The first Irish Shark Camp Intern. Programme began today Monday 29thJuly at Malin Head, Co. Donegal. The two week duration summer camp for teenagers will involve hands on training in marine biology and oceanography as well as tuition in Basking shark ecology and shark conservation.
The 10 lucky Interns of the summer camp will undertake a series of marine focused themes, including boat based surveying for basking sharks off Malin Head and tracking a basking shark via ARGOS the worldwide wildlife satellite tracking network. Rosemary McCluskey project facilitator said”, The main task for the Interns is to discover and explore their own local marine environment and in the final days of the camp develop a message for their own community on how best to implement sustainable management of the local marine resources”.
The Inishowen Development Partnership funded initiative is designed to instil knowledge of marine science and sustainable fisheries management into coastal communities affected by changes in modern fishing practices. Sustainable management of marine resources is becoming increasing important for coastal communities in Ireland because EU policy is now firmly focused on sustainable fisheries. The Irish Basking Shark Study Group believe sharks can be used as a totem or representative species of the marine ecosystem as a whole. Improving our understanding sharks and how they use our coastal waters helps us to learn about how we can best manage our marine resources to ensure future generations enjoy the same bounty as we do today.