The exploitation of coastal waters for the benefit of people, whether as a source of food, a sink for our effluents, or as a recreation park requires the careful use of research-based management policies.   All too easily we could otherwise disturb precious habitats, eat seafood contaminated with potent biotoxins produced naturally by a very small number of plankton, or overload the marine environment with effluents leading to eutrophication and substantial loss of water quality.   Approaches within this sub-theme include predictive modelling as well as advanced technologies to research habitats otherwise accessed with difficulty in the marine environment.

People

Dr. Anthony Grehan Earth and Ocean Sciences Phone: (091) 49 3235; Email: anthony.grehan@nuigalway.ie ——— Dr. Grehan’s area of expertise is in marine ecology and sustainable development. His research interests include habitat mapping, suitability modeling, deep-water corals, and sustainable ocean resource management. He is project coordinator of the EU FP7 CoralFISH project.

Dr. Robin Raine Marine Microbiology Phone: (091) 49 2271; Email: robin.raine@nuigalway.ie ——— Dr. Raine’s research interests are in the interactions between physical processes on the shelf and phytoplankton ecology, with a focus on the physical process important in promoting harmful algal events.

Some Active Projects:

• The WATER project is funded through the Northern Periphery Programme, one of the INTERREG programmes funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).  WATER (Warning of Algal Toxin Events in the northern periphery Region) aims to reduce the impact of harmful algal events, commonly referred to as harmful algal blooms, on shellfish aquaculture in peripheral regions.  With partners from Ireland, Shetland, Scotland, the Faroe Islands and Norway, the project will demonstrate to shellfish producers new relevant methodologies.
• MIDTAL (MIcroarrays for the Detection of Toxic ALgae) is a cooperated project covering several institutes over Europe coastal seas.  The objectives of the project are to optimize existing probes for harmful algae and their toxins, and to use the experience and expertise of all of the project partners to develop and construct a universal microarray.  This project integrates European efforts to monitor coastal waters for toxic algal species.