Episode 7 of the Our Shared Ocean podcast heads into the atmosphere above and below the Caribbean via Maynooth & Bermuda to hear about the implications of a changing climate for storm frequency and intensity. Are we getting more storms, are they getting worse and how exactly do we know? This discussion is relevant to islanders and coastal communities all over the world. 

Dr. Samantha Hallam from the Irish Climate Analysis Research Unit (ICARUS), Research Assistant Randy Aird and Professor of Environmental Geography from the University of the West Indies, Donovan Campbell joined me in the studio to discuss their Our Shared Ocean funded project. 

TOPIM is an ocean-coupled dynamical and statistical model for tropical cyclone intensity prediction that already has proof of concept from Bermuda and the team hope that its success in predicating storm intensity has regional implications. The team will co-develop the TOPIM model for the wider Caribbean in partnership with the University of the West Indies and deliver a state-of-the-art model that can feed into weather and climate adaptation.

However, perhaps the biggest threat to the Caribbean is an existing structural marginalisation and the narrowing solution space as temperatures rise.

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Are you a Marine Scientist or student based in a Small Island Developing State. Would you like to tell us about your research?

Visit www.oursharedocean.ie to learn more and remember to subscribe rate and review on YouTube or your favourite podcast platform.

The Our Shared Ocean Podcast is a funding initiative by the Government of Ireland through Irish Aid and managed by the Marine Institute.

In Episode 6 of the Our Shared Ocean podcast we learn how the coral reefs of Guam are among the most diverse in the world with over 5,600 marine species identified to date including coral, algae, fishes, molluscs and more. Its international waters are also home to the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the world’s ocean. 

Dr. Peter Houk from the University of Guam Marine Laboratory tells us about life in Micronesia and the issues that are threatening the abundance and distribution of some of the regions’ most iconic coral reefs including rising sea temperatures, altered community dynamics, pollution and the dreaded Crown of Thorns Starfish! We learn about his applied research on the biology of tropical marine organisms, with emphasis on the conservation and development of marine resources of the near-shore waters of Guam and Micronesia.

On a small remote island where all your neighbours are small and remote islands in a large ocean space it is vital that monitoring programs are well co-ordinated and that data observations are available in real-time via low-cost sensors. With this information you can automate the scientific process to inform policy in real-time and improve coral-reef resilience. Peter tells us how and why.

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Are you a Marine Scientist or student based in a Small Island Developing State. Would you like to tell us about your research?

Visit www.oursharedocean.ie to learn more and remember to subscribe rate and review on YouTube or your favourite podcast platform.

The Our Shared Ocean Podcast is a funding initiative by the Government of Ireland through Irish Aid and managed by the Marine Institute.

Episode 5 of the Our Shared Ocean podcast brings global expertise in oceanography, engineering and marine biology together, to discuss the use of ecosystem-based adaptation and digital sensing technologies to enhance climate resilience and empower coastal communities in Jamaica and with implications across the Caribbean.

The multi-disciplinary ‘CLIMATESCAN’ team recognise the vulnerability of all islands to climate hazards including sea-level rise, coastal erosion, storms, flooding, and saltwater intrusion. Project-lead, Dr. Salem Gharbia is the Head of Environmental Science at Atlantic Technological University, Sligo and an internationally recognised expert on climate resilience and Environmental monitoring and modelling. Dr. Deborah Villarroel-Lamb is a lecturer at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago specializing in the numerical and physical modelling of coastal engineering processes, including ocean hydrodynamics. Her current research focusses on improving the design of nature-based solutions to promote sustainable approaches to coastal protection and advance the climate resilience goals of the Caribbean region. Finally, Dr. Camilo Trench is a Marine Biologist, Lecturer and Coordinator at the University of the West Indies’ Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory. Where he has spent over fifteen years studying mangrove rehabilitation in Jamaica including the restoration of over 50 hectares of mangrove forests.

Episode 4 of the Our Shared Ocean podcast journeys to Haiti to discuss a vital initiative from Quisqueya University and the Haiti Ocean Project who are building a citizen science and engagement programme in the least developed country in the western hemisphere against the backdrop of continued political instability. These conditions, coupled with a growing population, have taken their toll on the surrounding environment, resulting in degradation and stress on already scarce natural resources. The coastal and marine environment, in particular, is experiencing a wide range of challenges including, overfishing, mangrove harvesting, solid waste & sea turtle exploitation.

We meet Alexandra Pierre an Engineer studying for a PhD in geography and climate change; Jaime Aquino, founder of the Haiti Ocean Project and Francklin Barbier, a volunteer from Petite Riviere de Nippes, a small coastal fishing village in the Nippes Department, to discuss the “Haiti Citizen Science Sea Project” based in Île-à-Vache Natural National Park (IAV-NNP) and the Baradère-Cayemites Marine Protected Area (MPA) both located in the South Peninsula of Haiti. Their project aims to protect sensitive ecosystems & emblematic species and strengthen the overall management and local governance of marine protected areas in Haiti and the Caribbean. It’s a bottom-up approach focussing on working with community leaders, coastal communities, youths and fishers to convey the importance of marine conservation and biodiversity.

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Are you a Marine Scientist or student based in a Small Island Developing State. Would you like to tell us about your research?

Visit www.oursharedocean.ie to learn more and remember to subscribe rate and review on YouTube or your favourite podcast platform.

The Our Shared Ocean Podcast is a funding initiative by the Government of Ireland through Irish Aid and managed by the Marine Institute.

In Episode 3 we meet Arsenia Vital Ximenes da Cruz an environmental scientist with a passion for sustainability development, working on climate change adaptation and mitigation, environmental services, and coastal and rivers waste management in Timor-Leste. She has worked in both in government and private sector on environmental protection planning and development. Arsenia recently moved to Galway, Ireland to begin a PhD research project in University of Galway focused on climate change adaptation in Ireland and Timor-Leste through co-developing frameworks for nature-based solutions. 

Many small island nations, including Ireland, have already seen the impacts of strong, and possible climate related storms. Timor-Leste experienced the devastating impact of climate-induced disaster when Cyclone Seroja hit in 2021, causing fatalities and catastrophic damage impacting environment, society and economy. As part of its recovery plan, the government is working to improve adaptive capacity and resilience, through a holistic approach including a nature-based solutions (NbS) focus, enhancing community capacity for resilience. To this end, expertise in Timor-Leste has sought to connect with other island nations to learn and develop good practices that support this ethos. We discuss the importance of nature-based solutions, including mangroves and coral reefs, in protecting against storm surges and erosion, while acknowledging the challenges of implementing these solutions in both countries, including limited resources and the need for localized adaptation.

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Are you a Marine Scientist or student based in a Small Island Developing State. Would you like to tell us about your research?

Visit www.oursharedocean.ie to learn more and remember to subscribe rate and review on YouTube or your favourite podcast platform.

The Our Shared Ocean Podcast is a funding initiative by the Government of Ireland through Irish Aid and managed by the Marine Institute.

The Our Shared Ocean podcast makes its first trip to the Caribbean Sea, home to 26 Small Island Developing States, to find out about the work of the National Fisheries Authority in Jamaica and how Iceland and Ireland are playing a part in the growth and development of the Jamaican Aquaculture Industry.

Leanne Bennett, a proud Jamaican, Acting Senior Research officer and current Masters Student tells us about her love of aquaculture, local oyster fisheries and how she ended up in Iceland. Although Jamaica’s oyster fishery is in its infantile stages an increase in anthropogenic activities have created a need to understand the correlation between the natural environment and its effects on oyster population and growth performance. Specifically, as the extent of coastal Mangroves declines so does the natural habitat of the Mangrove oyster, Crassostrea rhizophorae.

The research will help establish a more streamlined value chain responding to the growing demand for oyster locally and internationally. Leannes’ Masters research is supervised by Prof David Benhaim a fish behaviour specialist in the Department of Aquaculture and Fish Biology from Holar University in Iceland. David is primarily interested in aquaculture but also in evolutionary Biology and Ecology and shares some rather optimistic projections for the longevity of the Our Shared Ocean podcast itself.

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Are you a Marine Scientist or student based in a Small Island Developing State. Would you like to tell us about your research?

Visit www.oursharedocean.ie to learn more and remember to subscribe rate and review on YouTube or your favourite podcast platform.

The Our Shared Ocean Podcast is a funding initiative by the Government of Ireland through Irish Aid and managed by the Marine Institute.

In our first episode we visit Palau, a small island nation in the western Pacific to meet researchers from the Palau International Coral Reef Centre (PICRC), whose conservation efforts focus on understanding biodiversity and addressing human impact on coral reefs and marine ecosystems. E. Ikelau Otto, Chief Researcher provides a fascinating oversight into the regions bio-geography and environmental issues while highlighting the cultural significance of conservation in Palau.

We learn about the vital work of the PICRC which co-ordinates local and regional coral reef monitoring efforts to ensure national objectives are met and about the importance of understanding how ecosystems and species diversity are influenced by the natural cycles of sun and moon.

Dr. Piera Biondi and Christina Karanassos discuss their own research including a project supported and funded by the Our Shared Ocean programme. Their study entitled ‘Assessing the reproduction and status of a key reef fishery species, the longnose emperor (Lethrinus olivaceus), to inform fisheries management in Palau', will monitor vulnerable fish species of ecological and commercial significance. Reef fisheries are an important part of the local culture, economy, and food security in many Pacific Island nations, however, effective management decisions are often hindered by a lack of biological information on target species. The study aims inform a new reef fisheries management plan and improve management of Palau’s reef fisheries resources.

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Are you a Marine Scientist or student based in a Small Island Developing State. Would you like to tell us about your research?

Visit www.oursharedocean.ie to learn more and remember to subscribe rate and review on YouTube or your favourite podcast platform.

The Our Shared Ocean Podcast is a funding initiative by the Government of Ireland through Irish Aid and managed by the Marine Institute.

The Our Shared Ocean Podcast brings you stories of lived experience from across the world as part of Ireland's response to the environmental and economic challenges facing many Small Island Developing States.

Coming up in the Our Shared Ocean Podcast:

• Using lunar cycles to improve management of fisheries in the Western Pacific
• How Iceland and Ireland are helping to develop Jamaican Aquaculture
• What are Nature-based solutions and how will they help coastal resilience initiatives in Timor-Leste, Trinidad, Jamaica & Galway
• Citizen science in the least developed country in the western hemisphere
• Automated low-cost sensors to improve coral-reef resilience in Guam
• From Maynooth to Bermuda to the Caribbean to hear about the implications of a changing climate for storm frequency and intensity

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Are you a Marine Scientist or student based in a Small Island Developing State. Would you like to tell us about your research?

Visit www.oursharedocean.ie to learn more and remember to subscribe rate and review on YouTube or your favourite podcast platform.

The Our Shared Ocean Podcast is a funding initiative by the Government of Ireland through Irish Aid and managed by the Marine Institute.