Ireland's largest marine research programme gets underway
Ireland's largest marine research funding programme has got underway, with the announcement of its first phase of project funding. With a budget of €141 million, 'Sea Change - A marine knowledge, research and innovation strategy for Ireland (2007-2013)' will aim to drive the development of the marine sector as a dynamic element of Ireland's knowledge economy. To do so, the programme will focus on three areas of research: 'Industry research' targeting marine food, offshore oil and gas, shipping and transport; 'Discovery research' into new areas such as marine biodiscovery, marine functional foods, renewable ocean energy and rapid climate change; and 'Policy Support research' to inform decision makers in the public and private sectors. These measures are intended to build new research capacity and enhance capabilities in priority areas of marine and marine-related research in research institutions and private sector firms. 'Sea Change is a national plan, aimed at addressing our national capacity to utilise and derive value from our vast ocean resources,' said Dr Peter Heffernan, CEO of Ireland's Marine Institute. 'We are very excited by the new opportunities this research programme will allow us to explore in partnership with key government departments and sister agencies in the public sector, the third level sector and key industrial stakeholders.' In the first phase of funding, research will target the maritime industries of fisheries, fish farming (including cod farming), seaweed cultivation, marine environmental quality and data management. Specific projects include an investigation into the effects of rapid climate change on important commercial fish stocks, harnessing the knowledge of fishermen as part of the scientific process of stock assessment, and looking at ways of reducing the practice of 'discarding' unwanted fish at sea. 'Sea Change can be the vehicle to fund entirely new scientific activities, put new teams of scientists in place and unlock entirely new discoveries,' said Dr. Heffernan. 'It follows the principle that Ireland must be a significant player in the knowledge economy, reaching further and further up the value chain in industry and service output.'
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