Ocean Knowledge 2030 Conference opens in Dublin, charting a bold course for Ireland’s Ocean Future

 

Ocean Knowledge 2030 Conference opens in Dublin, charting a bold course for Ireland’s Ocean FutureThe Ocean Knowledge 2030 Conference officially opened today at the RDS Concert Hall, Dublin, marking a major milestone for Ireland’s marine research and ocean sustainability agenda. Organised by the Marine Institute, this two-day event (20-21 November 2024) gathers over 250 leading scientists, policymakers, industry innovators, and environmental advocates to set the research agenda for Ireland’s ocean to ensure a sustainable future for our seas and coastal communities.

Opening the Conference, Dr Rick Officer, CEO of the Marine Institute, highlighted the conference's importance: “This conference is a crucial platform for everyone invested in Ireland’s marine future. It’s an opportunity for voices from all sectors—scientists, policymakers, industry leaders, and academics—to come together, share insights and expertise, and set a focused research agenda for Ireland’s ocean future. By working together, we can realise the full potential of our ocean while safeguarding it for future generations.”

The conference features a dynamic programme of keynote addresses and panel discussions covering pivotal topics such as climate change, coastal resilience, marine spatial planning, sustainable marine industries, and the conservation of biodiversity. A core focus of the discussions will be to identify the knowledge needs and gaps to inform marine policy and management and to drive innovation in our ocean economy sectors.

Conference Highlights:

One of the event highlights included discussions on Ireland’s Ocean Knowledge 2030 Strategy, a visionary roadmap that charts a path for marine research and sustainability over the next decade. An advanced draft of the strategy was unveiled at the conference. The strategy aims to harness the full potential of ocean research and innovation to secure a sustainable future for Ireland’s seas.

Speaking about Ocean Knowledge 2030, Dr Niall McDonough, Director at the Marine Institute said: “The Ocean Knowledge 2030 Strategy is Ireland's roadmap to strengthening our marine research, knowledge, and innovation capacities from 2025 to 2030. It outlines how cutting-edge research, advanced data, and transformative technologies can tackle critical global challenges such as climate adaptation and ocean health. Our ocean is a vital resource, and this strategy ensures we unlock its vast potential responsibly.”

In addition to discussions on the Ocean Knowledge 2030 Strategy, the first day of the two-day event featured a blend of keynote presentations, strategic panel discussions, and networking opportunities designed to foster innovation and collaboration in ocean research and policy. Highlights included:

Day 1:

· Opening Session: Dr John Bell (European Commission), Sinéad McSherry (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine), and Deirdre Lillis (Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation, and Science) emphasised the pivotal role of international collaboration in ocean research.

· Session 1: Living with a Changing Ocean Led by Gerard McCarthy from University of Maynooth, this session examined Ireland’s response to changing ocean and climate conditions, with insights from experts including Rosemarie Lawlor of Met Éireann, Karen Wiltshire from Trinity College Dublin, and wildlife broadcaster Colin Stafford-Johnson.

· Session 2: Ireland’s Ocean Economy Panellists explored sustainable development across Ireland’s marine industries, including renewable energy and maritime transport, with contributions from OECD, BIM, SEAI, Fáilte Ireland, and DP Energy.

· Session 3: One Global Ocean International experts, including Olive Heffernan (Science Journalist) and Carl Grainger (Department of Foreign Affairs), examined Ireland’s role in global ocean governance and science diplomacy.

Day 2 (21 November):

The second day will dive into data and management issues essential for Ireland’s ocean space and sustainability. Key sessions include:

· Session 4: Managing the Changing Use of Ireland’s Ocean Space will examine the research needs for managing Ireland’s maritime space. Experts will discuss the increasing use of Ireland’s maritime space for industrial, recreational and conservation needs, and the balancing of ocean health with economic activities.

· Session 5: The Power of Ocean Data This session will showcase how digital technologies and ocean data drive sustainable policies and practices, with insights from the Marine Institute, the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODNet), the Norwegian University of Science & Technology, and the UK National Oceanography Centre.

The conference continues tomorrow (21 November). Stay updated on conference highlights by following #OceanKnowledge2030

To view the full programme visit Ocean Knowledge

Annual Negotiations Underway

 

The first week of the annual fisheries negotiations between the UK and our neighbours is over and it is clear that there is still a long way to go before the various deals are concluded that will determine the prospects of our industry for the coming year. The crucial issue is, of course, determining the level of exploitation that each stock can support. It’s a simple enough concept, but the decision is seldom straightforward.

It is a key principle of modern fisheries management that scientific evidence should underpin the decision-making process. In the context of these negotiations, this means the annual ICES fisheries advice. People who either do not understand the process, or else are willfully disingenuous in their depiction of it, present ICES advice as though it were commandments inscribed on tablets of stone. The word of God: omniscient; infallible; any variation from it, an act of gross immorality.

It is nothing of the sort, of course. There is a healthy academic literature around the misuse and misinterpretation of ICES advice and it would be a refreshing (if entirely fanciful) prospect, were some of the commentators who so uncritically parrot attack lines from the anti-seafood lobby to inform themselves better by reading some of these more objective sources.

ICES does not set out to dictate fisheries management outcomes. It publishes advice: information given to assist others to take decisions. It is not simply an objective statement of definitive facts about the size and composition of each stock. The available data is nowhere near comprehensive enough for that. Instead, ICES advice incorporates assumptions, conjecture, and subjective judgments alongside hard evidence. Nor does it give a single definitive statement for each species. People who seek a scientific-looking figleaf to disguise their antipathy towards others eating fish, may fixate on the ‘headline’ advice, but this is simply one catching scenario among several that ICES evaluates for each stock. It is generally the scenario that a mathematical model suggests will bring the stock to maximum sustainable yield level in the shortest possible time. This isn’t the only way to manage a fishery, however. It is perfectly legitimate to work over a longer period: to accept that a management plan will not achieve perfection immediately, but will instead reach the same endpoint over a more realistic timescale.

And really, why not do that? Why not allow food production to continue, jobs to be sustained, and coastal communities to remain economically secure, at the expense of waiting a year or two longer for an estimated number of fish to reach a point that a computer simulation suggests might be good? We have established the whole apparatus of ICES and set it to work examining multiple different management scenarios. Insisting that we should only ever follow the headline advice is like getting multiple quotes for every purchase but only ever choosing the dearest one. Such an approach is overly simplistic and will in many cases fail to achieve the objectives of good fisheries management.

We need to remember that the purpose of fisheries management is not conservation: it is the production of food in a way that can be sustained indefinitely. The Fisheries Act 2020 and the Joint Fisheries Statement both recognise that this requires social and economic considerations to be incorporated into management decisions, as well as environmental factors. I would argue that, where a region has seen TAC cuts for several years in a row, preventing fishing businesses from becoming unviable must be a central consideration in this. Further cuts should be avoided, or at the very least minimised, unless absolutely essential for the survival of particular stocks. More moderate advice from ICES should be preferred to the inflexible and limited headline statement. The objective of bringing about national benefit includes retaining jobs and producing food, not just prioritising ecological goals on unnecessarily strict timescales.

We have become accustomed to NGO commentators demanding to know how the environment in the abstract has been taken into account when TACs are set – increasingly accompanied by threats of legal action if they don’t like the outcomes. The only thing that this approach sustains is controversy. It would make a truly refreshing change if they showed the same interest was in understanding how evidence of social and economic needs were incorporated into the agreements.

It shouldn’t be that government only focuses those parts of the Fisheries Act and the JFS that the wealthy threaten to sue them about, but it is hard to argue that this has not been the case in recent years. There is a new government in office for these annual negotiations, however. We are watching see if it will be business as usual, or whether they care enough about our industry and our communities to do things better.

Full story courtesy of the NFFO.

The swans are back in town!

Looks like a swan family has taken up residence in Newlyn again...

on this rather dull and overcast morning...

where even the gulls look somewhat subdued...

not so on the market with plenty of be cheerful about with some seasonal squid a-plenty...

while some play the, 'where's my box gone' game...

there it goes...

superb looking inshore soles...

and plenty of ray wings...

and a tubby turbot form Tom...

the reddest of red mullet...

and adorable Dory...

amongst the other 37 specie up for auction...

including six of these beauties...

plenty of pollack from the pollack trials...

and that man was at the bass and mackerel again...

there's work to be done later aboard the Ocean Pride...

and maybe the Crystal Sea, though her crew are probably very keen to have a run ashore...

especially as the not-so-good forecast might just keep the boats tied up for some of the week coming...

the St Georges is up, just about the biggest boat the slip will take...

Winter of Ladram riding high on the big tide...

with the vivier driver busy topping up the tanks.

 

A UK first - canned Cornish bluefin tuna!

The UK's First Canned Bluefin Tuna

A fishing innovation last year happened when the UK witnessed a historic moment as licensed fishing for bluefin tuna became a reality. The burgeoning market for these magnificent fish has presented a challenge for buyers: how to handle, prepare, and process them to perfection. 

Enter Chris Ranger, an oyster fisherman and sustainable fish canning pioneer based in Mylor on Cornwall's picturesque Fal Estuary. Over the past 2 years he has pioneered canning shellfish in Cornwall, then this year started validating #TinnedFish including pilchards, mackerel and haddock, and in November started the Bluefin Tuna production. 

Now, in collaboration with fellow fisherman Chris Gill from Mevagissey, he's turning his attention to bluefin tuna. By producing small-batch runs of canned bluefin tuna cuts, Chris is setting a new standard for sustainable seafood preservation.

Here, Chris describes the day he went to sea and caught a bluefin himself to be processed at his Cornish Canning Company's cannery:

"This was such an epic experience, and I cannot thank my ol' school mate from the 1980s, Chris Gill, he is a pioneer in the Cornish Bluefin Tuna industry, he spent years on the 'catch and release' program, studying the stocks and then writing the Cornish Tuna Fishery Management Plan, he is one of the few registered and licensed commercial fisherman, and operates out of Mevagissey.

So, following a chance catch up, he invited me to come and catch a Cornish Bluefin Tuna so that I could can it in my Cornish Canning Co cannery, at Mylor Harbour, probably the first tuna to be caught and canned in Cornwall, and it was caught just off the coast between the two harbours...

Two fish were caught that day, a 74kg, the one in the cool bag, which we filleted without filming, then the one I caught, 56.6kg, which is in the time lapse footage, both caught using rod and line, just off the Cornish Coast aboard 'AQUILA' FY324, Official Landing Number - ICCAT 71"

This is just one of many of Chris' adventures over the years, from pop-ups, festivals, Ranger's Oyster Bars, Cornish Canning Co, and the new Tinned Fish Cafe.

Young Fishermans' Podcast Launches Friday, 29th Nov at the Fisherman's Arms, Newlyn

 

A Podcast Highlighting the Next Generation of Seafarers

A new podcast series, Young Fishers, is shining a light on the vibrant and dynamic world of young fishers across the UK.

Produced by Cornwall-based Miracle Theatre, this four-part series takes listeners on a journey from the Cornish coast to the rugged shores of Scotland. Featuring interviews with young fishers, from seasoned skippers in their twenties to teenage enthusiasts just starting out, the podcast offers a unique glimpse into the challenges and rewards of a life at sea.

A Voice for the Future of Fishing

One of the series' highlights is 13-year-old Antony Newcombe from Cawsand, Cornwall. Despite his young age, Antony has already built a loyal customer base for his freshly caught lobster and crab, and has even garnered a following online. His story, along with those of other young fishers like Jonny Pascoe from Mullion Cove, showcases the passion and dedication of the next generation.

Jonny, who sees fishing as a "universal language," emphasizes the shared experiences and challenges faced by fishers across different regions. He explains, "It's great to see people interested in what young fishermen are doing around the UK. It's a chance for us to connect, share experiences, and learn from each other."

A Scottish Perspective

The podcast also features voices from Scotland, including Tom Robertson, a skipper from Lerwick, Shetland, and Erin MacKenzie from Mallaig. These young fishers share their own unique perspectives on the industry, highlighting the hard work, dedication, and sense of community that define their lives.

Producer Hannah Stephens believes that the series showcases a youthful drive to overcome the challenges of fishing and promote the positive and profitable aspects of the industry. She says, "We wanted to highlight the passion and energy of these young fishers and inspire others to consider a career in the industry."

Hannah added: “From Newlyn to Shetland, everyone’s story and route into fishing is different but there is this united resilience and determination that resonates in all the young people we had the privilege of meeting. Making this series has been totally inspiring.” 

Encouraging the Next Generation

Matilda Phillips, a Cornish fishing family member and coordinator of the Young Fishermen Network, is committed to promoting fishing and attracting new recruits. She sees the podcast as a valuable tool for inspiring young people to explore the opportunities available in the industry.

"A major goal of the network is to recruit more young people to fishing," says Matilda. "We want to shine a positive light on the industry and show people how much fun it can be."

Listen to the Podcast

The Young Fishers podcast is set to launch on November 29th at a special event hosted by Miracle Theatre and the Cornish Fish Producers’ Organisation’s Young Fishermen Network.

Young Fishermans Network are on Instagram.

Please join us for a panel discussion hosted by Miracle Theatre and the Young Fishermen Network, where we will hear from the Young Fishers Podcast speakers, followed by networking and nibbles!

Book your place (it's free!) at the event here

Fri 29 Nov 2024 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Fisherman's Arms, Newlyn, TR18 5JR

Taking part in the Young Fishers podcasts are: Cornish Fishers: Antony Newcombe (Cawsand), Jack Kelly-Granger (West Cornwall), Tom Lambourn (Newlyn), Jack West (Mevagissey), Jonny Pascoe (Mullion). Scottish Fishers: Ross Davidson (Lossiemouth), Erin MacKenzie (Mallaig), Tom Robertson (Lerwick, Shetland)

A Silent Mountain and an Azores yellow-legged gull, just a normal Saturday in Newlyn

Captured in flight and a long way from home, an Azores yellow-legged gull by Deena Sharp...

good to see the gigs putting in the arm work...

on an exceptionally big tide day...

which saw several of the netters drying out alongside the Mary Williams pier - another reason why Newlyn needs to expand into the deeper water a harbour extension from Sandy Cove would bring if the harbour is going to have a future providing a safe haven for modern boats...

 a long steam to Porthcurno and back was worth the effort...

 for Will, the youngest mackerel man in the port.

Newlyn community news! Bringing the Old Harbour back into use.

You may have noticed significant work underway at Newlyn's Old Harbour. This essential groundwork is paving the way for an exciting community project to revitalize one of the UK's oldest documented fishing harbours.

By restoring this historic site, we aim to:

• Preserve our maritime heritage: 
• Create a vibrant community hub: 
• Support sustainable livelihoods:

For centuries, Newlyn's Old Harbour has been the beating heart of the village. However, in recent decades, the increasing demands on the main working harbour have led to a decline in the Old Harbour's maintenance.

Recognizing its historical significance, Historic England conducted a comprehensive assessment in 2023, highlighting the importance of the listed buildings within the area. Thanks to this assessment and a detailed Statement Heritage, we've secured listed building consent and joint funding from Penzance Town Council and NPHC.

Our Vision: A Thriving Maritime Hub

We envision the Old Harbour as a vibrant hub of maritime activity, where traditional luggers are once again berthed and sail from the quayside. By restoring these historic structures, we aim to:

• Preserve our rich maritime heritage: Honour our past and inspire future generations.
• Create a thriving community space: Provide a place for locals and visitors to gather, learn, and enjoy the benefits of the coast.
• Support sustainable livelihoods: Foster a new generation of skilled boatbuilders and sailors.

How You Can Help

We invite you to join us in this exciting endeavor. Your support, whether through volunteering, donations, or simply spreading the word, can help us achieve our goals.

Together, let's restore Newlyn's Old Harbour and create a lasting legacy for generations to come.

Project Lead: West Cornwall Lugger Industry Trust Ltd

Old Harbour Owners: Newlyn Pier and Harbour Commission 

Project Finance: WCLIT with Newlyn Pier and Harbour Commission