03 Jan 2023
The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, has issued Maritime Area Consents (MACs) to the first phase of seven offshore renewable energy projects, in what represents a significant milestone in the delivery of offshore wind in Ireland. The news release from government said: ‘The award of MACs ensures that only projects with the greatest […]
22 Dec 2022
It has been quite a year for the ocean. 2022 has seen some big news for the marine and coastal sectors, with environmental, community, industry and global issues coming to the fore. It was the year of the COPs: right across the world several Conference of the Parties took place, with varying levels of perceived […]
20 Dec 2022
In the third year of annual fisheries negotiations with the UK operating as an independent coastal state, the UK and EU agreed catch levels for 69 important fish stocks. This included some of the most commercially valuable stocks to the UK fishing industry such as North Sea Nephrops (£54m), Anglerfish (£31m) and Western hake (£25m). […]
20 Dec 2022
The Crown Estate has announced its first major investment in surveys to support the proposal to unlock valuable new clean energy capacity through floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea. By investing in these surveys at an early stage and making the data freely available to successful bidders, The Crown Estate is aiming to accelerate […]
20 Dec 2022
Fishers and campaigners have protested against further developments on the River Tees after crustacean deaths off the North East and Yorkshire coasts, the BBC has reported. Meanwhile, MPs have pressed the Government into revealing more details of the inquiry set up into the deaths. The protesters, who gathered at the Teesworks site, believe dredging has disturbed toxic […]
20 Dec 2022
Scottish Secretary for the Environment, Mairi McAllan has confirmed that under the National Marine Plan, the government will make it mandatory for all scallop dredgers and pelagic vessels to be fitted with remote electronic monitoring equipment (REM) technology. The Minister says she believes, “REM provides opportunities to modernise the way in which accountability and confidence […]
20 Dec 2022
While many efforts to fight climate change have focused on planting trees or restoring wetlands, researchers publishing in Trends in Ecology and Evolution advocate for the importance of understanding the carbon sequestration potential of the planet’s largest animals—whales. In their paper, the researchers explore how whales can influence the amount of carbon in our air and waters […]
20 Dec 2022
The Irish Government has announced newly protected marine sites and government approval of the General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill. Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, said: “We started from a low base of 2.3% marine protection in 2020, but since I became Minister we have more than tripled […]
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