assess and develop methods for downscaling coastal-marine thematic accounts (UN SEEA EA, Ch13) at a regional level, to provide decision-support for integrated planning, using the Oslofjord as a test case.

Participants in a breakout session at the MAREA workshop.

SEMRU organise special session at SERE2026

Geraldine Doolin, Daniel Norton, Anthony Grehan and Stephen Hynes of SEMRU all took part in the recent Society for Ecological Restorations Europe conference in Brest, France. SEMRU in collaboration with the Università Politecnica delle Marche had organised a special session on “Analysing the socio-economic impacts of deep-sea marine ecosystem restoration”.  The session showcased the tools being developed by SEMRU as part of the EU projects REDRESS and LIFE Mapper as well as survey results from the Marine Institute funded MASTS project.  With a large delegation, we were well-represented across the conference programme, taking part in another special REDRESS session at the conference as well as two other standard sessions allowing us to showcase the broad range of our newest findings from our work. In these other sessions Anthony Grehan presenting results from his recent field work restoring cold water corals in Irish waters while Geraldine Doolan presented results related to the BlueC project on the Irish public’s perceptions of marine restoration.

Some of the SEMRU team with other marine restoration enthusiasts from other EU projects including CLIMAREST and Protect Baltic showcasing the links between deep-sea restoration and restoration of the whole seascape.

SEMRU Workshop: Accounting for Ecosystem Services:from Compilers’ Needs to Users’ Perceptions

SEMRU is proud to announce an upcoming workshop:

Accounting for Ecosystem Services: from Compilers’ Needs to Users’ Perceptions; A focus on marine ecosystem services

Presented by Dr. Alessandra La Notte | Thursday 4th June 2026, J.E Cairnes Business School, University of Galway.

Integrated accounting systems are designed to be coherent with each other and consistent with accounting mechanisms. This ensures that environmental and ecosystem accounts (SEEA) can complement economic accounts (SNA).

When carried out correctly, accounting for natural resources aligns well with accounting for ecosystem services, as the underlying SEEA frameworks (the Central Framework and the Ecosystem Accounts) complement each other.

The compilation of ecosystem services (ES) accounts is based on two pillars: ecological foundations and accounting principles. The metric chosen to measure ecosystem services affects the accuracy and interpretation of accounting figures and trends over time. The objective of this workshop is to:

• Explore how to support compilers in choosing how to measure ES for accounting purposes
• Provide users with a metadata description of ES accounts enabling/endorsing an appropriate use of these metrics for a variety of purposes.

The focus of the workshop is on marine ecosystem services. The morning session is theoretical and aims to explain the ecological foundations and accounting principles. It opens up a dialogue on the key distinctions in implementing this approach across terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

The afternoon session is a hands-on exercise designed to meet the needs of both ES accounts compilers and ES accounts users through an experimental online tool. The workshop will be led by a world leading expert in the field, Dr. Alessandra La Notte. Alessandra holds a PhD in environmental economics from the University of Trento (Italy) and a master’s degree in environmental management and development from the Australian National University (Canberra, Australia). She specializes in environmental and ecosystem accounting and in the monetary valuation of ecosystem services.

She is a member of the UN System of Environmental and Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounts (SEEA EA) Technical Committee and serves as an Associate Editor for the journal Ecosystem Services (Elsevier). While working at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, Alessandra worked intensively on the “Integrated system of Natural Capital Accounts” (INCA) specifically developing an operational approach to assessing the value of, and accounting for, different types of ecosystem services. She has also launched the LISBETH (Linking Ecosystem Services and Benefits to the Economy Through Bridging) initiative, which aims to determine how and by whom ecosystem accounts can be used in the economy and finance.

If planning to attend please email Julian.worley@universityofgalway.ie

Agenda

Pictured below: Dr. Alessandra La Notte and some workshop participants. 

2025 Ireland Ocean Economy Report

Ireland’s Ocean Economy Report, 2025, is a joint publication with SEMRU and the Marine Institute and provides an update on Ireland’s ocean economy across three main economic indicators: turnover, gross value added (GVA) and employment. It provides an analysis of trends over a five-year period and a commentary on rates of change over a ten-year timeframe. The report is accompanied by an online dashboard, where data trends can be accessed. The 2025 Ocean Economy Report is the ninth in the ocean economy series. Ireland’s ocean economy statistics are based on nominal values.

For more information about the report please see: https://oar.marine.ie/items/d743aaa4-8ef2-44e2-acd5-53bbb588e6b5

SEMRU researcher takes part in Ryan Institute Workshop “From Soil to Society”

Dr. Luis Garcia-Covarrubias, a SEMRU postdoctoral researcher working on the MPA-Life project, participated in a workshop on Friday, December 12, at the Michael D. Higgins Auditorium, University of Galway. He was a panel memeber along side Dr. Eve Daly and Dr. Sinead Waters. The panel was moderated by Prof. Becky Whay. The panel discussed how the Ryan Institute and the University of Galway are very well positioned to deliver impactful research, grounded in: 1) a strong inter- and multidisciplinary approach, 2) building trust with policymakers and stakeholders by speaking their “language,” supported by a solid institutional framework, and 3) an outward-looking research culture.

Special thanks to Prof. Frances Fahy for the invitation to participate in the panel, and to Prof. Charles Spillane for his insightful talk and the engaging discussion during his session.

Panel members and moderator