HRH The Princess Royal in her capacity as Chancellor of the University of London will name the new vessel, RV Aora, at a ceremony taking place at the University Marine Biological Station, Millport, Isle of Cumbrae on Friday 30 May, 2003. She will also open a new recompression facility, to be used to treat SCUBA divers suffering from decompression sickness ('the bends')

The new RV Aora is a state-of-the-art vessel equipped for experimental fishing, seabed surveys using the latest sonar equipment, sea-water quality testing, and use by divers surveying marine life.

She will be used for important research on stocks of shellfish, especially the Norway Lobster or Nephrops (better known as Scampi), and of fish, including cod and haddock. The fishery for Nephrops is now the most valuable in UK, worth over £70 million per year. In the Firth of Clyde alone, well over 100 local and other boats fish for Nephrops, while only a few still catch fish such as mackerel and cod. The Marine Station at Millport has for a number of years worked very closely with Clyde and west coast fishermen in a bid to better understand the biology of Nephrops and provide information for managing the fishery. Increased knowledge of Nephrops, which has helped ensure that the stocks remain healthy, reflects the work carried out by UMBSM using previous vessels.

By contrast stocks of cod and haddock have collapsed as a result of overfishing and also changes to the marine environment brought about by human activity. Recent work at UMBSM has played an important role in quantifying the impact of trawls and dredges on seabed habitats such as Maerl (coralline algae), which are important as feeding and nursery areas for commercial species. Using the new vessel UMBSM plans new research that will provide important information for any attempt to restore the marine environment and replenishing stocks of fish.

The Director of the UMBSM, Dr Rupert Ormond said, 'We are especially keen to build on our record of working in close co-operation with local fishing communities. We need to pool our experience and knowledge if fish stocks are to be saved.'

The new research vessel will also be used for important work designed to monitor the state of the marine environment, both to protect areas of conservation importance, such as the Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), identified by SNH (Scottish Natural Heritage), and to ensure that the whole inshore marine environment is in good ecological condition, as required under European Law (the Water Framework Directive). In recent years UMBSM has played an important role in studying marine habitats such as coralline algal (maerl) beds and rocky reefs which are important both as foci for biodiversity (sheltering large numbers of species) as well as for commercial fish stocks.

The new Research Vessel will also be used for teaching, both of undergraduate and postgraduate classes. In addition to the parent Universities of London and Glasgow, over 20 other Universities and Colleges make use of Millport and its facilities for marine biology modules offered as part of their degree courses. Using the new vessel, UMBSM staff, besides using traditional seabed sampling gear, will be able to show students what the sea-bed looks like, as a results of images generated by the new sonar equipment, and pictures sent back from seabed TV cameras.

'If we are to save the marine environment', Dr. Ormond continued, 'we must make sure that in the future, we have adequate numbers of well-trained marine scientists and even more importantly, that there is a much higher appreciation among the public in general about how marine ecosystems operate.'

The vessel will also undertake work for government agencies and commercial companies. In addition to fisheries and marine biological work, the vessel can undertake seabed and oceanographic surveys, recording substrates, currents and nutrient levels.

The new recompression chamber replaces an old much smaller one. The Marine Station, which uses SCUBA diving in much of its scientific work, is required under Health & Safety Legislation to have a recompression facility in case of accident to any of its divers. In practice, while no Marine Station divers have required treatment, a number of amateur SCUBA divers who have dived too deep for too long have been treated there. The new larger chamber will allow doctors inside in order to give better medical treatment to injured divers.

Dr Ormond commented ,'This is an important development for SCUBA divers living locally, or visiting the West of Scotland on holiday. It will allow the Marine Station to provide them with a significantly enhanced service.'

Media Relations Office (media@gla.ac.uk)

You are invited to attend the vessel naming on Friday 30 May 2003 at 10.00am for 10.20am at UMBSM, Millport, Isle of Cumbrae.

Please contact the University Press Office on 0141 330 3535 if you plan to attend.

First published: 29 May 2003