The Dove Marine Laboratory was opened by the 8th Duke of Northumberland on the 29 September 1908. Exactly 100 years later to the day, his great grandson the 12th Duke of Northumberland led festivities and unveiled a commemorative plaque to mark this auspicious occasion.
Professor Chris Brink Vice Chancellor of Newcastle University, several dignitaries and representatives of marine related industries and external collaborators also joined us to celebrate.
Throughout the last century, the Lab has played a pivotal role in contributing to our understanding of fisheries science, marine organismal biology, ecology, and of human impacts on our oceans. The region’s natural history is as a result among the best known in the world.
In celebrating our centenary, we are entering a new era. Marine science is a research area of global importance in the 21st century, with issues such as climate change, biodiversity and habitat loss, ocean acidification and marine species invasions challenging our expertise and capabilities.
Marine science is also furthering biotechnological and pharmaceutical competence through the development of novel techniques and new drugs. It reveals to us the possibility of providing protein for global human populations through sustainable aquaculture technologies. Our oceans and seas are clearly a new frontier in which sustainable development in this age of critical population growth must be addressed. This is therefore an exciting period in the Dove’s history. New refurbishments and infrastructure developments will enable us to contribute to a greater understanding of the related scientific issues, and to pioneering engineering and technological solutions to these challenges. It will allow the Dove to maintain its proud tradition of contributing to UK and internationally renowned research and education.
For further information, please download the pdf version of our Dove Centenary brochure (PDF: 2.96MB)
Photographs accredited to Jane Delany and Reindert Nijland