WESPAS will take place over two legs and forms part of a time series used to provide biomass estimates of herring and boar fish stocks in ICES areas VIIB and VIA and inform stock assessments by ICES expert groups. Mr Ciaran O’Donnell will lead an experienced team of biologists from the Marine Institute on survey transects deploying a pelagic trawl to ground truth echo traces of herring, boar fish and other pelagic species.
WESPAS bursaries are an excellent opportunity for graduates and postgraduate students who wish to develop field skills in fisheries acoustics, biometric sampling and plankton sampling. WESPAS data collection also extends to marine mammal and seabirds. The survey will take place over two legs as follows:
- WESPAS 2023 Leg 1: 9th to 30th June
- WESPAS 2023 Leg 2: 30th June to 21st July
Applications
The closing date for applications for applications is Friday the 5th of May 2023.
Applications can be submitted online here.
Advice on completing the application form is here.
Requirements
- Current ENG 11 medical certificate (Leg 1 after 29th June 2019, Leg 2 after 20th July2019)
- Current PST STCW 95 or equivalent (Leg 1 after 29th June 2019, Leg 2 after 20th July2019)
- Capacity to adhere to COVID 19 RV stipulations
More information on medical and PST certificates can found at Vessel User Information | Marine Institute
Survey Data
The data collected during the survey is the intellectual property of the survey organisers. Participants are obliged to comply with survey data privacy and protection as set out by the Chief Scientist.
Further Information
For more information about this survey email John.Boyd@atu.ie.
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