A poster entitled ‘Stakeholder Involvement  in Marine Spatial Planning’ by Lydia Koehler, a recent Ocean Governance graduate from the University of Malta’s Faculty of Laws, was chosen as an ‘outstanding poster presentation’ from among the 116 posters presented by participants from 40 countries at the recent Medcoast 2017 congress held in Malta.

Ms Koehler’s dissertation supervisors were Dr Leyla Knittweis and Prof. Joseph A. Borg of the Department of Biology.

The 13th International Medcoast Congress on Coastal and Marine Sciences, Engineering, Management and Conservation is a biennial congress that provides participants a platform to discuss scientific knowledge, efforts and capabilities required for improved marine and coastal zone management.

During the event, academic staff and students of the University’s Department of Biology delivered eight contributions to the congress. These included presentations on topics such as the influence of artificial reefs on animals living in adjacent sandy bottoms, floating litter in coastal waters, levels of microplastics on sandy beaches and erosion caused by organisms found onrocky shores.

Posters about sandbanks in the Maltese islands, the impact of tuna aquaculture on the seabed and surface features in coastal rock produced by living organisms on Maltese rocky shores were also presented.