News & Events 2016

New & Events 2016

Tuesday 24th November 2016, Glenlo Abbey Hotel, Galway

SEMRU held the 7th Annual Beaufort Socio-Economic Marine Research Symposium at the Glenlo Abbey Hotel in Galway on Tuesday the 24th November. With over 100 registered delegates, this annual event provided participants with an update on a wide range of economic and social topics related to the marine sector in Ireland and the Atlantic Area. Speakers this year included leading international experts in the field of environmental valuation Prof. Nick Hanley of St. Andrews University Scotland, Dr. Kathrine Skoland of the International Research Institute of Stavanger, Norway, and Dr. Danny Campbell of Stirling University. Other speakers of note on the day included Professor Ronán Long of NUI Galway who reviewed progress in the negotiation of a new international instrument for the protection of biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction and Dr. Ronan Lyons of Trinity College Dublin who presented research using a rich house price dataset from Daft.ie to investigate if people value having a ’picture’ of the coast via a window in their house more than having direct access to the coast for recreational purposes. The analysis demonstrated the addition to residential property value from having a sea view or access to coastal features such as beaches and cliffs.

Of interest from a policy perspective Ciarán O’ Driscoll, a research associate of SEMRU, explored the impact of Brexit on European Fishing policy arguing that due to Britain’s international commitments to cooperate under UN law, post-Brexit Britain may not be able to reclaim control over setting fishing quotas and limit access to its waters by non-British vessels unilaterally. In the same session Richard Cronin, a senior advisor in the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government outlined the key research needs of Irish policy makers that would support the implementation of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the EU Maritime Spatial Planning Directive in Ireland and across the EU.

Speakers in the first session; Stephen Hynes, Ciarán O’ Driscoll, Professor Ronán Long, Richard Cronin and Chairman Anthony Grehan.

Second International Symposium on Marine Economy

Dr. Stephen Hynes (SEMRU) attending the Second International Symposium on Marine Economy: The Oceans in National Income Accounts; Definition, Classification and Methodology in Tianjin, China, October 25-28, 2016.

Pictured (from left to right) Stephen Hynes, SEMRU, Whitaker Institute, Charles Colgan, Centre Blue Economy, Monterey, CA, USA, He Guangshun, Zhang Zhanhai, Chen Yue and Liu Xiaoqiang of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), People's Republic of China, Kwangseo Park, Korea Maritime Institute, Alistair McIlgorm, University of Wollongong, Australia.

Save the Date - Thursday 24th November

7th Annual Marine Economics and Policy Research Symposium

Venue: Glenlo Abbey Hotel, Galway

The Socio-Economic Marine Research Unit (SEMRU) of the Whitaker Institute, NUI Galway, invites you to attend the 7th Marine Economics and Policy Research Symposium

The overall day will provide participants with an update on a wide range of policy topics related to the marine sector in Ireland, with a particular focus this year on the valuation of marine ecosystem services benefits to society. Speakers will include Prof. Nick Hanley of the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology Scotland (MASTS), Dr Ronan Lyons of Trinity College Dublin and Dr. Kathrine Skoland of International Research Institute of Stavanger, Norway, to name but a few.

To see the agenda for the day and register for free please go to http://www.conference.ie/Conferences/index.asp?Conference=492

Sea Change Researchers Workshop, 30th June 2016

Picture: Speaking at the Sea Change Researchers Workshop which was organised as part of Seafest 2016 were the Beaufort Award Principle Investigators: (L to R) Prof Tom Cross, Dr. Stephen Hynes, Prof David Reid, Prof Fiona Regan and Prof Alan Dobson

Whitaker Institute Day, April 13th 2016

On Wednesday, April 13th, The Whitaker Institute for Innovation and Societal Change, NUI Galway hosted it’s annual research day. The first morning session each cluster of the Whitaker Institute (which includes SEMRU) gave a quick presentation on their research and how it advances the three key research themes of the Institute; Sustainable and Inclusive Societies, Public-Sector Innovation and Reform and Business, Innovation & Economic Development. The other sessions throughout the day showcased some of the Whitaker researchers key on-going projects of the Institute in more detail.

On the day, there was a poster presentation by researchers and PhD students within the Whitaker. We are delighted to announce that SEMRU's Suzy van Osch (PhD student) won 1st Prize for her poster entitled 'The European Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Sustainable Seafood' - Congratulations Suzy!