Dr. Peter Heffernan:

My colleague and I are delighted to be back before the committee. Dr. Connolly is much more expert in fisheries matters, on which I am sure there will be questions. I will summarise briefly our statement and submission.

The committee will not be surprised that as the representative of a marine agency, I will be speaking more from the perspective of the part of Ireland - 90% - that is under water.

Oceans make up 70% of the planet's surface. It should be no surprise that Ireland's weather and climate experience is dominated by the Atlantic Ocean. Our written submission sought to highlight the very significant socioeconomic impacts associated with climate change from a maritime perspective, not only with fisheries and aquaculture but also with land-based industry and agriculture. There are trends we can see very clearly. The waters around Ireland are continuing to warm. We are seeing increased winter precipitation, decreased summer precipitation, more storm surge events, increased sea level rise and extreme wave heights. One only has to think about Storm Ophelia in the south east of Ireland where a record wave height of over 17 m was recorded. It was so strong that it took the measuring device away with it. Acidification is a considerable worry. The oceans absorb 25% of all man-made carbon. They absorb 90% of the heat produced.

There are trends in fisheries. Cod and haddock stocks are declining. We also see increasing stocks of hake and monkfish, which are even more valuable. Aquaculture faces the risks of acidification and what it can do to oyster and mussel productivity. We are also seeing new and increasing occurrences of harmful algal blooms, which can have disruptive impacts on market access, production and increased food safety risks. The severity of storm surges is not limited to the coast. It can have impacts on drinking water and essential national infrastructure in cities.

While the threats are numerous, there are several opportunities. We have the potential to harvest sustainably and grow new species that are better suited to these changing ocean conditions. Undoubtedly, more effort in the scale of ocean research and sustained monitoring will be required in order to equip Ireland with suitable advice to manage and mitigate risks associated with climate change. When we look at Ireland's integrated marine plan, a very ambitious target for 2020 was set to double the socioeconomic value to €6.4 billion from a base of €3.2 billion in 2012. By 2016, Ireland was achieving a €5.7 billion economic return from the maritime sector. There is a lot for Ireland to get right in the future. To do that right and to manage the interaction with climate change and the ocean will require an enhanced, integrated national effort. Robust advice and enhanced projections are essential to deal with the changing oceans and climate. Ireland has a very substantial solid performance base and infrastructure to build on. We have world-class facilities in oceanographic, environmental and fishery science research, world-class research vessels and ocean observation systems, a data buoy network and a tide gauge network right around the country that is a very solid base for expansion of the scientific endeavour. The endeavour will be taken on in collaboration with many State actors, Departments and agencies.

Climate change and oceans are inextricably linked. A healthy ocean has an existential impact on life on earth; it is our planetary life support system. The oceans are the heartbeat of the planet. Half the oxygen one breathes comes from microscopic plants in the ocean and 97% of the planet's water is in the ocean; it is the planetary reservoir. One can understand why the major focus of the Marine Institute's next national research plan and our next strategy will put a very serious emphasis on the role of climate and oceans and the interplay between both. We will be very happy to take questions from the committee.