New Trans-National Project a Welcome Asset to Marine Industry

Marine industries in Ireland, UK, France, Spain and Portugal will benefit from the establishment of TRIDENT; a new trans-national project targeted at Marine sector SMEs. It aims to develop a more competitive and sustainable marine industry by creating greater co-operation, linkages and competitiveness between participating coastal areas.

The TRIDENT project will be administered in Ireland by the Marine Institute, and will run for 20 months from January 2004 until May 2005. The coastal areas to be covered by the project is the Atlantic Arc Region comprising the marine industries of coastal areas of Ireland, the south west of England, Devon and Cornwall, Brittany, Portugal and of Western Galicia.

The main objective of TRIDENT is to forge stronger trans-national links and networks to develop a more competitive and sustainable marine industry. This will be achieved through:

  • The establishment of an interactive marine SME database and network.
  • The establishment of a complementary marine R&D skills database and linkages.
  • Identification of barriers to growth in marine SMEs to meet with marine sector needs.

The project will concentrate on the manufacturing, servicing and technology sectors of the marine-based industries of the five Atlantic Arc Regions, with specific emphasis on:

  • Renewable ocean energy
  • Biotechnology and bio-active compounds
  • Ocean information technologies embracing acoustic sensors and intelligent systems Environmental services including waste management
  • Sea product processing development and aquaculture
  • Innovative marine engineering

Welcoming the TRIDENT Project Mr. Frank O’ Brien, Industry Liaison Officer with the Marine Institute said “TRIDENT is a proactive initiative designed to empower and strengthen the competitiveness of the marine SME sector across the Atlantic Arc Region. This project will play an important role in renewing and energising the marine industries and SMEs of these regions that have suffered economic decline in recent decades.”

“A significant degree of marine scientific research and modern technological expertise already exists in pockets within these regions. Through active networking, knowledge transfer, information and technology exchange it is expected that trans-national commercial alliances and commercial and research-based ventures will grow and further develop within the Atlantic Arc”, he said.

Another key feature of the project is the establishment of trans-national networks within sectoral clusters (e.g. aquaculture, sensor development, waste reduction at source etc.). These networks will be encouraged to exchange information through the TRIDENT website www.atlantictrident.com and will also be brought together in one of five workshops scheduled for the latter part of the project.  Each region will host one of the workshops looking at a different aspect of the marine sector.  These workshops will help identify issues of mutual concern and potential opportunities that will lead to ongoing collaborations and projects.

“TRIDENT aims to create a new and vibrant economic block based around one of the Atlantic Arc’s most common, traditional and significant industry sectors, providing a greater flow of goods and services within regional, wider European and global markets within the marine industry”, said Mr. O’Brien.

For further information on TRIDENT please contact Frank O’ Brien, Industry Liaison Officer, Marine Institute, Galway. Tel: 091 730400. Email frank.obrien@marine.ie  

ENDS