Tag Archives: Ireland
Ban Mega Trawlers from Irish waters says Sinn Féin as F/V Margiris ploughs seas off Cork coast
It’s already been banned from Australian waters – now Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on fisheries says the FV Margiris and so called “super trawlers’ like her should not be allowed to fish off the Irish coast. The giant fishing vessel – which is less than 40 nautical miles off the Cork coast this afternoon – has been called the ‘Death Star of the Ocean” and can land up to 250 tonnes of fish a day, 14 times what a regular Irish trawler might take, while often leaving tonnes of unwanted ‘by-catch’, non-profitable marine life, dead in its wake. >click to read< 08:01
Ban on Trawling Inside Six Nautical Miles Declared Invalid by Court of Appeal
Two fishermen have won an appeal over a ban on trawling inside the Irish six-mile limit. A judgment issued by the Court of Appeal has ruled that the Government policy directive introducing a ban on trawling inside the six nautical-mile limit is invalid and of no legal effect. The judgment by Mr. Justice Murray relates to an appeal taken by Dingle-based fisherman Tom Kennedy and Castletownbere-based fisherman Neil Minihane over a policy directive introduced by the then Minister for Marine Michael Creed on March 5th, 2019. The ban was temporarily reinstated in 2021 by the Court of Appeal, resulting in another round of legal action by the fishermen. >click to read< 08:09
Trawlers scrapped over quotas ‘end a lifetime of fishing’
Work on scrapping a number of Irish fishing vessels is under way in an effort to rebalance fish quotas following post-Brexit agreements. The Catherine R is among the first vessels to be decommissioned. She was a steel trawler built in 2005 and fishing from the port of Greencastle in Co Donegal. Her owner Cara Rawdon has been fishing for 46 years. He said that he chose to accept to decommission his fishing boat,,, On seeing his ship being ripped apart for the scrap heap, he said: “It’s like seeing your home being torn apart. I saved the money to buy her and make her safe for the crew. It was a very difficult decision because not only had I to decide my own future I also had to think of my crew. It’s a very hard decision to make to end a lifetime of fishing.” >click to read< 07:51
Trawler decommissioning scheme ‘needs to be better funded’
Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue needs to put additional funding into the State’s decommissioning scheme for fishing trawlers to make it viable, industry representatives have said. His comments follow the news that the owners of just 20 fishing boats had so far accepted State offers to decommission. The scheme was originally capped at €60m, before Mr McConalogue later increased that to €75m. However, Mr Murphy said the funding is inadequate. “Europe was originally told the scheme could cost €96m but he went for a smaller amount. The decommissioning scheme has proved unpopular as boat owners accepted for decommissioning will only get a proportion of the total value of their boats back. >click to read< 09: 47
Ireland: Only 20 fishing boat owners accept State’s decommissioning offer
Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) has admitted the low uptake in a statement issued to mark the opening of today’s Skipper’s Expo trade show, which it sponsors. Although the statement centred around the publication of its two-year study on the fishing industry’s carbon footprint, it mentioned the controversial decommissioning scheme in passing. Of the take-up and the fact that less than half have gone for it, BIM simply said: “Some 57 letters of offer have been issued with total funding of €75m. To date 20 owners have accepted.” The current scheme and a number of tie-up schemes over the past two years were designed to help mitigate against the quota and financial losses Irish fishers sustained because of Brexit. >click to read< 10:16
The last fishermen of Castletownbere?: ‘We are in extinction mode’
“I suppose it was death by a thousand cuts,” Jason Sheehan says from his upstairs office on the harbour. Outside, it’s squally, leaden-skied, and the afternoon holds a children-still-at-school feel. He wears a grey hoodie and a small cut on his nose – a souvenir from a recent fishing trip in the Hebrides. He is one of the younger fishermen in the community. “Yeah. A hundred per cent. If I had my time back, there is no way on God’s earthly hour I’d have gone fishing. Now, I have great childhood and teenage memories but the way the job has gone… it is just horrible, like. Every day – and I mean every day – there is a drama. There is somebody on your case about something. Fuel hikes, quota counts, additional red tape, lack of young local men going fishing is a big one. And that boils down to the fact that the money is not in the job anymore. If you go back, the money at sea was probably five times what it was on shore. Now it is about even. There was a reward for the effort. >click to read< 08:24
Fundraising Appeal for Young Family of Fisherman Who Died off Donegal
A fundraising appeal has been issued for the family of the fisherman who died off the Donegal coast last weekend. Madis Lētsārs (37), from the Baltic States, lost his life after falling from the deck of a crab vessel north of the Donegal Island of Árainn Mhór last Saturday evening (Feb 4). His crewmates on the Séimí recovered him from the water and made efforts to revive him but he did not survive. The young crewman was the father of two children, and his cousin Janis Miklasovs has set up a GoFundMe page on behalf of Madis’s wife Liene. >click to read<, and please donate if you can. 20:04
Crab Fisherman Who Died Off Donegal Named
The fisherman who lost his life off the Donegal coast last weekend has been named. Madis Letsars (37), a father of two, went overboard the crab vessel, Séimí, while crab fishing about 70 miles north of Arranmore Island, Co Donegal, on February 4th. It is believed he may have got caught in a rope while the vessel was shooting pots. Originally from the Baltic States and living in Co Armagh, he was one of five on board the vessel at the time. Members of the crew of the Séimí are said to be devastated by the loss of the crewman who had been on four or five trips with the crab vessel. >click to read< 15:32
‘People must know how serious fishing offences are’
A Spanish-owned trawler was allowed to leave Castletownbere this week after its owners paid a bond of €245,000 into court. Juan Pablo Docal Rubido (55), master of the German-registered Pesorsa Dos, was brought before a special sitting of Bandon District Court at the weekend following the detention of his vessel by the LE George Bernard Shaw for alleged fishing offences in Irish waters. Mr Rubido, with an address at Ciudad de Lugo 5, Third Floor, Coruna, Spain, was charged with 12 fishing offences on various dates between January 5th and January 24th while fishing within the exclusive fishing limits of the State. >click to read< 07:50
Catch of a lifetime: Rare blue lobster landed in Belfast Lough
Stuart Brown 28, from Bangor, Co Down, said he could not believe his eyes when he pulled one of his lobster pots up onto the deck of his boat, the Huntress, last Friday. Some marine biologists have estimated the odds of catching a blue lobster at around two million to one. “We were sitting in about 50 to 60 feet of water and the fourth pot came up,” he recalled. “I sort of saw it, but I think I thought, ‘it’s just a lobster’. You could hear the tail going. “I slid the pot down to the crew man who lifted it out and he made a comment: ‘That’s very blue.’ >click to read< 08:21
Man dies after going overboard while fishing off Donegal coast
A man in his late 20s has died after he went overboard while fishing for crabs off the coast of Donegal last night. Malin Head Coast Guard said it responded to a distress call from a fishing vessel 70 miles north of Árainn Mhór last night which had several people on board at the time. The alert was made at around 8.30pm and rescue helicopter 118 and Arranmore Lifeboat were dispatched to the area. The operation was stood down after crew members on board the vessel managed to take their colleague from the water. >click to read< 10:01
Fears Brexit will cause 1,200 job losses in Irish mackerel sector
Ireland’s mackerel sector will lose more than 1,200 jobs by 2030 because of Brexit, according to fishing industry representatives. The economic cost to the industry in lost revenue and impact on the local economy is also estimated to be more than €800m. This is according to an analysis of the impact of Brexit on the sector which predominantly centres around mackerel, blue whiting, and herring catches. In three years, from 2021 to the end of 2023, pelagic fishers will, for example, have lost a total of 37,508 tonnes of their mackerel quota, the amount the EU says they can catch. >click to read< 20:20
Skipper in court on 12 fishing regulation charges
The skipper of a Spanish-owned fishing vessel which was detained by the Irish naval authorities has appeared in court in relation to 12 alleged breaches of fishing regulations. The appearance in court by 55-year-old Juan Pablo Docal Rubido, from Coruna in Spain, followed the detention last Monday of the German-registered, Spanish-owned, Pesorsa Dos in Irish fishing waters. The vessel was detained by the LE George Bernard Shaw off the southwest coast and escorted to port at Castletownbere in west Cork, where it remains at the moment. >click to read< 08:04
Killybegs-Based Fishing Reps say Norway is Holding EU Fishing Deals to Ransom
Irish fishing representatives have accused Norway of stalling EU quota talks because they failed to secure privileged access to blue whiting in Ireland’s EEZ (European Economic Zone) waters. “Norway has a track record of overfishing blue whiting and mackerel ,” says Aodh O Donnell of the Irish Fish Producers Organisation (IFPO). “So, they should not be rewarded with new and additional access to Ireland’s waters to catch their blue whiting quota.” “They already have an inflated 25% of the total catch for blue whiting, compared to just 3% for Ireland. The Irish Box (a key part of our fishing zone) has some of the richest blue whiting grounds – worth around €160m. This is why Norway is targeting our waters. They are still not offering any meaningful reciprocal deal to Ireland in return for our blue whiting.” >click to read< 10:36
Naval service detains Spanish trawler off the south-west coast
A German-registered Spanish vessel which was involved in a confrontation off the Scottish coast over two years ago German-registered Spanish vessel has been detained by the Naval Service off the south-west coast. The 26m Pesorsa Dos was detained last Saturday, January 21, by the LÉ George Bernard Shaw, but it took several days to haul its gear before it could be escorted into Castletownbere, Co Cork today. The same vessel from La Coruna in northern Spain was previously detained in the Irish exclusive economic zone, 250 miles north of Donegal’s Malin Head, in July 2020. It’s understood the 1974-built 27m long fishing vessel, which left the Spanish port of La Caruna on January 2, had shot gill nets and was fishing in deep water for monkfish. >click to read< 17:32
FISHERS GAIN VITAL ‘MAN OVERBOARD’ EXPERIENCE AT DONEGAL TRAINING CENTRE
Thirty-five fishers gained life-saving training at Man Overboard sessions in the Errigal Training Centre, Falcarragh, Co. Donegal this weekend. The classes were provided free of charge by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), Ireland’s Seafood Development Agency, in partnership with the RNLI. The sessions are designed to provide fishers with the experience of falling into cold sea conditions, wearing full work clothing and without their Personal Floatation Device (PFD), or lifejacket as they are commonly known. This is then followed by the same experience with a correctly fitted PFD. >click to read< 08:31
Calls for €12m fund to help inshore fishing industry
The Government is to be asked to give Ireland’s inshore fishers more than €12m to help them deal with the disruption to their markets caused by the war in Ukraine and the pandemic. The market in shrimp, for example, has collapsed, with one group of around 600 smaller inshore fishers losing an estimated total of €5m in the build-up to last Christmas. Their representatives have seen more than €100m in packages to help the much larger, offshore sector boat owners deal with the negative impacts of Brexit, which is mainly the cut in quota and resulting 40% fall in income. But they say that despite having 91% of the country’s entire fishing fleet, and employing the majority of Irish fishers, Ireland’s inshore sector has, by comparison, received around €3.7m. >click to read< 11:26
Dismayed Reaction To Whitefish Scrappage Application Offers
There has been a disappointed reaction from a number of fishing vessel owners to terms offered under the Government’s latest whitefish decommissioning scheme. “We haven’t surveyed members yet as this is anecdotal, but we are hearing of dismay and disappointment,” Irish Fish Producers Organisation (IFPO) chief executive Aodh O’Donnell said. “We are calling for immediate additional engagement by and clarification from Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) on this,” O’Donnell said. “The disappointment is quite widespread among our members.” Letters of offer to 57 owners have been issued by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM). It says it will ensure that over 9,000 tonnes of quota fish valued at €35 million annually will be available for remaining whitefish vessels to catch, ensuring the remaining fleet’s economic viability into the future. >click to read< 10:54
Trawler operators fear they will lose out to offshore windfarms
Shudders went through the fishing industry just before Christmas with the announcement of Maritime Area Consents for seven offshore windfarms. Environment Minister Eamon Ryan trumpeted the allocation of the seven seabed leases as “a significant milestone on the pathway to decarbonising energy supply”. However, to the fishing industry, the first step of a process to get planning permission to build the windfarms brings their fears closer. Fishers are not just worried they will lose fishing waters, there are also concerns about how the construction and operation of windfarms might scare fish away from some traditional fishing grounds. “This is because areas targeted for windfarms are the main spawning and catching areas.” >click to read< 08:52
From facing off with the Russian navy, to giving up a five-generation fishing tradition
For a brief moment, Alan Carleton was at the centre of a bizarre stand-off between Irish fishermen and the Russian navy. Back in January 2022, he and other fishermen had threatened to peacefully disrupt Russia’s naval plans to hold live firing exercises 240 km off the Cork coast. Himself and the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation CEO Patrick Murphy even met the Russian ambassador to demand the exercises be called off. Fast forward a year and a man who was prepared to stand up to the Russian navy is on the verge of giving up his own fight to stay in the Irish fishing industry. >click to read< 07:41
‘Another nail in the coffin of Ireland’s indigenous fishing industry’
That Norway wants more access to Ireland’s fish than it already has is something that has probably passed most people by. So too the fact that this became a red-line issue for the Irish fishing industry. At stake is the future of thousands of jobs in fishing villages and towns across the country. Also at stake is ultimately the chance of the average punter getting fresh Irish fish with their chips. Why? Because if the Norwegians succeed in their bid, it will cement a perception in the industry that Ireland cannot protect its own waters at EU level and the current exodus from the industry will, according to industry chiefs, continue as a consequence. >click to read< 09:32
‘There are only so many last straws a man can take — but going home wasn’t an option’
“Would you like some bacon and spuds?” asked the skipper cheerily. Not having dared move around the boat since the Atlantic storm began, let alone attempt the perilous expedition to the galley below, I reluctantly accepted his offer. I was reluctant because, since the storm began, I had only found safety when sitting with my back to a cupboard on the floor of the bridge. Just standing up, I had quickly discovered, was a tortuous endeavour. I quietly gulped at what I had just agreed to do. As he bolted out the door of the bridge and stepped lightly down the wrought-iron staircase through the hatch to the lower deck, my hands shook uncontrollably as I tried to lock the two buckles of my life jacket. >click to read< 08:34
State Papers: Royal Navy submarine dragged Irish fishing trawler backwards for 1.6km before breaking free
Britain attempted to claim State immunity in an attempt to recover a valuable towed sonar array from a Royal Navy attack submarine which detached after snagging in the nets of an Irish fishing trawler. The fishing boat was subsequently dragged backwards for 1.6km before breaking free. Confidential Department of Foreign Affairs documents revealed that civil servants felt an agreed settlement between the British Embassy and the trawler skipper involved was preferable to the matters coming before the Irish courts. The incident occurred 40km east of Skerries, Co Dublin at 7.20pm on September 12, 1989 when an Irish trawler, MV Contestor, alerted the Shannon-based Marine Rescue Centre. >click to read< 08:05
Built to be Versatile
The latest delivery from the Parkol Marine Engineering yard in Whitby is multi-purpose trawler Green Isle, built for Greencastle skipper Michael Cavanagh. Launched at Parkol’s Teeside yard and brought to Whitby for outfitting, F/V Green Isle has been designed for versatility, able to switch between pelagic pair trawling for mackerel, herring and scad through the autumn and winter, pelagic trawling for tuna off the south-west of Ireland for part of the summer and alternating this with twin-rigging for the rest of the year for prawns and whitefish in the Celtic Sea and grounds to the north-west of Ireland. Lots of photos, >click to read< 11:25
Fleet reduction is a signal that local economies will be hit hard
“It is appalling that we have the best, most-productive fishing waters in Europe, but the government has again failed the Irish fishing industry. Other member states in the EU have been given the biggest catching rights in Irish waters and the Government has failed to achieve this. Boats are leaving the industry because owners say they cannot continue to make a living from fishing, which has suffered repeated blows. Industry organisations have been warning for months that the crisis it faced was not being adequately responded to by government. Now what they have warned about is happening. >click to read< 08:07
KFO to Highlight Litany of Festering Problems Facing the Fishing Sector
Morale in the Irish fishing industry is at an all-time low as rocketing fuel costs, shrinking quotas and the lingering legacy of Brexit are all proving extremely problematic. This will be the message brought to an Oireachtas Committee later today by the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation. KFO Chief Executive, Seán O’Donoghue, said the challenges facing the sector are manifold. And, although complex, his members have presented and agreed solutions to all of the key issues which are realistic, credible and based on scientific evidence. >click to read< 15:46
Trawlers Unplug after 380% Increase in ESB Bills
Killybegs trawler owners have plugged out of an innovative harbour-side electricity source after they were told their bills would almost quadruple. The €1.7M ‘shore power’ system to allow fishing boats to connect to electricity when in Killybegs Harbour, thereby cutting out harmful emissions from diesel generators, was only launched in November 2021. However, a notice was posted on the harbour last week informing owners that a government agreement with ESB would end on November 30. “As of December 1, every one of us is back using the diesel generators, and we are not even getting a fuel subsidy. >click to read< 08:15
One-third of Ireland’s offshore fishing fleet apply for decommissioning scheme
Just over 60 trawlers from the country’s 180-strong offshore fishing fleet have all applied to the Government’s decommissioning scheme. Some 19 of the 64 applicants are from Castletownbere,,, If all of those who apply for decommissioning accept it, it will be a blow for Castletownbere, not just for the fishing industry, but also for local businesses that rely on boats for a sizeable income. Alan Carleton, who applied to decommission his family’s trawler Syracuse, says he can no longer afford to be a fisherman. “My income has gone down over the past few years, but my costs have shot up,” he said. >click to read< 12:53
MCIB Investigation: Trawl door in wrong position causes serious injury
The Irish Marine Casualty Investigation Board published its reports regarding a serious injury onboard on the fishing vessel FV Marliona, while alongside Greencastle Harbour, Co Donegal, on 3 February 2021. At approximately 14.00 hrs the Skipper (Casualty) and crew were working the fishing gear onboard the vessel for the day and were getting the gear ready for the next voyage to sea. The Casualty was working in the wheelhouse, when he was asked by Crewmember B to slack out the starboard winch as he and Crewmember C were changing a chain-link on the starboard trawl door. Photos, >click to read< 16:32
