Partnership

The COMPASS project integrates the knowledge, provenance and expertise of 5 key regional organisations in a cross-border collaboration to deliver the programmes results and outputs. The partnership of the Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute (AFBI), the Marine Institute (MI), Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), Marine Scotland Science (MSS) and the Scottish Association of Marine Science (SAMS) represents the main marine science organisations in the eligible region. These partners are responsible for delivering a significant proportion of the regions marine monitoring programmes, and will develop their connectivity and collaboration by implementing enhanced monitoring and modelling programmes supported by a co-developed data infrastructure to ensure an effective legacy.

The partnership has the necessary expertise to deliver all aspects of this project, and will additionally invest its own partner’s resources towards developing processes to enhance the cross-border monitoring and management of protected areas and species.

AFBI, Marine Scotland Science, the Marine Institute and SAMS deliver oceanographic and water quality monitoring data used for statutory and research purposes across the region. Whilst partner organisations already work with European and International initiatives, there has been minimal co-ordination between the regions to undertake monitoring in a collaborative manner. The COMPASS project will enhance and coordinate monitoring across a network of buoys in Irish, Scottish and Northern Irish jurisdictions, and develop a regional capacity to observe and monitor OA parameters by developing a shared capacity to monitor at key locations across the region.