Seagrass meadows in the "Greater Skellig Coast Hope Spot" are important to the health of Kerry's broader marine ecosystems.

With Tralee Bay, Kerry, Ireland outside my back door it feels natural to walk, cycle, paddle, swim, snorkel and dive into our amazing marine habitats.

As a Citizen Science volunteer:

• 2024 Working with Smithsonian MarineGEO to learn & build QGIS and ArcGIS seagrass tools.
• 2023 Added iNaturalist observations from 4 coastal communities of a subtidal seagrass rock pool. Citizen science project ran April to October and was funded by the Galway Atlantiquaria.
• 2022 NPWS Biodiversity Report on the Seagrass Beds of North Kerry, Ireland.
• 2021 Recorded and validated intertidal Zostera noltei "dwarf eelgrass" which are so important to our wintering-over population of Light-bellied Brent Geese for Coastwatch.
• Conducting seagrass surveys on subtidal Zostera marines meadows (observe coverage, density, shoot counts, length & width measurement, record flowering stages, record epiphyte coverage, and produce accurate survey maps).
• Attempting to establish health-indicators for seagrass habitats in Ireland (a concept like CSSI would be ideal!).
• Slowly improving accuracy of measurements leading towards better Blue Carbon estimations.
• Promoting marine Citizen Science initiatives in support of IOLN.
• Providing technical support (subtidal seagrass mapping for SeaSearch Ireland).
• Working on an Eelgrass Mitigation Policy.
• Supporting the local Tralee Bay Oyster Society's implementation of a "no-dredge" areas for seagrass beds and to increase resilience of their shellfish production areas in the face of climate change challenges.
• Supporting Kerry's Marine Living Atlas (work in progress).
• Coming up to speed with underwater photography with a new strobe.

"GoldenShellback" references my initiation in the "Solemn Mysteries of the Ancient Order of the Deep" as we crossed the equator on the international date line on 19 August 1976.