Scalloway centre gets a new head of marine science
The NAFC Marine Centre has announced the appointment of Dr Martin Robinson to the new position of head of marine science and technology.
Currently employed as research development manager at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Martin will take up his new post in Shetland on 1 August.
Since completing a PhD at Trinity College, Dublin in 1999, his main research focus has been the sustainable management and development of Irish inshore fisheries and aquaculture. He has secured high levels of external support from various agencies and industry in the last five years, and almost all of the projects he has managed have involved collaborations with industry partners.
When asked why he applied for the post, Martin Robinson said: “In all of these activities, the socio-economic sustainability and growth of maritime communities has always been the principal goal. I’ve come from a town with a strong fishing tradition and have spent much time at sea and this has enabled me to interact with a wide cross section of industry partners from the catching to the processing sector. I’ve always had a fascination with marine science and, from an early age, was keen to explore how I could translate this into a career.
“I’m enthusiastic about the potential of the NAFC Marine Centre and believe that its recently approved strategy very much supports academia, industry and business working together to deliver both training and research and development programmes in the context of sustaining coastal communities and achieving value for money from research and development investment. I see great potential in forging stronger and novel alliances between the functions of the Centre, industry, the wider Shetland community and beyond and I can’t wait to start.”
Martin Robinson will move to Shetland in July with his wife and two young children.
