Robin thinks deep for idea on regenerating Irish fish stocks
The 13-year-old first-year student at Pobalscoil Inbhear Sceine (Kenmare Secondary School), is originally from Dublin.
His project is ambitious and enormous in scale, but is refreshingly straightforward and easy to understand.
Robin not only has a bright idea, but also the gift of being able to explain it simply and properly to a non-scientific person like me.
“I have always had a keen interest in the sea and marine biology. I go out frequently in Kenmare Bay, sailing or sea kayaking, watching seals and dolphins, and fishing,” Robin explains.
“I came up with the idea for the project after reading an article in National Geographic magazine on the subject of global fisheries, suggesting a future collapse of the fishery industry, as stocks are being depleted faster than they can reproduce.
“I wondered why so much of our fish is only caught in such a small area of the oceans. I began to read up on this and discovered that there are little or no fish in the deeper ocean, because the nutrients needed to feed plankton are located too deep and not available near the surface. Ninety-nine per cent of all fish are caught within 200km of a coast. 75% of world production of fish comes from five regions where upwelling currents bring deep nutrients toward the surface.
“My idea is that you could create new fisheries where none currently exist, by artificially bringing up nutrients from deep water. The basis of my project is to investigate ways in which these nutrients could be brought close to the surface by artificial means, thereby creating a new food chain in a previously barren area of ocean.
“My project looks at two possible methods of doing this, one powered by wind and the other powered by waves.”
“The wind powered device is an anchored platform with a tube hanging down from it and suction provided by wind turbines. The other method is by means of a chain of cones which pull up and down through the water by wave action.
“The theory is that if low maintenance devices could be placed in the oceans which would create a plankton bloom, you would increase global fishery production in an ecologically sustainable way.”
“The project will present the background biology behind upwelling currents and oceanic food chains, and then will present a working small-scale model of the devices proposed.
“Mainly, this is a global solution or project. However, it could perhaps work in coastal areas such as the Porcupine Seabight basin off the southwest coast of Ireland.
“This could have a relevant application for local fisheries operating from Castletownbere, and the south west in general.”
