The Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS, http://www.sams.ac.uk/) is Scotland's foremost independent marine research institute. Our aim is monitor, model and predict the marine environment in order to improve its sustainable use. Thus, we deliver cutting edge multidisciplinary research & education in marine processes and climate, marine biotechnology, biodiversity, extreme environments and marine renewable energy. To meet our need for bespoke integration of large interdisciplinary marine environmental datasets, we request high performance processing, storage resources and an improved internet connection. This local repository will facilitate efficient data management and increase our modelling and analysis capability by alleviating the complexity associated with using multiple remote High Performance Computing (HPC) facilities.

The Special Interest Group in Algal Bioenergy (AB-SIG) is a joint funded venture between the Technology Strategy Board and NERC, which aims to investigate the opportunities and risks to freshwater and marine environments associated with using algal biomass as a source of renewable energy and chemicals. The AB-SIG is hosted through the TSB's Biosciences Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) The overall aim of the KE Fellow is to increase the UK capacity for algal bioenergy and biochemicals. The KE fellow will work within the AB-SIG and the Biosciences KTN liaising with the wider algal bioenergy community to ensure a whole-systems, multi-disciplinary approach to algal bioenergy and biochemical research in the UK. Crucially, the KE Fellow will work closely with industry to facilitate industry involvement in the AB-SIG and related programmes and gain financial support from industry for research. The KE Fellow will also engage with existing KT networks in related fields namely Energy Generation & Supply and Environmental Sustainability KTNs to further increase the opportunities for algal bioenergy as a viable and commercial renewable energy option.

In the context of global climate change, imminent need for energy security and environmental conservation, renewable energy is now considered an important element of a sustainable energy supply. The UK and Scottish Governments have set ambitious targets for power generation from renewable sources: 50% of electricity is to be generated from renewable sources in Scotland, and 15% of the UK's total energy consumption is to be from renewable sources by 2020. The UK has one of the richest wave & tidal energy resources in the world and is at the forefront of researching, developing & deploying this technology in challenging & energetic ocean environments. The industry's success depends on the natural environment (waves & tides), but often how wave & tidal energy devices interact with the environment is not well understood. Through decades of research UK scientists have gained substantial knowledge about our seas and a wealth of experience & data that could be translated and applied in support of sustainable wave and tidal energy generation. This project will create a common language between the UK research community and companies developing technology to harness ocean energy, and in doing so will support collaboration and information exchange between these groups, and with the UK government and industry regulators, to help maintain the ongoing growth of the industry. While the UK is at the forefront of marine renewable energy development, the production of energy from the ocean is by no means limited to the UK. Indeed projects are being developed on almost every continent around the world which could be accessed by UK companies looking to develop overseas. Likewise, many international companies are interested in developing in the UK. Attracted by the UK's leading position in the field and our wealth of natural resources, some international developers have already secured a place at the wave and tidal energy device testing centres at EMEC on Orkney, and at Wave Hub in Cornwall. Many of the greatest challenges facing such developers, whether in the UK or abroad, is in understanding and managing the interaction of the devices with the environment. During this project the fellow will highlight worldwide hotspots for marine renewable energy development and identifying common environmental challenges around the world. A key objective is to identify, translate and apply world leading UK environmental research to help tackle these common challenges. This Fellowship will signpost international business to applicable UK research and help UK researchers form productive industry collaborations to increase the impact and uptake of their work. The project will highlight relevant research outputs in key challenge areas and summarize these in a series of Bulletins. These Bulletins will be made widely available and targeted to businesses and policy makers in order to increase environmental understanding and therefore reduce risk and costs to businesses associated with tackling environmental challenges. It is anticipated that this approach will encourage financial investment from the industry into the UK, and will give confidence to British companies looking to grow and develop overseas. Academic input into the wave and tidal energy industries can help to reduce the environmental risks associated with many developments in the UK. Subsequently, by reducing the cost of environmental impact assessments and uncertainty around the extreme offshore environments where these projects are situated, confidence in the sustainability of the sector will increase. This will undoubtedly encourage further investment, both from the UK and from abroad, often into the rural or remote coastal locations where the energy resource is greatest. The support and networking provided throughout this project can therefore help to create jobs and spark regeneration in these areas while sustaining an economically strong, world-leading marine renewable energy sector.

Many global marine fisheries have collapsed, or are at record low levels of abundance. Continuing exploitation and the uncertain impacts of climate change are adding further pressures on fish resources. New strategies are therefore required to assist in our management and conservation efforts. One such development will be to incorporate the extent and dynamics of spatially-associated biological differences that exist among fish stocks into stock assessment. Such information is important since most exploited fish species comprise assemblages of individuals that differ in their vital rates of growth, reproduction, migratory tendency and mortality. It therefore becomes desirable, for example, to match the level of fishing intensity to the projected rate of replenishment following harvesting, thereby reducing the probability that individual stocks will become extinct. Conserving such biological differences among stocks is also important in the maintenance of genetic diversity in wild fish populations, so endowing them with greater evolutionary potential for adapting to changes in the environment. A critical component of such work involves the testing of hypotheses relating to the relative contributions of such factors as dispersal of eggs and larvae, and behaviour of juveniles and adults in maintaining such biological differences. By integrating research efforts across each of the three major UK fisheries agencies (FRS, CEFAS, AFBI) with partners in UK Universities, a NERC Institute and an international cod expert from Denmark, we will for the first time examine the extent, patterns and stability of cod (Gadus morhua) population structuring throughout UK waters. We will employ existing (microsatellites) and new (single nucleotide polymorphisms) genetic markers to assess the extent to which individuals from different spawning groups interbreed, and will compare these indirect methods of dispersal with direct measure of fish movement taken from chemical analysis of ear-bones ('otoliths') and individuals that have been electronically 'tagged'. We will then input these data to tailored cod population models that will test the likely effects of young-stage and adult dispersal on observed patterns of stock separation, as well as simulating the likely consequences of spatially-based differences in stocks on such things as fishing effort, stock recovery and the design of marine protected areas. The proposal will represent the first opportunity for UK Universities and all three UK Fisheries agencies to work together on a problem that has to take account of the interdependence of fish stocks across large regions of UK and adjoining waters. The proposal will generate new genetic estimates of stock separation, especially in areas of uncertainty such as the Celtic and Irish Seas and the Southern North Sea and English Channel, as well as the provision of new theoretical tools (population models) than can be used to forecast the impact of continued fishing pressure and environmental change on cod populations. Moreover, the tools will provide information on the appropriate spatial scale and distribution of marine protected areas and the probable rates of stock recovery in a species that is now formally endangered and listed in the IUCN Red List (http://www.iucnredlist.org/).

With the global population expected to rise to 9.6 billion by 2050, there is increasing pressure for aquaculture to meet the rising demand, while maintaining sustainability and food security standards. While European aquaculture has been struggling to maintain competitiveness, at a UK level research investment has dropped considerably, until the recent joint BBSRC-NERC initiative. Prior funding has largely focused on salmonids and shellfish, mainly spanning the areas of disease or environmental impact, often focusing on Scotland but not fully covering the breadth of strategic needs of the sector. Furthermore, there is often a decoupling between basic research funded by research councils and industrially applied research. Moreover, the impact of basic research has been further limited by inadequate mechanisms for knowledge exchange between academia and industry. This KEF will build the know-how for effective information exchange and research translation by connecting the actors within the aquaculture value chain. The fellow will work closely with research and industry, to identify knowledge needs, promote collaborations, disseminate BBRSC-NERC funded research and improve public perception of aquaculture. A key deliverable and enabling tool will be an innovative and intuitive web-based, user-friendly visual database that maps the UK aquaculture sector, thereby connecting stakeholders and their areas of activity and interest. Further, the Fellow will create and publish 'Research Profiles', on department/institute specific research track records, and 'Company Profiles', on company's key activities and research interests. Another key activity will be the development of an 'International research network map', based on academia's connections with international partners so contacts are easily identified. These tools will provide the industry with information on potential partners, which can answer its R&D needs and will also foster the development of networks to access to EU funding schemes and international expertise. The Fellow will advance the development of the UK aquaculture network, by meeting and developing contacts with industry, trade/advisory bodies and academia, and will bring stakeholders together through innovative ways in a sector-wide conference 'Connecting UK Aquaculture'. The fellow will organise an industry-focused workshop 'UK Aquaculture: key knowledge needs and gaps' and develop a strategy document on aquaculture research and investment priorities from a stakeholder's perspective, to inform and engage funders and policymakers. This KEF will support the dissemination of BBSRC-NERC research through 'Research Bulletins' to industry and the creation and public dissemination of a series of videos explaining BBSRC-NERC research '@UKAquacultureResearchExplained'. The third pillar of the fellowship is assessing the public attitudes and perception of aquaculture and the development of recommendations to enhance public appreciation, which will be disseminated to funders, policymakers and industry. UK aquaculture best practices and success stories will be promoted through press releases, media engagement, social media, and an interactive web-presence. A series of digital materials for education and outreach in aquaculture will be created and widely disseminated to schools throughout the UK. By these combined approaches, the Fellow will promote collaboration opportunities between industry and academia, while facilitating informed governance and research funding, supporting the uptake of research by businesses and improving public perception of aquaculture. The impact of the activities started during this programme will extend post-fellowship, supporting the sector's competitiveness and internationalisation through an increased focus on innovation and industry-relevant research, enhanced synergy between industry and academia, and towards the sustainable development of UK aquaculture.