Major Derry summit to share salmon, shark, whale and seal conservation project

The Loughs Agency will be hosting the highly anticipated SeaMonitor-STRAITS Conference, on February 23 and 24.

The conference is the culmination of the €4.7m SeaMonitor project that between 2019 and December 2022 used innovative marine species tracking technology to better understand and protect vulnerable marine life in our oceans.

This week’s confernece will offer an exciting opportunity for the SeaMonitor project partners, led by Loughs Agency, to share their findings and showcase the benefits of tracking aquatic life in our seas and rivers.

The project has utilised state-of-the-art acoustic telemetry equipment to track a range of marine species, including salmon, seals, basking sharks, cetaceans, and skate.

The two-day conference will provide a platform for the team to present their findings and highlight the importance of tracking these species for conservation and management purposes and will be attended by an international delegation of almost 100 marine scientists, academics, and political representatives

The SeaMonitor Conference will also serve as the official launch of the STRAITS project, which has received funding from the European Union as part of the Horizon 2030 Initiative. The project aims to continue the work of SeaMonitor and ensure a landmark counter in the North Channel is redeployed and integrated with other major counters across Europe through collaboration with the European Tracking Network (ETN).

In addition to Loughs Agency, SeaMonitor project partners include Atlantic Technological University, Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute, Marine Institute, University College Cork, Queen’s University Belfast, University of Glasgow, University of California (David), and Ocean Tracking Network.

SeaMonitor delivered five spatial models for basking shark, skate, salmonids, seals and cetaceans and three Management Plans for three areas and two species: the Foyle and Clyde estuaries (salmon) and Loch Sunart to Sound of Jura (skate).

The project achieved this by extending the existing network of buoys with acoustic receivers, delivered by a sister project, COMPASS, from the east to north coast of the Island of Ireland establishing a physical connection of acoustic receivers between the Island of Ireland and Scotland.

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