EATiP MiP MEETING & ORRI WORKSHOP IN WESTPORT, IRELAND

Our Mirror Platform clusters met in person in Westport, on Ireland’s west coast, on 15–16 September 2026 — two days of exchange, site visits and workshops!

The ARC — Aquaculture Remote Classroom

Taste the Atlantic — site visits at Killary Fjord

Social licence, up close

🦐 Social licence is identified as one of the principle barriers in advancing aquaculture production in Europe — and this has implications for research and innovation too.

🐟 Our EATiP Mirror Platform clusters met in person on the beautiful west coast of Ireland, to exchange news, work on collaborations, discuss R&I priorities and challenges and specifically focus on social licence issues.

☘️ (Very!) Generously hosted by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) — Ireland’s Seafood Development Agency — we were thrilled to experience first hand two inspiring examples of promoting understanding of aquaculture amongst society at large.

🇮🇪 The ARC — Aquaculture Remote Classroom is a BIM, Irish Government and 🇪🇺 EMFAF funded schools programme, aligned with the Irish primary school curriculum, explaining aquaculture to school children across Ireland. It is designed to help younger audiences learn about aquaculture using immersive technologies (including VR headsets — enjoyed by us all!) so pupils can plunge to the depths of the sea to learn about how salmon, oysters and mussels are farmed in Ireland 💪

🌊 EATiP clusters then went on to Taste the Atlantic — a Seafood Journey, a collaborative initiative between BIM and Fáilte Ireland to promote the fantastic seafood producers and their products along the stunning Irish west coast. Although our visit “only” extended to the Killary Fjord, we none the less saw first hand the production of oysters, mussels and Irish organic salmon.

👏 An enormous thanks to the organisers, the ARC team at Bord Iascaigh Mhara and our lunchtime hosts Killary Fjord Shellfish — delicious! 🐬 How you managed to arrange the dolphin escort for our trip, Killary Fjord Boat Tours, we will never know! Go raibh maith agat!

MiP meeting & ORRI workshop

On day two, at the Castlecourt Hotel, the Mirror Platforms held their MiP meeting — exchanging on activities, projects and events across the network — followed by an ORRI workshop introducing the Open and Responsible Research & Innovation (ORRI) tool for the aquaculture sector, developed with the support of the REINFORCING project, and a session of MiP pitches.

Programme at a glance

Day 1 — Social Licence and Aquaculture in Practice
ARC presentation, VR experience & Q&A • Killary Fjord boat tour on the Connemara Lady • mussel and oyster farm visit • Killary Fjord Shellfish lunch

Day 2 — ORRI Workshop and MiP Meeting
EATiP opening (David Bassett) • MiP meeting • ORRI session: introducing the ORRI tool • MiP pitches (webinar, social licence, projects, events) • round-up & Q&A

With representatives of our Mirror Platform clusters from across Europe — among them Pôle Aquimer, CETGA, Acuiplus, B2E CoLAB, HUNATiP, VLIZ, NCE Seafood, NCE Aquaculture, NCE Aquatech Cluster, Stiim Aqua Cluster, UK Agri-Tech Centre and PTEPA.

👉 See also the original post on our LinkedIn page.