Dr Patricia Breen

I completed my PhD titled ‘Habitat-based Spatial Planning for Marine Reserves’ at Queens University Belfast in 2010. My research focused on modelling optimal marine reserve networks based on habitat sensitivity information and evaluating these against existing reserve networks in Northern Ireland. Following completion of my PhD I spent four years working at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) in the UK. There I worked on large European projects investigating how we can implement EU legislation such as the Habitats Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive in European regional seas. I also worked closely with UK government providing advice on anthropogenic activities in the marine environment and the potential environmental, economic and social effects of implementing spatial closures.

In May 2014 I joined UCC as a postdoc with Dr Emer Rogan working as part of the Beaufort Award on Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management. My current research involves modelling the distribution of cetaceans in Irish waters and mapping their interactions with fisheries. The ultimate aim of this work is to develop suitable management plans to mitigate cetacean bycatch in fisheries.    

Peer reviewed papers

Breen, P., Posen, P., Righton, D. “Temperate marine protected areas and highly mobile fish: A review”. In press. Ocean and Coastal Management.

Breen, P., K. Vanstaen and R. W. E. Clark (2014). Fishing in the gaps: Mapping inshore fishing without VMS. Poster presentation at the ICES conference on fishing effects on benthic habitats, Tromso, Norway.

Breen, P., K. Vanstaen and R. W. E. Clark (2014). "Mapping inshore fishing activity using aerial, land, and vessel-based sighting information." ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil. DOI: 10.1093/icesjms/fsu115  http://icesjms.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/07/16/icesjms.fsu115.abstract

Stelzenmüller, V., P. Breen, T. Stamford, F. Thomsen, F. Badalamenti, Á. Borja, L. Buhl-Mortensen, J. Carlstöm, G. D’Anna, N. Dankers, S. Degraer, M. Dujin, F. Fiorentino, I. Galparsoro, S. Giakoumi, M. Gristina, K. Johnson, P. J. S. Jones, S. Katsanevakis, L. Knittweis, Z. Kyriazi, C. Pipitone, J. Piwowarczyk, M. Rabaut, T. K. Sørensen, J. van Dalfsen, V. Vassilopoulou, T. Vega Fernández, M. Vincx, S. Vöge, A. Weber, N. Wijkmark, R. Jak, W. Qiu and R. ter Hofstede (2013). "Monitoring and evaluation of spatially managed areas: A generic framework for implementation of ecosystem based marine management and its application." Marine Policy 37(0): 149-164. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X12000735

Breen, P., L. A. Robinson, S. I. Rogers, A. M. Knights, G. Piet, T. Churilova, P. Margonski, N. Papadopoulou, E. Akoglu, A. Eriksson, Z. Finenko, V. Fleming-Lehtinen, B. Galil, F. Goodsir, M. Goren, O. Kryvenko, J. M. Leppanen, V. Markantonatou, S. Moncheva, T. Oguz, L. Paltriguera, K. Stefanova, F. Timofte and F. Thomsen (2012). "An environmental assessment of risk in achieving good environmental status to support regional prioritisation of management in Europe." Marine Policy 36(5): 1033-1043. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X12000097

Katsanevakis, S., V. Stelzenmüller, A. South, T. K. Sørensen, P. J. S. Jones, S. Kerr, F. Badalamenti, C. Anagnostou, P. Breen, G. Chust, G. D’Anna, M. Duijn, T. Filatova, F. Fiorentino, H. Hulsman, K. Johnson, A. P. Karageorgis, I. Kröncke, S. Mirto, C. Pipitone, S. Portelli, W. Qiu, H. Reiss, D. Sakellariou, M. Salomidi, L. van Hoof, V. Vassilopoulou, T. Vega Fernández, S. Vöge, A. Weber, A. Zenetos and R. t. Hofstede (2011). "Ecosystem-based marine spatial management: Review of concepts, policies, tools, and critical issues." Ocean & Coastal Management 54(11): 807-820. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0964569111001426

Breen P, Allcock AL, Johnson MP (2010) 'Quantification of habitat sensitivity to potential threats as part of Marine Protected Area planning and evaluation' In: GIS/Spatial analyses in Fishery and Aquatic Sciences (Volume 4). Saitama, Japan: Fishery-Aquatic GIS Research Group.

Breen P, Allcock AL, Johnson MP (2008) ‘Quantification of habitat sensitivity to potential threats as part of Marine Protected Area planning and evaluation'. Oral presentation at the FishGIS conference in Rio de Janeiro.