Ronan O'Toole and Niall Finn quality check data in real-time

A day in the life of RV Keary

David Hardy,GSI

The RV Keary is a 15m aluminium catamaran, built for and operated by the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) [www.gsi.ie]. Its primary function is to provide an inshore survey capability for the national INFOMAR programme (INtegrated Mapping FOr the Sustainable Development of Ireland’s MArine Resource) [www.infomar.ie].

As a small inshore survey vessel, she normally operates with a crew of three: two serving as scientists/deckhands, while the third is the vessel’s skipper. For extended operations, a fourth crew member serves as a relief watch officer.

Ronan O'Toole and Niall Finn quality check data in real-time

Ronan O'Toole and Niall Finn quality check data in real-time

The boat has two cabins with two bunks in each; a toilet/shower area and a small compact galley. Most of the internal space is dedicated to the precision depth finding equipment, high resolution GPS system, ancillary sensors and related IT infrastructure.

Carlingford Lough

Ireland’s fishing industry today

Ashley Hayden

A passionate seafood consumer with roots firmly embedded in the marine, I read with interest the interview with BIM’s Michael Keatinge in the February issue of Inshore Ireland. Both sides of my family hail from Greystones in Co. Wicklow. My Grandfather on my mother’s side, Willie Redmond, a master craftsman, built wooden clinker design boats, and along with his sons fished the inshore grounds south of Bray Head side-by-side with my father and his brothers. Using traditional methods they long-lined, trammel netted, and potted what were prolific fishing grounds for a host of whitefish species that included large cod and plaice, mackerel, crab, and lobster.

Carlingford Lough

Is climate change already impacting aquaculture?

The safefood knowledge networks for biotoxins and chemical residues in food, managed by Queen’s University Belfast, are hosting a conference entitled Climate Change and Aquaculture in the Wellington Park Hotel, Belfast on May 31. This conference brings together researchers, industry and regulators from the aquaculture sector across the island of Ireland.

Evidence suggests that the impacts of climate change are, in fact, occurring now and are not just theoretical future concerns.  Aquaculture is a realistic and sustainable approach for coping with dwindling stocks and increasing demand for seafood products and is currently the fastest growing food production sector (7% annual growth).

Carlingford Lough

Breakthrough in shrimp farming

Stefan Kraan, Scientific Director, Ocean Harvest Technology

The black tiger prawn, Penaeus monodon, is a marine crustacean widely reared for food in Asia and is often the one that ends up on your restaurant plate.

At approximately 36 centimetres in length and weighing up to 650 grams this is the world's largest species of prawn. P. monodon is also the most widely cultured prawn species in the world, although it is gradually losing ground to the whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. Over 900,000 tonnes are consumed annually, worth about $USD 5 billion, two-thirds of which is farmed

The practice of 'slipping' at sea. The net is never taken from the water - it is simply opened to release the fish, the majority of which are already dead. These fish are not accounted for and the extent of the damage is unknown

Is the Commission’s stance on fish discarding a kneejerk reaction?

At a specially convened meeting of EU member states, Maria Damanaki,  European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, starkly  told delegates she considered the practice of fish discarding ‘unethical, a waste of natural resources and a waste of fishermen’s effort’.

And she added that if 2004 FAO estimates of 7.3  million tonnes or 8% of the total fish catches being discarded was not striking to some members, ‘European fisheries are doing much worse than the global average,’ where discarding in the whitefish fishery is up to 50 per cent and 70 per cent in the flatfish fishery.

The practice of 'slipping' at sea. The net is never taken from the water - it is simply opened to release the fish, the majority of which are already dead. These fish are not accounted for and the extent of the damage is unknown

The net is never taken from the water - it is simply opened to release the fish, the majority of which are already dead. These fish are not accounted for and the extent of the damage is unknown

‘If we continue with our policy, then we will soon face a situation where the production capacity of marine ecosystems is at risk,’ she warned.

Outlining her basic ideas, Commissioner Damanaki said the approach should be gradual, ‘starting with pelagic fisheries and then to cover a few important demersal mixed fisheries after a short phase in period. The list of species covered could be enlarged year by year,’ she explained.

President of Ireland Mary McAleese; Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney; Michelin star chef, Mario Sandoval and Aidan Cotter, Bord Bia

Bord Bia food initiative in Spain

President Mary McAleese has launched a Bord Bia initiative in Spain designed to boost the image and reputation of Irish food in the Spanish market. The project involves reaching out to student chefs at top catering schools across Spain to build stronger relationships with the future generation of chefs and to establish an awareness of, and loyalty to, Irish produce.

President of Ireland Mary McAleese; Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney; Michelin star chef, Mario Sandoval and Aidan Cotter, Bord Bia

 

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney; Michelin star chef, Mario Sandoval and Aidan Cotter, Bord Bia

The President also attended the first of a series of ‘Irish Food Master Classes’ conducted by the internationally renowned Michelin star chef Mario Sandoval. These classes will provide trainee chefs with an insight and understanding of Ireland’s unique food and drink product offerings and highlight Ireland’s commitment to quality and sustainability.

Angling journalist Mike Thrussell with a bluemouth

Anglers catch 607 specimen fish in 2010

Brendan Connolly

As an angler, you know your local fishing waters best - be they fresh-water or sea. But, what happens if a sea angler wants to go pike fishing for a change, or if a coarse fisherman would like to try sea angling?

They may not know the best angling locations and therefore have to try and get local information of various areas to decide where to go. Local knowledge may not be easy to get if you don’t know any local anglers.

Angling journalist Mike Thrussell with a bluemouth

Angling journalist Mike Thrussell with a bluemouth

There is one source that provides anglers with information about any fish species caught on rod and line, in freshwater and sea alike, relating to the whole island of Ireland.

This is the Annual Report of the Irish Specimen Fish Committee, which is available free of charge from the Inland Fisheries Ireland, Swords Business Campus, Balheary Road, Swords, Co. Dublin. (www.fisheriesireland.ie)

Carlingford Lough

Striving for sustainable resource management in Foyle and Carlingford areas

The Loughs Agency is a cross-border body, exercising a statutory remit for conservation, protection and development across the Foyle and Carlingford catchments. Our objectives for these river systems and sea areas include development of fisheries and aquaculture, conservation and protection of fisheries and sustainable development of marine tourism. The Agency also has a fishery protection function and fisheries and aquatic environment monitoring and reporting responsibility.Carlingford Lough

Loughs Agency fishery inspectors and officers enforce parallel primary legislation and associated regulations within those parts of the Foyle and Carlingford areas that lie within Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Carlingford Lough

Overhaul of water governance required to ensure cross agency cooperation

Sinead O’Brien
SWAN

Ireland’s water is the final recipient and carrier of all the chemicals and pollutants that we release, knowingly and unknowingly, while going about our lives; making a living and producing goods and services. Some of these are absorbed and diluted by soil and water; others persist in the environment and interact in ways we don’t yet understand. Many find their way into water supplies; some are removed by water treatment; some aren’t.

Physical alterations of our rivers, dredging and infill of river-side wetlands also have a serious cumulative effect. With limited floodplains to absorb rainwater during a storm, it’s more likely to surge downstream, gathering force, until it finds a weak spot and breaches. We saw the tragic results of this during last winter’s flooding.