CE26003

The International Blue Whiting Spawning Stock Survey (IBWSS) Spring 2026 was carried out from March to April 2026 to assess the abundance, biomass, distribution, and population structure of Northeast Atlantic blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou). The survey was coordinated through the ICES Working Group on International Pelagic Surveys (WGIPS) and involved five research vessels from Ireland, the Faroe Islands, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain. Acoustic data were collected using calibrated scientific echosounders and analysed using the StoX software framework, supported by biological sampling from midwater trawl catches. Despite persistent poor weather conditions that reduced survey efficiency and biological sampling effort, good spatial and temporal coverage of the core spawning areas along the continental shelf break was achieved. The estimated total stock biomass in 2026 was 3.0 million tonnes, representing a 32% increase compared with 2025, while total stock numbers increased by 34%. The stock was dominated by 2–5‑year‑old fish, and spawning stock biomass was estimated at 2.9 million tonnes. Distribution patterns were consistent with recent years, with the bulk of the stock concentrated in the Rockall Trough and adjacent shelf‑edge areas. The results are considered robust and contribute to the long‑term IBWSS time series supporting international stock assessment and fisheries management advice

Explorers Calendar 2026

This EXPLORERS Event Calendar 2026 may be downloaded and printed on one page for your reference.This calendar highlights key events relateted to marine education carried out by the Marine Institute's Explorers Education Programme. This includes ocean events and educational activities, workshops, training and lots more. It also highlights school holidays, public holidays, back to school, education weeks, marine and environmental days, dates of recognition, application reminders, closing dates, teachers training, online teachers training, Explorers Ocean Champions Awards with winning schools and lots more.Marine Institut

Tuarascáil Tionchair Bhliantúil 2025

The Marine Institute is the national agency for marine research, technology, development and innovation. It seeks to assess and realise the economic potential of Ireland’s marine resource, promote sustainable development of marine industry through strategic funding programmes and essential scientific services, as well as safeguard Ireland’s natural marine resource through research and environmental monitoring. Ireland has a marine area of approximately 880,000 km2 under the sea, which is over 10 times its land area, representing an enormous seabed and marine resource. The Marine Institute promotes the sustainable development of this vast resource through research, the application of new technologies and by providing credible science-based advice to industry, the Government and the EU.Marine Institute; Government of Ireland

Shellfish Stocks and Fisheries Review 2025: an assessment of selected stocks

This review presents updated information on the status of selected shellfish stocks in Ireland for 2025. It also provides an overview of the shellfish fishing fleet and trends in landings of shellfish species, excluding Nephrops. The purpose of this annual review is to present stock assessment and management advice for shellfish fisheries, particularly where new management measures are under consideration or where scientific advice is required to support assessment of potential environmental impacts, including in areas designated under European Directives. The review reflects recent work undertaken by the Marine Institute in the biological assessment of shellfish fisheries and their interactions with the marine environment.Marine Institut

Explorers Our Ocean Our Future: Marine Spatial Planning for Kids - Children's Workbook

Workbook included mapping activities, consideration of various stakeholders, and creative activities including game design!This workbook is designed to accompany the Explorers Our Ocean Our Future module to provide step-by-step guidance through the engaging activities that help children to understand our marine space and how it is and can be used best.Marine Institut

Multi-Seasonal eDNA Metabarcoding Highlights a Resurgence in Fish Diversity Across a Severely Impacted Estuarine Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems have been in an alarming state of decline for decades. In particular, estuarine ecosystems have experienced long-term declines in fish diversity due to factors such as habitat degradation, pollution and altered hydrology. Monitoring these systems is often limited by the difficulty and cost of conventional survey methods. In this study, we applied environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding to assess fish diversity in the Mersey Estuary (UK), a historically severely impacted system. Monthly water samples were collected over a year (2023–2024) across saline, brackish, and freshwater zones. Overall, 69 species were detected, surpassing both historical (46 species) and recent (39 species) records. Richness was highest in the upper freshwater zones, and several species were recorded returning to the estuary for the first time since pre-industrial times (∼1850s). Peak species richness occurred during winter (December–February). Species composition varied monthly and spatially, though not consistently by season. Approximately 15% of detected species were diadromous, with the endangered Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) being frequently detected during its key spawning period (October–December), for example. The results presented here indicate a resurgence in estuarine fish diversity in the Mersey and highlight eDNA metabarcoding as a rapid, sensitive tool for monitoring both contemporary and historically absent species, supporting conservation and restoration efforts

International ORE (Offshore Renewable Energy) Design Flexibility

This report, led by University College Cork, presents a comprehensive assessment of design flexibility in offshore renewable energy (ORE) development, with a focus on informing Ireland’s evolving regulatory and planning frameworks. The study integrates international policy analysis, environmental modelling, and stakeholder engagement to support the implementation of the Maritime Area Planning (MAP) Act 2021 and the Strategic Constraint–Designated Marine Area Plan (SC-DMAP).This award was successful under the Marine Institute’s Research for Policy Awards Call 2023 (Grant-Aid Agreement No. RPA/23/03/01) supported by the Marine Institute under the Marine Research Programme, and funded by the Government of Ireland

Genetic Structure of Blue Ling, Molva dypterygia, in the North Atlantic

The blue ling, a deep-water fish widespread in the Northeast Atlantic, has suffered major population declines from intensive fishing since the 1970s. Individuals sampled from four Norwegian fjords and offshore locations, including the Norwegian shelf, Faroe Islands, Rockall, Iceland and Greenland, were genotyped at 61 SNP loci. Results revealed weak but significant overall differentiation (FST = 0.005***) and no evidence of isolation by distance. While fjord and offshore groups showed no broad genetic separation, Yrkefjord displayed a distinct pattern relative to most other locations, warranting further investigation. Moreover, linkage disequilibrium analysis of SNPs produced a PCA pattern consistent with the characteristic three-band structure associated with chromosomal inversion

Identifying a sustainable operating window for seaweed aquaculture in the Global North: balancing expansion barriers and carrying capacity

© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original authors and source are credited. The Version of Record is available at the publisher’s site: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2025.742907Seaweed aquaculture is a growing blue sector that provides many benefits to society (e.g. biomass provision for food, feed and cosmetics) and the environment (e.g. eutrophication mitigation, carbon uptake and habitat provision). Successful and sustainable production expansion requires that these activities are operated within limits of acceptable change (LAC) i.e. align with ecological and social carrying capacity. Emerging from a three-round Delphi study, this work presents, from a Global North perspective, the most relevant 1) limiting variables from the socio-environmental spheres that influence the cultivation unit (inputs), such as high operating costs or underdeveloped markets or uncertain impacts from climate change, and 2) the negative impacts of aquaculture on environment and society (outputs), such as overhyped and unrealistic expectation for seaweed cultivation, conflicts with fisheries or pollution. Consolidated lists of these inputs and outputs are accompanied by specific thresholds beyond which unacceptable changes are likely to occur. These results are placed into a globally applicable holistic framework for a multidimensional assessment of seaweed aquaculture including barriers and carrying capacity, which has been outlined for the first time for seaweed cultivation. Our results emphasize the need to include socio-economic aspects into ecosystem approaches, like profitability or social license to operate – and the need for broad stakeholder participation. This study provides thus a directly useable lists of aspects to consider for cultivators and decision-makers. And as is as such a crucial contribution for the ongoing discourse on sustainable growth of this emerging blue sector

Lesson Plan 1: Explorers MSP Where We Live - Our Place & Our Space (Land & Sea)

The introductory lesson plan provides children with an understanding of the size of Ireland's marine territory (The Real Map of Ireland) and the area dedicated to Ireland's National Marine Planning Framework. They will gain an understanding of how maps have been used from past discovery of land, how we use maps today, and the importance of mapping valuable space that needs to be designated for future planning.This lesson will help children learn about Ireland's marine territory and resource and to understand how mapping is used as a part of planning how the land and ocean is used for human activities.Marine Institut