Tag Archives: John Nolan
Our fishing industry is sustainable, so why are we intent on trashing it?
Irelands decision to join the EU 50 years ago was, from a fishing industry perspective, a poisoned chalice. Half a century later, Britain’s decision to leave that very same institution, and the resultant decommissioning deal for fishers, will mean a further loss of quotas, as well as widespread job losses on land and sea, too. The latest ‘deal’, according to John Nolan, chairman of the Castletownbere Fishermen’s Co-operative, will cost more than money. ‘It could,’ he said, ‘mean the loss of our soul.’ With the approval deadline for decommissioning in its final throes, John described the latest quota cutbacks, and scrappage deal, as something that is ‘eating away at our hearts and taking away our hope.’ Photos, >click to read< 13:53
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
Diesel prices and post-Brexit quotas add to fishermen’s woes
Each time West Cork fisherman Daniel Healy sets out to sea, he wonders whether it’s worth his time. Soaring diesel prices, he said, are putting his livelihood at risk. “Per trip, with five days out, at 1,000 litres a day – that’s over €5,000. It’s a big bill for me,” Mr Healy told Prime Time. He has been fishing from Castletownbere for the last 29 years. For the first time, he has to worry whether he can pay the wages of his crew. The diesel is probably taking about nearly half of our gross earnings, every trip,” he said. “The crew were wondering where all the money was going, until I showed them the receipts and how much the fuel is.” But, due to stricter post-Brexit quotas that were introduced last year, fishermen cannot increase their catch to compensate for their losses. >click to read< 18:50
West Cork Fishermen celebrate 50th anniversary by buying respite house for local charity despite ‘tough times’
A group of fishermen in West Cork have bought and donated a house worth 250k to a local charity that works with over 750 adults and children with intellectual disabilities, even though they say the fishing industry is experiencing “extremely difficult times.” “We wanted to do something to mark our 50th anniversary that our founding members and every Castletownbere who has lost their lives at sea would be proud of, we’ve never been about glitz and glamour and we’d no interest in a big party, we’ve always been about community,” John Nolan, the General Manager of the co-op said. >click to read< 06:50
‘We are holding three million prawns for which there is no market’; Cork fishermen facing nightmare situation
John Nolan, Managing Director of Castletownbere Fishermen’s Co-op, was blunt and direct in the past week when he said that sectors of the French fishing industry were trying to impose a boycott on the sale there of any fish caught by non/French fishermen. “They have been taking television crews to wholesale and processing operations which they accused of buying fish from non-French boats and not supporting their own industry. “People are afraid actually in France to take fish off us,” he said. “Even big supermarkets like Leclerc, even their government is saying only buy French fish. It does get annoying when you see the way the French are acting. >click to read< 10:06
Coronavirus: Fish processor closes as markets collapse
One of the country’s largest fish processing companies is shutting down because the EU’s fish markets have collapsed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Processors are now calling on the Government to set up a task force to save the industry. All 64 of the boats managed by the Castletownbere Fishermen’s Co-Operative have been asked to come back into port. “The world has collapsed a little bit and we can’t do anything in the European market. There are loads of fish but there is not sufficient enough market. >click to read< 07:37
Inside Montauk’s commercial fishing industry
Montauk is not only the biggest commercial fishing hub in New York, it’s one of the largest in the Northeast.,,, Unlike Gurneys’ or the iconic Shagwong Tavern, Montauk’s commercial fishing boats don’t attract investors eager to keep their businesses afloat, and their property (boats, gear and permits) is not easily transferable from one person to another.,,, John Nolan, his wife, Laurie, and their son John Nolan III are owner-operators of the F/V Seacapture,,, >click to read< 07:35
Co-op boss slams reports of exploited fishermen
A West Cork fisheries spokesman has rubbished reports that there is widespread exploitation of immigrants in the fishing industry. The manager of Castletownbere Fishermen’s Co-op, John Nolan, has accused the media of making ‘wild, sensational and unsubstantiated statements’ about the industry this week.‘I am not saying there is no abuse,’ Mr Nolan told The Southern Star, ‘but it certainly isn’t widespread, and sensational headlines that claims that there are up to 8,000 people being exploited hurt our industry. Read the rest here 13:03
