Primary Production Research Initiative in Marine Atlantic Remote Areas
PRI-MARA
2.2 - Sustainable management and protection of the resources of marine spaces
Atlantic Marine communities in outlying areas, where small scale fishing, angling, aquaculture, heritage, water sports and eco-tourism offer sustainable opportunities for development, can benefit from the involvement of the local community in Atlantic coastal scale research in primary production patterns, variability and threats in their areas.
Primary production drives all higher marine ecosystems.
As an example, scientists studying the distribution and behaviour of basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) must be informed by local seasonal cycles in primary phytoplankton production. Climate change scientists need firm baseline information on primary production patterns to detect climate induced changes in the future…etc.
Technology developments, in instrument systems, imaging, digital microscopes, web-enabled data management and communications combined with traditional sechi-disk, plankton net and bottle sampling techniques now allow local communities to contribute significantly to marine science research and monitoring.
Community involvement empowers new enterprise ideas; research outstations for higher education research and training support, marine interpretative activities for education, heritage and tourism support and creation of a local expertise resource to underpin future local SME developments in water sports, fisheries, aquaculture, information technologies, design, presentation, instrument system development etc.
