Proposal & Strategy

A successor to The Irish National Seabed Survey Proposal & Strategy March 2007 A note on the second version This document was first produced in June 2005 and was used as input to the preparation for a memo to government outlining the case for the establishment of the INFOMAR Programme. Subsequent to the establishment of the programme the subject of areas covered by the Irish National Seabed Survey, Petroleum Affairs Division, as well as the meaning of the Irish Designated Area and the Irish Aspirational Area were clarified at a hearing of the Public Accounts Committee. This second version includes those clarified terms and definitions of areas. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................................... 1 1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................. 8 2. PROPOSED STRATEGY .................................................................................... 12 2.1. Background ............................................................................................... 12 3. STRATEGIC DRIVERS ....................................................................................... 25 3.1. Legislative Requirements and Obligations ...................................................... 25 3.1.1. UNCLOS ........................................................................................... 26 3.1.2. Navigation & Safety At Sea................................................................... 28 3.1.3. Marine Environment, Habitat Mapping & Biodiversity................................ 30 3.1.4. Underwater Cultural Heritage................................................................ 31 3.1.5. Water Framework Directive .................................................................. 32 3.1.6. Marine Framework Directive ................................................................. 32 3.1.7. Integrated Coastal Zone Management ................................................... 33 3.1.8. Summary ........................................................................................... 33 3.2. Marine Resources Requirements & Obligations............................................... 36 3.2.1. Fishing Resources .............................................................................. 36 3.2.2. Aquaculture Development .................................................................... 36 3.2.3. Seaweed Development........................................................................ 37 3.2.4. Renewable Energy Resources.............................................................. 37 3.2.5. Marine Aggregate Resources................................................................ 37 3.2.6. Infrastructure Resource........................................................................ 38 3.2.7. Oceanographic Drivers for Data ............................................................ 38 3.2.8. Navigational Drivers for Data ................................................................ 39 3.2.9. Tourism Drivers for Data ...................................................................... 39 3.2.10. Research Drivers for Data........................................................................ 39 4. IMPLEMENTATION............................................................................................ 43 4.2. INFOMAR Programme Management Structure ............................................... 44 4.2.1. Team 1. Acquisition ............................................................................ 45 4.2.2 Team 2. Data Management, Exchange & Integration................................... 45 4.2.3. Team 3. Value added Products and Services.................................................... 45 5. Conclusions & Recommendations......................................................................... 48 LIST OF APPENDICES: Appendix I: Background to INSS Appendix II: INSS Vessel Outputs and Deliverables Appendix III: Stakeholders Consulted Appendix IV: List of Priority Bays and Areas Appendix V: Proposed Survey Methodology Appendix VI: An assessment of the optimal use and application in the medium to long-term future of the INSS deliverables to date (Phase 1) and to contribute to Phase 2. CSA Group, CIRCA Group and Swiftsure Spatial Systems Inc. (2005) LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Coastal Inshore Mapping Costs 9 Figure 1.2. The Irish EEZ showing areas surveyed to date 10 Figure 2.1. INFOMAR Strategy Implementation Overview 15 Figure 2.2. Priority Bays and Areas 16 Figure 2.3. Inshore zone showing 10m and 50m contours 17 Figure 2.4. Map of Irish Box, Irish EEZ and the Biologically 19 Sensitive Area Figure 3.1. Information Flow Chart showing Intended Outcomes 26 Figure 3.2. Summary diagram showing the geographical extents 34 of the various Treaties, Acts and Regulations covering the Continental Shelf Figure 3.3. Strategic Marine Research Partnerships established by 38 Ireland and our strategic location with regard to the Gulf Stream and Climate Change Studies Figure 4.1. Overview of Management Structure and Work Flows 46 LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1. Examples of Leveraged Research by the INSS Database 11 and Associated Expertise Capacity Table 2.1. Location and Extent of the Principal Activities and Coastal 18 Resources on a coastal sector basis Table 3.1. Fulfilment of requirements of the various Acts and Treaties 35 Table 4.1. Proposed INFOMAR Budget 47 Table 4.2. Summary Table 47 ABBREVIATIONS BIM Bord Iascaigh Mhara BSA Biologically Sensitive Area CBD Convention on Biological Diversity CIL Commissioner for Irish Lights CLCS UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf CMRC Coastal and Marine Resources Centre CSO Central Statistics Office CTD Conductivity, Temperature, Depth DAF Department of Finance DCMNR Department of Communications, Marine & Natural Resources DEHLG Department of Environment, Heritage & Local Government EEZ Exclusive Economic zone ENFO Environmental Public Information Service EPA Environmental Protection Agency ESONET European Seafloor Observatory Network Project ESONIM European Seafloor Observatory Network Implementation EU European Union FP6 EU 6th Framework Programme FP7 EU 7th Framework Programme FTEs Full Time Employments GMES EU Global Monitoring for Environment & Security Initiative GSI Geological Survey of Ireland HABMAP Habitat Mapping for conservation & management of the Southern Irish Sea HEA Higher Education Authority HERMES Hotspot Ecosystem Research on the Margins of European Seas ICES International Council for the Exploration of the Seas ICSTI Irish Council for Science, Technology & Innovation ICZM Integrated Coastal Zone Management IHO International Hydrographic Organisation IMAGIN Irish sea Marine Aggregates Imitative IMO International Maritime Organisation INFOMAR Integrated Mapping for the Sustainable Development of Ireland’s Marine Resource INSS Irish National Seabed Survey ISDI Irish Spatial Data Initiative JNCC Joint Nature Conservation Committee LAT Lowest Astronomical Tide LIDAR Light Detection and Ranging LINZ Land Information New Zealand MARPOL International Convention for the Protection of Pollution from Ships MESH Mapping European Seabed Habitats MFD Marine Framework Directive MI Marine Institute NDP National Development Plan NPWS National Parks & Wildlife Service NUIG National University of Ireland, Galway OSPAR Oslo Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Northeast Atlantic PAD Petroleum Affairs Division, DCMNR PIP Petroleum Infrastructure Programme, DCMNR PTRLI Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions R&D Research and Development R&I Research and Innovation RPII Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland RTD Research, Technology & Development RV Research Vessel SAC Special Area of Conservation SAR International Convention on Maritime Search & Rescue SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive SEI Sustainable Energy Ireland SME Small to Medium Enterprise SOLAS International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea TAC Total Allowable Catch TCMs Technical Conservation Measures UK United Kingdom UKHO United Kingdom Hydrographic Office UN United Nations UNCLOS UN Convention on the Law of the Sea UNESCO UN Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation US United States of America VFM Value for Money WFD Water Framework Directive WGI INSS Working Group WGMHM ICES Working Group on Marine Habitat Mapping EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In only six years, Ireland has developed a world-leading reputation1 for seabed mapping including methodologies, human capacity, know how and physical infrastructure. This was accomplished through the successful implementation of the Irish National Seabed Survey (INSS). To date, over 527,000km² 2 of the Irish designated seafloor area through various state led survey programmes. For an INSS investment of 32M 432,000km² p was covered, over 300 paper-based charts produced and a total of 5.5 Tb of digital information stored on the INSS database.3 The INSS operation from 1999 to 2005 has established an essential national asset, composed of: ° A marine data set to underpin present and future Irish economic, environmental, infrastructural and social, policy decisions ° Upgraded Irish marine surveying infrastructure; ° Personnel skilled in the design, planning, implementation and management of a large scale integrated marine resource evaluation programme ° The body of knowledge required to design, procure, build and operate the largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) survey conducted

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