News: September 2018

The young Bangor fish entrepreneur who believes that any fin is possible

A 20 year old student at Bangor University is using his lifelong passion for marine biology to drive his ambitions to become the largest online livestock supplier of fish species in the UK. Sam Hamill, who is currently in his third year studying Marine Biology , is set to launch Big on Fish in November, an online shop and retail store selling aquarium equipment and stocking over 1,100 exotic fish and coral species.

Publication date: 27 September 2018

‘High-yield’ farming costs the environment less than previously thought – and could help spare habitats

New findings suggest that more intensive agriculture might be the “least bad” option for feeding the world while saving its species – provided use of such “land-efficient” systems prevents further conversion of wilderness to farmland. Agriculture that appears to be more eco-friendly but uses more land may actually have greater environmental costs per unit of food than “high-yield” farming that uses less land, a new study has found. There is mounting evidence that the best way to meet rising food demand while conserving biodiversity is to wring as much food as sustainably possible from the land we do farm, so that more natural habitats can be “spared from the plough”.

Publication date: 14 September 2018

Historic wrecks to assist Wales’ marine renewable energy future

Historic wrecks around Wales’ coastline, such as that of a German submarine sunk 10 miles off Bardsey Island at the tip of the Llŷn Peninsula on Christmas Day 1917, are to play a part in assisting Wales’ growing marine renewable energy sector. Over the next two years, marine scientists from Bangor University will be surveying the coast of Wales as part of the ERDF-funded SEACAMS2 project led by the University in partnership with Swansea University. The researchers at Bangor University’s School of Ocean Sciences and Centre for Applied Marine Sciences are undertaking collaborative research, including marine surveys, to support the sustainable growth of the marine renewable energy sector in Wales.

Publication date: 8 September 2018

UK viewers to get insight to life around the Menai Strait

Prime-time TV viewers across the UK are to get an opportunity to learn about the life around the Menai Strait as ITV Wales’ popular series The Strait is to be broadcast across the national channel re-titled as ‘The Island Strait’ and shown at 8.00 on ITV for four weeks from September 14. The series looks at the lives of people who live and work on the Menai Strait- the magical stretch of sea that separates the Isle of Anglesey from mainland Wales. Among the individuals profiled in the series is Dr Mike Roberts, of Bangor University. Through the eyes of the cast of men and women who work in and around this dramatic and unique stretch of water, viewers get an opportunity to understand what an important environmental asset the Menai Strait really is.

Publication date: 7 September 2018