Foreign Vessel Surveys

Ocean View.

A number of Foreign Marine Scientific Research (FMSR) programs are undertaken in Irish waters each year. Summary details of the surveys are available in the table below. 

If you're interested in participating in any of the surveys as the Irish Observer onboard, please see details of our Foreign Vessel Observer Scheme to check that you qualify and how to apply. 

FOREIGN MARINE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH SURVEYS 2025

COUNTRY VESSEL NAME LOCATION CRUISE OBJECTIVES FROM (DATE) TO (DATE) IRISH OBSERVER
UK Scotia ICES management area 6A Bottom trawl survey targeting commercial gadoid as and other commercial species within ICES Subarea 6a Feb 13th  Mar 7th Observer confirmed
UK  Cefas Endeavour Celtic Sea, Bristol Channel and western Channel This survey targets sole and plaice in the entire western Channel and the Celtic Sea areas and currently provides survey indices datasets for both species in the western Channel Feb 17th April 10th Observer confirmed
Netherlands Tridens Western Approaches and West of Ireland Blue Whiting Survey. Estimate the spawning stock abundance of Blue Whiting using acoustic methods. Mar 10th  Apr 4th Observer confirmed
Spain VIZCONDE DE EZA South of Ireland, South Porcupine Bank and Porcupine Seabigh Acoustic abundance estimates and distribution patterns of Blue Whiting Mar 18th  Apr 1st One berth available for an Observer
Spain B/O Angeles Alvariño  UK Irish EEZ, Irish EEZ Triennial Mackerel and Horse Mackerel Egg Surveys Mar 19th  Mar 28th One berth available for an Observer
Norway MV VENDLA-LCYN Atlantic Ocean northwest of Ireland Acoustic assessment of the blue whiting spawning stock Mar 19th  Apr 3rd One berth available for an Observer
Denmark Jákup Sverri South of the Faroes, south west of the Hebrides Assess the spawning stock of blue whiting in April as part of the joint international blue whiting survey (IBWSS) on the spawning grounds west of the British Isles, the Porcupine Bank and the Rockall Bank. Mar 27th  Apr 9th One berth available for an Observer
Germany TARAJOQ West Ireland and Porcupine Bank, the Celtic Sea, Northern part of the Bay of Biscay Mackerel and Horse Mackerel Egg Survey Mar 27th April 27th One berth available for an Observer
UK  Cefas Endeavour Celtic Sea, Bristol Channel and western Channel This survey targets sole and plaice in the entire western Channel and the Celtic Sea areas and currently provides survey indices datasets for both species in the western Channel Apr 4th Apr 30th One berth available for an Observer
Norway FISKEBAS Atlantic Ocean West of Ireland and Scotland Tagging Mackerel with RFID tags and Biological Sampling of Mackerel Apr 10th Jun 10th TBC
Germany MARIA S. MERIAN Irish EEZ Along and across slope transport of organic matter and sediment off western Ireland - LONTRA Apr 26th May 4th Observer confirmed
Netherlands Tridens  North Atlantic Ocean, Celtic Sea and Bay of Biscay. Mackerel and Horse mackerel egg survey May 2025 May 5th May 23rd One berth available for an Observer
UK  RRS Discovery South and West of Ireland. The CARES project will fill these holes in our knowledge of the marine atmospheric sulfur cycle through a combination of intensive aircraft and ship observations as well as multi-scale model experiments.  May 25th Jun 26th TBC
UK  RRS James Cook  NE Atlantic, west of the UK and Ireland (High Seas) Scientific research and technology demonstration on the High Seas at the Porcupine Abyssal Plain Sustained Observatory Jun 1st Jun 23rd One berth available for an Observer
Netherlands Tridens  North Atlantic Ocean, Celtic Sea and Bay of Biscay. Mackerel and Horse mackerel egg survey June 2025 June 2nd June 20th Observer confirmed
UK  CORYSTES Western Irish Sea Oceanographic Mooring Malin Shelf  To maintain the AFBI oceanographic mooring in the western Irish Sea  Jul 15th Jul 25th One berth available for an Observer
UK  CORYSTES Western Irish Sea Oceanographic Mooring To maintain the AFBI oceanographic mooring in the western Irish Sea  Aug 21st Aug 25th One berth available for an Observer