Tag Archives: Irish South & West Fish Producers Organisation

Irish fishermen “absolutely thrilled” with Russian decision not to conduct naval exercises in Ireland’s EEZ

Simon Coveney this evening confirmed that he has received assurances from his Russian counterpart, confirming the controversial drills will not go ahead within Ireland’s exclusive economic zone, having been planned to take place approximately 240km off the Cork coast. “It was a shock at first, it took me a while to digest it to understand the enormity of what has been achieved here. “We are all just absolutely thrilled with the news today. I must say the only way I can describe it is we threw the pass to Simon Coveney, he caught the ball and scored the try,” Mr Murphy said. >click to read< 19:05

Flotilla arrives in Cork City to deliver fishing industry warning – sail into Cork harbour to protest EU fisheries policy

About 60 fishing vessels assembled off Roches Point in Cork Harbour this morning to travel together in a flotilla up the River Lee and have no arrived in the Port of Cork at the heart of the city. The Irish South & West Fish Producers Organisation (ISWFPO) said thousands of jobs will be lost unless action is taken by the Government. “As a consequence of a series of draconian measures introduced by Government and the EU Commission, targeted against those working in the Irish fishing industry, Irish fishermen claim they will lose millions of euro of earnings if we are not given a fair share of the fish that swim in our waters,” it said in a statement. >click to read< Flotilla of trawlers and boats sail into Cork harbour to protest EU fisheries policy >click to read< 08:39

SPECIAL REPORT: Winds of change Part II – Windfalls! With more windfalls to come!

Energy efficiency projects and third level scholarships, sports clubs, active retired groups and local festivals were just some of those to benefit from almost €3.5m dished out by the developers of Irish windfarms in 2019.,,, One local firm that sees the danger of alienating the fishing industry is Green Rebel Marine, the Cork-based business established to service the future needs of offshore wind farms. In January it announced what it called ‘a new   strategic partnership’ with a company, formerly based in Cobh, but which will now be working out of Green Rebel Marine’s offices in Crosshaven, called Fisheries Liaisons Ltd. Fisheries Liaisons staff will negotiate with fishing interests on Green Rebel Marine’s behalf, thereby smoothing the way for developers who are planning offshore windfarms. >click to read< 13:22

SPECIAL REPORT: Winds of change – Developers grease the skids to ingratiate themselves and minimize negative reception

Rural onshore windfarms have long been a subject of much debate, Windfarm developers have found that their financial contributions to local communities, like sports clubs, local organizations and projects, have helped to ingratiate themselves with the locals and minimize negative reception. HUH! Between these generous handouts and potential legal challenges, many developers of windfarms have found the projects an expensive business. But now the sector has spotted another option on the horizon – literally. Offshore wind farms. The biggest criticism of the offshore wind  energy sector in Ireland so far has come from fishing interests, Patrick Murphy of the Irish South & West Fish Producers Organisation told Southern Star recently that the commandeering of sites at sea by windfarm developers today is akin to the land grabs from the native Americans in the 19th century. >click to read< 12:59

Ireland: Warning fishing industry is on brink of collapse due to lack of Coronavirus support

Ireland’s €1.2 billion fishing industry is on the brink of collapse, according to industry representatives who say it has been decimated by the collapse in domestic and EU markets since the start of the Covid-19 crisis. But they also say the government’s lack of appropriate help could prove to be the final nail in the coffin. The representatives point to the fact that Agriculture Minister Michael Creed recently announced more money for harbour repairs than for packages to help fishermen and women. They also say a scheme he announced last week to help pay the costs of boats that can’t fish because of the crisis is “not fit for purpose”. >click to read< 10:25

Ireland in danger of losing 30 more fishing vessels with the loss of an estimated 360 jobs say South West fishermen

There have been a lot of the same repeated statements about the rights of 23 RSW Pelagic vessels who have 40% of the €275,317,000 total earnings of Irelands fishing fleet, an estimated 100 million Euro in 2016 increasing to 110 million in 2017. Reports across various media have communicated a message that a Mackerel war has started between North and South. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is amazing to me personally how people’s perception can override the facts but the human brain is an extraordinary muscle. To give a little background on recent events, the Irish South & West Fish Producers Organisation and our colleagues in the fishing Industry were informed by Senior officials in the Department of Marine in early 2016 that our tiny fishing fleet is still too big for our nations meagre fish allocations from the European Union in predominantly our waters that produce some 30% of all fish landed in Europe. We were told that cuts were required to be made to the Whitefish fleet of 30 boats measuring between 12 – 23 Meters. Click here to read the story 09:28