Marine

  • Skate Research: Survey in the Loch Sunart to the Sound of Jura MPA

    19th September 2019 by

    MRV Alba na Mara Survey: 1619A Programme Duration: 24-30 September 2019 Background and Objectives: Survey 1619A will conduct a benthic survey of juvenile common skate within and around the Loch Sunart to the Sound of Jura Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area (hereafter referred to as MPA). The primary objective of survey 1619A is to assess the…

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  • Celebrating Merchant Navy Day

    3rd September 2019 by

    Today is Merchant Navy Day. For those of you who may not be aware, since 2000 Merchant Navy Day has honoured the brave men and women who kept our ‘island nation’ afloat during both World Wars, and celebrated our dependence on modern day merchant seafarers who are responsible for 95% of the UK’s imports, including…

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  • Nephrops on the East Coast – An Update

    20th August 2019 by

    MRV Alba na Mara Programme Survey 1319A Duration: 8-24 August 2019 The annual Alba na Mara East Coast Nephrops Underwater TV survey returns once again.  A very busy week has been spent in the Firth of Forth working under challenging conditions at times, but despite 40kt easterly gales plenty of headway was made with the planned…

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  • Funded Student Internships in Offshore Renewable Energy

    24th July 2019 by

    Are you a postgraduate student interested in a research project on the environmental impacts of offshore renewable energy on fish ecology and commercial fisheries, to help inform government priorities? Then this funded internship programme with Marine Scotland might just be for you! Marine Scotland invites postgraduate students (Masters and PhD), registered with any UK academic…

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  • Surveying in the Moray Firth Wind Farm Sites

    17th July 2019 by

    Marine Scotland Science (MSS) colleagues and University of Aberdeen (UoA) postgraduate students set sail on the Alba na Mara to undertake a multi-disciplinary survey within the Moray Firth wind farm sites from the 8th – 12th of June 2019.  The aim of this survey was to characterise the distribution of the prey species (fish schools,…

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  • Nephrops Burrowing Complexes; Part Two

    28th June 2019 by

    The Nephrops TV survey continued through the South Minch without any issues and experienced some impressive sunsets. Due to a poor weather forecast, the vessel made way for Stanton Bank a little earlier than originally planned and recovered/deployed a COMPASS mooring in the south of the region (which had an even larger squid cluster than…

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  • Scallops, Starfish and Heavy Metal

    24th June 2019 by

    MRV Alba na Mara Survey: 1019A Programme Duration: 15 June – 04 July 2019 Fishing Gear: Scallop dredges Objectives: Carry out a survey of scallop stocks on the East Coast. Age, measure and assess shell damage on all scallops caught. Collect information on by-catch of other commercial fish and shellfish species. Identify and quantify numbers…

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  • BOWLing for Prey Species

    20th June 2019 by

    MRV Alba na Mara Survey: 0919A Programme Duration: 8-12 June 2019 Equipment: Pelagic net PT 154; “Bongo” net plankton sampling equipment; Seabird SBE19 CTD; Water sampling mini-rosette; Sandeel dredge; Day grab and grab table; and EK 60 sounder. Location Names: Beatrice Offshore Wind farm Limited  (BOWL); Moray East Offshore Wind farm (MEOW); and Moray West…

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  • All Eyes on New Worm Species

    18th June 2019 by

    There’s a worm at the bottom of the sea – and it’s been discovered off the Scottish coast by a team of scientists from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Marine Scotland Science (MSS) and Thomson Environmental Consultants. But this isn’t an ordinary worm – the newcomer has a unique anatomy with its eyes in…

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  • Nephrops Burrowing Complexes

    6th June 2019 by

    MRV Scotia Programme Survey: 0819S Duration: 2-24 June 2019 Gear: 2 x Scotia BT175 60mm prawn trawls; 2 x Day grabs and 1 x sieving table; 2 x towed UWTV sledges; 3 x 600m umbilical towing cables and associated TV equipment (including back up); COMPASS work: VEMCO deck box, transponder and charging unit for acoustic release;…

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