Profile of Ireland’s commercial fishing industry

Widely regarded as one of the most dangerous professions, commercial fishing is profiled in an hour-long documentary (TG4, January 8, 9.30pm) at Castletownbere, Dunmore East and Heilbhic on Ireland’s southern coastline. The screening takes…

Kelp forests: the multi-faceted seaweed in nearshore marine habitats

Kelp forests populate the rocky shorelines of Ireland, hosting a wide diversity of marine life throughout the year. These forests are not only an important habitat in the nearshore environment, they also provide many ecosystem services, some…
Roundstone final

Fisheries conservation inside 6-mile zone and Celtic Sea

From January 1, trawling by all vessels over 18m in length is banned within Ireland’s 6-mile zone, except for a sprat fishery which will be phased out by 2021 to give vessels in the fishery time to transition to other activities. The ban,…

‘Reasonable result’ for Ireland’s fishing industry 2020

The Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO) has described the agreement reached for Ireland's fishing industry on 2020 opportunities as “a reasonable overall result” for certain key stocks. The December fisheries council at which total…

Proposed cod and whiting 2020 quotas ‘unworkable’

The Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation has expressed concern over proposed cuts in Celtic Sea cod and whiting quotas for 2020. The European Commission is also proposing a 15% reduction in nephrops (prawns), a 30% reduction in monkfish and a…

RMS Lusitania: The Story of a Wreck

The dramatic circumstances surrounding the loss of RMS Lusitania, one of the world’s largest and fastest ocean-going liners of the time, has fascinated maritime historians, underwater archaeologists and the public at large since the ship was…

‘Balanced approach’ required to 2020 TACs and quotas

The European Association of Fish Producers Organisation is calling for a balanced approach in the 2020 TAC and quotas for fisheries, to reflect both environmental and the socio-economic objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy. EAPO has…

Department ‘ignores’ public responses to Marine Planning Policy Statement

A local action group in West Cork says the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government ‘appears to have ignored’ hundreds of pages of public submissions in a keystone document relating to Ireland’s marine planning laws currently…

All-hands-on deck to tackle skills shortage in the fishing industry

Ireland’s seafood development agency has launched a deckhand training programme to attract young entrants to the fishing industry and arrest a skills shortage. Programme trainers include experienced mariners and former skippers who will…