Marine

  • Who you gonna call? Diagnostics!

    8th September 2017 by

    Diagnostics banner

    You might not know this, but Marine Scotland is classified as the Scottish National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for crustacean, fish and mollusc diseases within the European Union. So what does that mean? Well, in practice it means that we have expertise and knowledge of a wide range of techniques and methods that can be used...

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  • Scottish Plans inspire Canada

    6th September 2017 by

    Scotland is well placed to take a global lead in the exploitation of marine renewable energy, boasting a substantial resource potential estimated at 25% of Europe’s tidal resource, 25% of its offshore wind resource and 10% of its wave potential. In order to sustainably develop the offshore marine renewable energy industry in Scottish waters, Marine...

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  • IA2017 – Marine litter is a problem

    4th September 2017 by

    OSPAR banner

    OSPAR has assessed the occurrence of marine litter in all regions within its Maritime Area, except for the Wider Atlantic where there is poor data availability. Marine litter, in particular plastic, is abundant on beaches, in the water column and on the seafloor. Marine litter also affects biota, as indicated by the levels in North...

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  • Surveying haddock at Rockall with the Scotia

    1st September 2017 by

    Duration: 2-13 September 2017 Gear  GOV Trawl (BT 137) with ground gear D CTD – Seabird 19+ Day grabs  Objectives To undertake the bottom trawl survey of haddock on Rockall Bank to a depth of 350 m.  To deploy a CTD at selected trawl stations to collect temperature and salinity profiles.  To collect sediment samples at...

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  • Making scientific slime

    31st August 2017 by

    So, what did you do at the weekend? I spent a morning making slime! Feeling a bit like Heston Blumenthal, I added some PVA glue, a few drops of food colouring and a 2% solution of Borax to a plastic bag and a few squishes later and the slime was ready! The occasion was TechFest Festival...

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  • Surveying MPAs with Alba na Mara

    30th August 2017 by

    Alba na Mara

    Duration: 31 August – 19 September 2017 Fishing Gear New drop/lander frame + calibration mesh HD TV system + lights Armoured cable + spare + axle stands Stereo TV system Objectives Programme 1517A will survey the waters around Lochinver and North Minch/Skye to collect stereo video imagery of Funiculina quadrangularis within survey boxes with different...

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  • Keeping track at Armadale: Last update from the tracking project

    29th August 2017 by

    The tagging at Armadale ended on 25 August with no further salmon tagged over the last 12 days. This suggested to us that the grilse run had finished. We will recover and download the receivers in due course, to see how many of and where the tagged fish were registered and a project report should be...

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  • IA2017 – Mixed signals for marine mammals

    28th August 2017 by

    OSPAR banner

    The abundance and condition of marine mammals, as top predators, can help indicate the state of the marine ecosystem. As was also the case at the time of the last OSPAR Quality Status Report (QSR 2010), harbour seal and grey seal populations are generally stable or increasing in most assessed areas although some harbour seal...

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  • When I’m calling you…

    21st August 2017 by

    two dolphins

    A new paper using underwater sounds to classify dolphin species has been published by researchers from the University of St Andrews and Marine Scotland Science (MSS). Many species of marine mammals use sound to navigate the seas and find food and their echolocation clicks can be detected by specialised underwater acoustic instruments. The MSS East...

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  • IA2017 – Cooperation ensures progress

    21st August 2017 by

    OSPAR banner

    The OSPAR Commission is the competent regional organisation guiding international cooperation on the protection of the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic. Through the global circulation of water and air, the North-East Atlantic is connected to, and impacted by, events in other parts of the world. As such, collaboration among governments and between government scientists,...

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