News & Events 2024

Marine Protected Areas LIFE project launched

On Monday, 7 October 2024, Malcolm Noonan TD, the Minister for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, officially launched a new €25 million LIFE project to protect, conserve and restore the biodiversity of Ireland’s marine ecosystems through the establishment of a network of marine protected areas (MPAs).

The EU Marine Protected Areas LIFE project is a collaboration between the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and three research partners from the third-level sector. Three Universities will address various elements of this project: University College Dublin will focus on ecology and what the MPAs can achieve; University College Cork will consider the social side and stakeholders involved, and SEMRU in the School of Business and Economics at the University of Galway will examine the economic impacts on industry and communities.

In his address, Minister Noonan remarked, “this project will bring together local communities, environmental organisations, scientists and industry to plan and develop our Marine Protected Areas. It will focus on getting a balance between ecological protection and socio-economic development. Together, we can create a legacy of hope, resilience and recovery for our marine ecosystems, protecting it for generations to come.”

Pictured are Prof Tasman Crowe of UCD, Dr David Whyte of UCC, Joanne Kenny of Marine Environment, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Prof Stephen Hynes of University of Galway and Minister Malcolm Noonan TD, in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin for the launch of the EU MPA Life Project.

SEMRU participate in CSO Ecosystem Accounts Stakeholder Forum

SEMRU were delighted to participate in the CSO's Ecosystem Account's Stakeholder Forum at Bedford Hall, Dublin Castle on the 12th September 2024. This in-person event brought together national stakeholder agencies and national and international experts in ecosystem accounting to discuss the implementation of ecosystem accounting in Ireland.

Professor Stephen Hynes of SEMRU presented some of the Unit’s recent research on marine ecosystem service valuation for marine accounting while Darragh Corcoran, who is a Cullen PhD candidate working as part of a collaboration between SEMRU, the Marine Institute, and the Central Statistics Office presented his work to date on developing ocean extent accounts for Ireland.

Darragh Corcoran, Cullen PhD student, presenting some of his initial research at the CSO's Ecosystem Account's Stakeholder Forum.

SEMRU welcomes Dutch Ambassador to Campus

SEMRU were delighted to welcome Maaike van Koldam, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Ireland, to campus during her visit to Galway on Tuesday, 27 June 2024. Ambassador van Koldam was greeted by Vice President International, Prof Becky Whay before meeting colleagues in SEMRU. The Ambassador was interested to learn more about SEMRU’s leading role in blue economy research and its joint work with other marine research colleagues from across the campus. EU-funded projects were discussed, as well as SEMRU’s various linkages with Dutch universities.

Pictured: Dr Stephen Nash, Dr Brendan Flynn, Dr Anthony Grehan, Prof Thomas Van Rensburg, Dr Eugene Farrell; James Bradshaw, Politics & EU Officer at Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; Prof Becky Whay, Vice President International; Maaike van Koldam, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; Prof Stephen Hynes, Director of SEMRU; Geraldine Doolan.

SEMRU at Marine Ecosystem Accounting Workshop

The Norwegian Institute for Water Research recently held their MAREA workshop, in Oslo, on June 11^th 2024. The aim of the workshop was to exchange experience and knowledge on marine ecosystem accounting and its relevance to policy at varying spatial scales. Professor Stephen Hynes provided an overview of the work being jointly carried out in Ireland on marine ecosystem accounting by SEMRU, the Marine Institute and the Irish Central Statistics Office. The workshop also heard from the South Korea Marine Institute, the UK government, the University of Alberta and Statistics Norway; each discussing their own efforts at generating marine ecosystem service accounts. The analysis of ecosystem service values at a regional level was also a key theme of the event with papers presented from the MAREA project and its research in the Oslofjord.

Some of the MAREA workshop participants in Oslo. Prof Hynes of SEMRU, third from left.

Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) board members visit University of Galway

Members of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority board visited the University of Galway on June 26^th 2024. The main purpose of the visit was for the Board to get a sense of the range of marine related research being carried out at the University of Galway and to gather some insights into the opportunities and challenges faced by marine researchers working in Irish waters. Prof Peter McHugh, Registrar and Vice President first formally welcomed the board to the campus while Prof Frances Fahy, Ryan Institute Director, provided a broad overview of marine research across the university. A number of other colleagues also gave short presentations, including Prof Stephen Hynes who provided an overview of the research focus of SEMRU and its relevance to the work of MARA.

Dr Liam Carr presents the Marine Spatial Planning board game to the MARA board.

Gender Survey for all workers in the EU Blue Economy

As part of the WIN-BIG project SEMRU has developed a survey to examine gender issues and empowering women across various ocean economy sectors. If you work in any marine related industry or agency we kindly ask you to participate in shaping the future of the blue economy by completing this survey. Your unique insights, experiences and perspectives are invaluable in gathering data on women's roles and contributions across different sectors of the Blue Economy and informing the EU's efforts to promote inclusivity and diversity in this vital sector.

It only takes a few minutes to complete the survey, and your contribution will have a lasting impact.

Click here to get started!

May 21, 2024

SEMRU PhD student wins Student Prize Competition at Environ2024

Geraldine Doolin won the Best Social Engagement Presentation Prize at Environ2024, the 34^th Irish Environmental Researchers Colloquium Jointly hosted by the Environmental Sciences Association of Ireland (ESAI) and the South East Technological University Waterford, 25th-27th March 2024. The prize was sponsored by Environmental Services Ireland. The prize was awarded for her oral presentation “Assigning recreational value to a specific coastal ecosystem in a travel cost modelling context”. Read more here.

March 30, 2024

Economics students all at sea! 21st February 2024

The M. Global Environmental Economics students recently took part in the seagoing training that has been part of the Masters programme for over a decade. The field trip took place on Wednesday the 21st of February. Students and instructors are pictured below disembarking the national research vessel, the RV Tom Crean. The one day training focuses specifically on economic activities taking place in Cork Harbour and a hands-on examination of the methods by which marine scientists collect data that can be used by economists for bi-economic modelling, analysing the impacts of economic activities on the marine environment and valuation of marine ecosystem service benefits.

February 21, 2024

Ireland’s Ocean Economy Report published at SEMRU’s 13th Annual Marine Economics and Policy Research Symposium

SEMRU in association with the Marine Institute has published an update on the performance of Ireland’s Ocean Economy. The 2023 Ocean Economy Report provides an update on Ireland’s ocean economy for 2022 across three main economic indicators: turnover, gross value added (GVA) and employment. The report estimates the annual trends across 13 sectors as well as an overview of direct and indirect impact of Ireland's ocean economy, and trends since 2010.

This year’s report is accompanied by an online dashboard to enable further dissemination of the data and also encourage further analysis and research. The report can be downloaded here while the ‘Ireland's Ocean Economy Dashboard’ can be accessed here.

The methodology used to value Ireland’s ocean economy was also presented by SEMRU and the Marine Institute at a recent workshop organised by the OECD as part of their ongoing work on ocean economy measurement, innovation and foresight. Discussions were held with the OECD and other International practitioners from Portugal, US, Korea and Norway on how best to measure the value arising from our oceans, and the challenges in incorporating spatial information, as well as the importance of the inclusion of non-market values to get a more holistic value of our blue economy and the ecosystem services it provides.

December 18, 2023