HRH The Prince of Wales has opened Marine Centre Wales, a national facility for the growing marine sector, at Bangor University’s School of Ocean Sciences.
Built at a cost of £5.5 million, the Centre provides a focus and access to expertise and a collaborative space for researchers, commercial operators, and agencies in the Welsh marine sector.
The main focus of activities within the building is collaboration with the commercial marine sector, with the aim to accelerate the transfer of new knowledge and to encourage commercial growth.
The Centre works on projects gathering evidence which inform environmental policies for governments and agencies. Linking research, commercial development, and government policy is important where both commercial opportunities and the legislative framework are rapidly developing, according to Bangor University.
Colin Jago , Dean of the College of Natural Sciences at Bangor University, said: “Much of the Centre’s work focuses on research to support and advise regarding a range of marine renewable energy developments. Research is required both to assist with siting of new marine energy projects and to advise on what effects they may have on the wider environment.
“Consideration of the environmental impacts of engineering installations is important and challenging as the installations have a long operational lifetime of decades, or even a century in the case of tidal lagoons. These are the time scales of climate change which makes prediction of environmental impacts more difficult.”
The Marine Centre Wales houses up to 50 staff, with space for visitors from collaborating organisations and companies. It provides a home for the University’s Centre for Applied Marine Sciences as well as vital project development space, enabling companies accessing university scientific expertise to work alongside academics, and have access to lab facilities and aquaria, as well as access to a fleet of research vessels including the RV Prince Madog.
Experts based in Marine Centre Wales also work with companies and with agencies and governments to provide advice and information in order to maintain sustainable fisheries, including aquaculture, in the Irish Sea.
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