Sadhbh Hendrick and Deanna Dooley try out the ARC headsets at Seafest in Galway. Photo: BIM

VR headsets allow students to dive into aquaculture

Students will be able to actively learn about how fish is produced and farmed when a new Aquaculture Remote Classroom (ARC) begins visiting national schools throughout Ireland from September. 

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From left: Felix Leinemann, Jim O’Toole, Michael Creed and Kieran Calnan at the launch of the ARC. Photo: BIM

Ireland’s Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, officially launched the ARC at the Our Ocean Wealth Summit in Galway this week. He was joined by Felix Leinemann, head of unit from Aquaculture and Maritime Spatial Planning at the European Commission and Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) chairman, Kieran Calnan and chief executive, Jim O’Toole.

Speaking at the launch, O’Toole said: “I believe ARC will engage students and help to bridge the gap in understanding of how seafood is sustainably produced in our waters.

“By using Virtual Reality (VR) headsets, students will be able to plunge to the depths of the ocean to experience and learn about the environment in which salmon and mussels are farmed in Ireland.”

ARC is being funded by the European Commission and forms part of the wider #farmedintheEU campaign, a European Commission-led initiative that exists to promote aquaculture in Europe.