EMFF Offshore Reef Survey, Sensitive Ecosystem Assessment and ROV Exploration of Reef - SeaRover 2018 Cruise Report

O'Sullivan D., Leahy Y. & Healy L. (2018). EMFF Offshore Reef Survey, Sensitive Ecosystem Assessment and ROV Exploration of Reef - SeaRover 2018 Cruise Report. Cruise Report prepared by INFOMAR, the Marine Institute, Galway, Ireland and the National Parks and Wildlife Service for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. This report presents preliminary findings of a 2018 offshore reef survey of Ireland?s Northwest continental margin and Rockall Bank. The survey is part of an extensive three year project, beginning 2017, that is coordinated and led by Ireland?s Marine Institute and INFOMAR (Integrated Mapping for the Sustainable Development of Ireland?s Marine Resources) and funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) Marine Biodiversity Scheme and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). The objectives of the project are to implement the EMFF?s Marine Biodiversity Scheme - Natura Fisheries by mapping offshore reef habitats with a view to protecting them from deterioration due to fishing pressures. The reef project aligns with sub-article 6.2 of the Habitats Directive (EC 92/43/EEC) which requires member states to take measures to avoid deterioration of protected habitats. The overarching aim is to quantify the abundance and distribution of offshore biogenic and geogenic reef habitat in Irish waters to fulfil Ireland?s legal mandate and to generate baseline data from which appropriate monitoring of Reef habitat within Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) can be established. The initial survey in July 2017 (O?Sullivan et al. 2017) primarily focussed on the Continental margin west and northwest of Ireland. The second survey leg took place in July 2018 aboard the ILV Granuaile. The survey vessel was equipped with the Marine Institute?s remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Holland 1 to observe seabed features and biological associations along the northwest continental shelf and the eastern flank of the Rockall Bank. Cruise report describing datasets collected during SeaRover 2018 survey onboard Irish Lights Vessel Granuaile between 2 July 2018 - 22 July 2018.