Insignts DecommissioningA program to help understand how offshore platforms and structures impact North Sea marine life – and therefore make more informed decisions on what to do with them at the end of their useful life – is hopping to address some of the questions. The Insite Program (standing for IN-? uence of man-made Structures In The Ecosystem) initially ran from 2015-2017. Now, a second, ? ve-year-long Simulations run by the IN-phase has started, thanks to some £7.6 SITE Phase 1 project “AN-million funding; £5 million from the Chor” show the oceanic UK’s Natural Environment Research pathways that protected Council, £2 million from the offshore in-corals of Lophelia pertusa dustry and £600,000 from the Centre for from the Thistle A and the Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture (now derogated) Murchi-Science. son platforms may follow, Richard Heard, Insite Program direc-including some of which tor, told the Offshore Decommissioning end up settling in Norway’s Conference in St Andrews, late 2018: Aktivneset marine protect-“This is about providing science for ed area. Image from the all stakeholders to try and understand INSITE Phase 1 ANChor what’s going on in the eco-system, so project.that we are informed and can make bet-Decommissioned structures in the North Sea reveal dense coverage of the protected species of stony coral Lophelia pertusa.Image: InsiteMarch 201922 MTRMTR #2 (18-33).indd 22 3/11/2019 11:04:29 AM