NRW experts take to the stage at Welsh Marine Evidence Conference
Kirsten Ramsay, NRW’s Team Leader Marine and Coastal Ecosystems Advice, is one of the opening speakers at this year’s Welsh Marine Evidence Conference. Here she explains what it is all about and how research can inform the policy and management decisions we make in the Welsh marine environment.
Experts from Natural Resources Wales’ marine team are looking forward to discussing a variety of topics at the Welsh Marine Evidence Conference talking about the way we have worked with research partners to build our knowledge of the marine environment.
Bringing together people in a conference like this is really important as it provides a forum where we can discuss how we can carry out research that will feed into policy and management decisions that will protect our marine environment.
Among the speakers from NRW are Kate Lock, NRW’s Senior Marine Assessment Specialist and Natasha Lough, NRW’s Specialist Advisor Marine Ecology, who will talk about the evidence of impacts on pink sea fan around Skomer and how this will provide information to help us manage the species.
Matt Green, who is a Senior Marine Environmental Assessment Officer for NRW, will talk about how unique long-term seabed sediment monitoring programmes can provide insights on the health of our wonderful Welsh marine life. Seabed sediment animals are great indicators of a range of pollutants and other forms of environmental disturbance.
Tom Stringell, NRW’s Lead Specialist Advisor for Marine Species, will present the recently published study carried out by Sea Watch Foundation and Bangor University examining the presence of whales, dolphins, porpoises (cetaceans) and seabird species in the seas around Wales.
Jake Davies works on Project SIARC (Sharks Inspiring Action and Research with Communities), a multi-disciplinary project led by NRW and Zoological Society of London (ZSL) in partnership with 19 organisations, who are collaborating with communities, fishers, researchers and government. In his session Jake will speak about the approaches the project is taking to better understand sharks, rays and skates in Welsh seas.
Meanwhile, Hannah Lee, a community officer for Project SIARC, will talk about the projects ongoing work to increase the inclusivity of the project to support a wider diversity of people to people to engage with marine conservation.
And Kathryn Hughes, NRW’s senior advisor for the marine area statement, will discuss Ocean Literacy presenting evidence from the ocean literacy survey commissioned by Defra in collaboration with Natural Resources Wales, Scottish Government and the Ocean Conservation Trust.
The Marine Evidence Conference on 27, 28 and 29 February 2024 is being hosted by Environment Platform Wales, with Welsh Government and NRW, at the Bangor Management Centre and it can also be accessed online.