The passing of the baton took place right after the Board meeting, beginning the term of three years. Niall is Director of Policy Innovation and Research Support Services with the Irish Marine Institute and originally trained as a marine biologist with research interests in marine aquaculture and shellfish stock restoration. Following two years with the Environmental Change Institute at the National University of Ireland, Galway, he worked for five years as Head of the Centre for Marine Resources and Mariculture at Queen’s University. From 2009-2017 he served as Executive Director of the European Marine Board (EMB) based at the InnovOcean campus in Ostend, Belgium.
Responding to his election Niall said, ‘JPI Oceans has become a key platform for cooperation in marine and maritime research in Europe. National ministries and funders value the efficient and agile mechanisms it provides to identify and implement the research needed to address shared challenges in the safe and sustainable use of ocean space and resources. I am honoured to have been elected Chair and hope to build on the excellent progress made under the leadership of Arvid Hallén. I look forward to working with the Secretariat, vice-Chairs and Management Board to implement the new JPI Oceans Strategy Framework and to consolidate the role and impact of JPI Oceans at the core of European ocean research.’
Having served JPI Oceans in different capacities already, Niall knows the organisation from different angles. Before his engagement as part of the JPI Oceans Management Board and Internal Advisory Board, Niall was an elected member of the JPI Oceans Strategic Advisory Board. Recently, alongside Dr. Maurice Héral from the French National Research Agency (ANR), Niall also led the countries’ involvement in the development of the European Partnership ‘A climate neutral, sustainable and productive Blue Economy’.
The new Chair is following in the footsteps of Arvid Hallén who served as a chair under the mandate of the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries from 2017 to 2020. The Management Board and secretariat of JPI Oceans are deeply grateful for Mr. Hallén’s dedicated chairmanship, steering JPI Oceans through the transformation into a legal entity and towards the development of a new strategy framework.
Alongside the election of the new chair, members of the JPI Oceans AISBL re-appointed Dr. Joachim Harms, Head of the Division Marine Research, Geosciences, Ship and Marine Technology at Project Management Jülich as a Vice Chair for a period of up to two years. JPI Oceans thanks Joachim for his continued engagement, ensuring an important element of continuity during highly dynamic times.