Inshore ireland vol 11 nr 5 dec 2015 jan 2016

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The Marine & Freshwater Environment Publication IMERC on target to becoming a ‘globally significant maritime campus’ Pages 14 & 15

Island Seafoods Ltd scoops joint sustainability award Page 13

December 2015/January 2016 Vol 11 Issue 5

ONLINE EDITION

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Alleged inadequate funding puts future of POs in doubt Gery Flynn

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ome of Ireland’s Fishery Producer Organisations (POs) are at risk of closure because government is not providing the funding required to meet mandatory requirements of the Common Fisheries Policy.

Chief executive of the IFPO, Francis O’Donnell, told Inshore Ireland that the funding issue has been a long and arduous process that has dragged on over the past two years:

“To be fair to Minister Coveney, he has put a package on the table and has gone to great lengths to broker a solution, but we believe it will not satisfy our legal requirements as a PO. “It won’t enable us to grow as an organisation and meet the challenges we face under the new CFP, in particular to employ a marketing expert and additional personnel, and we won’t be able to outsource specialised consultancy when required. The workload will be immense over the next five years as the CFP is phased in,” he added.

And despite having already provided DAFM with “an excellent Production and Marketing plan for my PO and its members for 2014-2015”, O’Donnell believes they will not now have the capacity to expand, and sees this as “an opportunity missed”.

“In my opinion there’s a disconnect between the Commission’s view of the POs being central to rolling out the policy and that of DAFM. In its observations on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Operational Programme for Ireland,

the Commission indicated clearly that DAFM had underestimated the potential of the POs to meet the objectives of the CFP and CMO regulations.

“More importantly, they also indicated that DAFM had paid insufficient attention to new instruments available to the POs, such as Production and Marketing plans.”

He revealed that the IFPO board had asked him to outline their concerns in writing to the European Commission – “especially that they risk losing their status because they still have

not been provided with the necessary funding”.

Invited to respond, a statement from DAFM to Inshore Ireland outlined that Minister Coveney had set aside a budget of €3m within the overall EMFF envelope to fund recognised POs over the lifetime of the EMFF. Up until now POs were funded by member subscriptions and did not receive State or EU funding.

The proposed funding scheme has been negotiated with the POs and relates only to 2014 and 2015. »» page 2

Dusty the dolphin assists Irish Seaweed Consultancy divers in surveying sea spaghetti (Himalthalia elongate). See article on page 16. Photo: Dr Benoît Quéguineur

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The proposed scheme represents a significant level of support for Ireland’s existing officially recognised POs and will underpin the administrative implementation of Production and Marketing Plans (PMPs) which are a mandatory requirement under the new CMO (Common organisation of the market) regulation, as well as financing the preparation of the PMPs. It is designed to meet stringent EU and National audit requirements and will be put before the EMFF Operational Programme Monitoring Committee for discussion and approval.

In addition as part of the wider operational programme, POs will also be able draw down further significant funding and avail of preferential rates of support under separate related schemes which will support POs to implement specific measures identified in their plans.

A further scheme based on the 2014/2015 Producer Organisation scheme will be brought forward for 2016 and onwards to support the existing POs and any other POs which may be set up over the lifetime of the programme, within the available budget.”

Golden birthday for Dublin Bay sentinel

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resident Michael D Higgins joined the board and staff of the Commissioners of Irish Lights in November to mark 50 years of service of the Kish Lighthouse.

Lighthouse keepers lived on the tower until automation in 1992.

The lighthouse is not just an aid to navigation but a significant engineering landmark of its day, says CIL, replacing one of a series of lightships that had marked the Kish Bank since 1811.

Today, its design is noted as

a remarkable achievement.

The reinforced concrete structure was constructed in Dún Laoghaire harbour as a series of telescopic sections that were towed to the site. Once positioned, the lower section was flooded to float the telescopic sections vertically until they were secured in their final positions, providing the 31m tower, engine room and accommodation.

It would be true to say that many millions of passengers have watched the Kish fade over the horizon on their emigration trail to

Britain and beyond, and others have watched its welcoming flash guide them safely into Dublin Bay. The Kish Lish Lighthouse today comprises a suite of modern aids to navigation including a 22 mile light Racon (radar beacon) and Automatic Identification

Scientific advice proposes catch cuts across 28 stocks in 2016

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President Michael D. Higgins and Anthony Carey, Irish Lights Buoy Lead, watched by (at back) David Delamer, Chairman, Irish Lights and Col. Mick Kiernan, Aide de Comp.

Marine Institute Foras na Mara

Our Ocean - A Shared Resource Ár n-Aigéan - Acmhainn Comhroinnte Ireland’s National Agency for Marine Research and Innovation An Ghníomhaireacht Náisiúnta um Thaighde Mara agus Nuálaíochta

www.marine.ie

System (AIS). Kish also records live environmental data (wind speed and direction; sea temperature; humidity and pressure), available to Met Éireann forecasters, and is transmitted to users on AIS, Twitter and Internet.

he European Commission proposes to maintain or increase fish quotas for 35 stocks and reduce catches for 28 stocks in 2016, based on scientific advice received.

Also proposed for the first time is quota ‘top ups’ for all fisheries, to help fishermen in the transition to the new landing obligation that comes into force on some demersal species in January. This extra quota aims to compensate fishermen for the extra fish they will have to land.

The landing obligation began in 2015 with pelagic fisheries and is being phased in until 2019 when it will apply to all commercial fisheries subject to the TAC regime or are under a minimum size. Details of the implementation, fishery by fishery, will be included in the multiannual plans or in specific discard plans when no multiannual plan is in place.

Details include species covered; provisions on catch documentation; minimum conservation reference sizes and exemptions (for fish that may survive after returning to sea and specific de minimus discard allowance under certain conditions).

Quota management will also become more flexible in its application to facilitate the landing obligation.

A pillar of the current Common Fisheries Policy (2015-2020) stipulates catch limits should be set that are sustainable and maintain fish stocks in the long-term by respecting the principle of ‘maximum sustainable yield’.

Fishing at MSY levels allows the fishing industry to take the highest amount of fish from the sea while keeping fish stocks healthy.

“My objective is clear and ambitious. I want us to bring all stocks to healthy and sustainable levels as soon as possible,” remarked Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

Proposals snapshot For some EU stocks already at MSY, such as megrims in the North Sea and horse mackerel in Iberian and Western Waters, the Commission proposes to increase TACs. Cod stocks in the Irish Sea and the Celtic Sea however are below MSY and will see a cut of 30%. A cut of 100% is proposed for sole in the Irish Sea due to very poor performance.

Advice for haddock and cod in the Celtic Sea proposes considerable TAC cuts of 27% and 30% respectively, to bring them to MSY levels.

For many of these stocks, the advice is for greater selective fishing techniques so that young fish are not caught before they can reproduce and replenish the stocks. This is particularly urgent for fisheries in the Celtic Sea and Western waters where a big effort is needed to implement the selectivity measures advised by scientists.

At a recent meeting with Commissioner Vella, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney, said he outlined some of the challenges facing Ireland’s fishing industry, particularly for the whitefish and prawn fleets with the introduction of the landing obligation.

“The discards ban will directly apply next year to our important prawn fleet and Celtic Sea whiting fleet. I will be working at the December Council to achieve quotas that take account of this new situation where all catches in these fisheries must be landed,” he said.

While supporting the introduction of quotas that respect scientific advice, Minister Coveney said he would be looking for a “phasing in” of the new limits recommended by the scientific advice for some “key economic stocks” that will be fished by fleets becoming subject to the discard ban.

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Ombudsman’s ‘analysis and findings’ on SUMBAWS Report adds another layer of confusion

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he Ombudsman has ruled that the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (DCENR) was justified in refusing Inshore Ireland access under FOI to a ten-year-old report, partfunded by the European Commission.

In December 2014, the DCENR refused Inshore Ireland’s FOI request for the SUMBAWS report on the basis that ‘the Department is not in a position to provide the report requested’.

Following an internal review of the DCENR decision – requested

by Inshore Ireland – an official of that department affirmed the original decision on the basis that ‘the Department does not hold the record sought by the applicant’.

Throughout 2015, Inshore Ireland reported its efforts to obtain a copy of the SUMBAWS report .

Elusive report

Two earlier requests by IFA Aquaculture - through the FOI mechanism – also failed to unearth SUMBAWS. A further attempt by IFA Aquaculture to secure the report under the Public Access to Information on the Environment mechanism also failed.

Notwithstanding, Inshore Ireland understands that the SUMBAWS report – or parts of it - were

referenced in a formal complaint by an Irish environmental group on the potential impact of sea lice on wild salmon stocks. The so-called EU Pilot investigation of this complaint lasted five years and no findings were made against Ireland.

A decade since it published, it appears no one has succeeded in obtaining a copy of the Final SUMBAWS report from official sources in Ireland; those requesting it are advised to contact the University of St Andrews or the European Union for a copy.

Public funding

SUMBAWS, which had a working budget of just over €2.3m cost the EU tax payers more than €1.5m.

It involved participants from Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands and Norway.

The Ombudsman’s analysis states: ‘The Department stated that, in 2009 it received a version of the SUMBAWS report from Inland Fisheries Ireland.

The version of the report which the Department holds indicates that [it] is a report prepared following the completion of Workpackage 7 of the SUMBAWS project. This version of the report had not, when received by the Department, been submitted to the European Commission.

Furthermore, according to both the SUMBAWS and EU CORDIS websites, a subsequent Workpackage 8 of the project was completed. The Department stated that for these

reasons, it considers that the version of the report which it holds is not the “full and final” version of the report sought by the applicant. The Department further stated that this version of the report is the only version which the Department holds.”

Inshore Ireland responded:

A letter from the European Commission, seen by Inshore Ireland, to Dr Neil Hazon (project co-ordinator) from the European Commission dated 5 May 2006 informs him that the report (ref no: Q5RS-200200730 – SUMBAWS – Third and final reports) “have been accepted by the Commission services”.

The Commission letter further states: “The final report is very complete and is of high scientific quality. The structure of the report is excellent….The SUMBAWS project has generated considerable new knowledge on the interaction between aquaculture and wild salmonid fish, regarding sea lice infection in Norway, Scotland and Ireland…. we congratulate Dr Hazon and Prof Todd and the consortium for the excellent quality of their work.

We will consider the final report suitable for publication as it stands….

Disseminating the results of Community funded research projects is essential.

You are therefore encouraged to continue to disseminate the results of this project as widely as possible, while acknowledging support of the Community research programme.”

In May 2006, SUMBAWS was accepted by the EU Commission

as the ‘final report’. Nevertheless, the Ombudsman finds that the pdf copy of SUMBAWS which was conveyed via email from DCENR to DAFM in July 2009 – three years after the EU Commission had accepted it - is not the final version.

The Ombudsman finds that this version had not been submitted to the Commission and states that “a subsequent Workpackage 8 was completed”.

Inshore Ireland believes that the version of SUMBAWS provided under FOI by the Marine Institute is the same pdf version that passed between DCENR and DAFM in July 2009. That version, which may be examined on the Inshore Ireland website, is the very one referred to and exchanged in the inter-departmental emails.

It bears the same identification number as the version referred to in the EU Commission’s letter. This version contains Workpackage 8.

And it is the version that the Marine Institute used to defend the Pilot Case taken against Ireland.

Why would DCENR provide the Marine Institute with an outdated and incomplete version of SUMBAWS to defend such an important case?

Why is DCENR claiming it does not have this full and final version of the SUMBAWS report?

comment

Gery Flynn

Statement from the SFPA on Margiris (12/11/15)

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he Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, the independent regulator responsible for the enforcement of the State’s sea-fisheries regulations, has been aware of the presence of the EU-registered Lithuanian flagged fishing

vessel Margiris, since its entry to IRL waters. In keeping with standard practice for all vessels, it is being continuously monitored by the Naval Service.

The vessel is operating within the Irish exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Under the Common Fisheries

Policy any EU vessel can fish in any region’s EU waters where they have quota. This vessel has a quota entitling it to fish for Scad (Horse Mackerel) within EU waters and is authorised to conduct fishing activity in this area.

As with all vessels it is required to record its catches and set them against quota in

compliance with EU seafisheries legislation. Margiris and all vessels operating in Irish waters are monitored continuously by the Naval Service through the Fisheries Monitoring Centre at the Naval Base, Haulbowline, using satellite Vessel Monitoring, Automatic Identification System (AIS) and ERS

(Electronic Reporting Systems).

The SFPA is committed to ensuring that EU quotas are fairly and sustainably managed continuously. This year, with the support of the Naval Service, we have prioritized the implementation of the new Landing Obligation by all vessels operating within the Irish EEZ .

Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year from all at Bord Iascaigh Mhara

Inshore Ireland is published by IIPL Ltd

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Features Editor

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Gery Flynn

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Elements of contract terms for migrant workers on Irish vessels need revision, says industry Gillian Mills

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he Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney has welcomed agreement reached on a new system for migrant workers in the fishing industry.

An emergency Task Force had been established to assess conditions for non EEA workers in the Irish fishing fleet following allegations of routine mistreatment of African and Asian had appeared in the Guardian newspaper earlier this month.

Describing it “essentially a global phenomenon”, Minister Coveney said the scheme should “greatly reduce abuse of migrant workers by unscrupulous employers” and provide a mechanism to assist workers in difficult situations to enter a new employment relationship.

The scheme will also help Irish operators whose reputation may have been damaged by the allegations. It will also allow the industry to meet its necessary labour needs while simultaneously allowing structured transparency “whereby non EU workers

can be recruited,” he said.

“These workers will be guaranteed all appropriate employment rights and protections during the period of their employment. “It is my intention to bring the scheme to government prior to publication in the coming week,” he confirmed.

Minister of State for Business and Employment, Ged Nash, commended the Task Force who he said had responded with “great alacrity” to widespread concerns over exploitation of vulnerable migrant workers in a section of the fishing industry.

“The new system introduces clear contracts and minimum pay, terms and conditions that are enforceable in Irish and EU law.”

Contracts of employment (12 month minimum and may be renewed for 12 month rolling periods) must commit to payment of annual wages of not less than the National Minimum Wage (PAYE and PRSI) based on 39 hours per week for 52 weeks (currently €17,542 pa and €18,556 from January next) and must provide for the payment of pro-rate wages, at least monthly, including during periods of boat tie-up.

In a statement to Inshore Ireland, the IFPO has welcomed government’s commitment to resolve the migrant worker issue but warned that the 12-month contract aspect required clarification: ‘This is a difficulty for a number of reasons. For example a vessel may break down or need to have its engine replaced. This can take two months when none of the crew earn, including the skipper/ owner of the vessel. We have direct experience of this as a PO.’ Consideration also needs to be given to the fact that a non EU employee may commit a crime or assault another person on board.

It would be unreasonable in such a case of gross misconduct that the vessel owner should have to continue to pay wages for this person for 12 months or repatriate them,’ the statement reads.

‘We believe that there should be a probationary period like in any employment and that contracts should be on a 3/6/9/12 month basis as the employer still has to pay the repatriation costs regardless, even if the contract is a short one. The 500 cap on visas/work permits may not be sufficient to regulate the retrospective aspect of this problem. This also needs revision.

The scheme at a glance: »» A new system of atypical worker permission for non EEA workers »» during the first three months after commencement, permissions will be limited to non-EEA workers already operating in Ireland on fishing vessels »» cross-sectoral pre-clearance system ensuring a comprehensive legally binding contract of employment »» employers (who must be a licensed vessel owner) will be responsible for ensuring that a valid contract of employment, certified by a Solicitor and drafted in accordance with National and EU employment rights legislation, is in place for all workers and will include repatriation arrangements. »» A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by relevant State enforcement bodies will provide a rigorous and effective inspection system and will be in place before the commencement of the scheme »» State to set up a depository of contracts and monitor overall level of contracts, capped at a maximum of 500 »» Employees will be guaranteed the national minimum wage; repatriated at the conclusion of the contract and will have employee health insurance for the duration of the contract.

The scheme will permit up to a maximum of 500 non-EEA workers at any one time as crew on licensed and registered sea-fishing boats above 15m in the polyvalent, beamer and specific segments of the fleet.

For all Irish registered fishing vessels, at least fifty per cent of crew must be nationals of any of the EU Member States.

Full details can be read on:

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/press/ pressreleases/2015/november/title,87348,en.html

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Science behind some fish cuts is ‘totally out of sync’ in real-time, says industry Gillian Mills

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t 00:01 on January 1, a Landing Obligation for certain demersal fisheries comes into force in European Union waters. A combination of gear type, fisheries areas and historic landing data (reference period 2013/2014) are being used to identify vessels subject to the obligation.

Some vessels may be subject to more than one rule.

The LO will apply to Nephrops in all areas. If a vessel’s total landings during 2013/2014 were more than 30% Nephrops, all catches must be landed in 2016.

In the Celtic Sea if a vessel’s landings during the reference period were more than 25% cod, haddock, whiting and saithe (gadoids) combined, all catches of whiting must be landed.

In the Irish Sea and West of Scotland, vessels with landings during 2013/2014 in either area were more than 10% cod, haddock, whiting and saithe (gadoids) combined, all catches of haddock must be landed. The threshold has been calculated for each area.

And all hake must be landed in longline and gillnet fisheries.

The LO however does not apply to species covered by a high survivability exemption, e.g. Nephrops caught using pots, traps or creels I Areas VIa and VII; catches falling under ‘de minimis’ (see sidebar pg 10&11) and fish that has been damaged by predators. These catches may be discarded and will not be recorded against quota but must be recorded in the logbook.

Discarding must also continue for prohibited species such as basking shark; fish suspected of being contaminated by disease communicable to humans, pets and other fish; undersized fish of species not covered by the LO, and catches of species not covered by the LO that exceed quota. These discards must also be recorded in the logbook.

Undersized fish Catches of species covered by LO that are below minimum conservation reference size (MCRS) must be landed and will be counted against quota. They must be stored separately from fish over MCRS but do not have to be sorted by species. They must also be fully logged and weighed on landing.

Undersized fish cannot be sold

The practice of 'slipping at sea'. The net is never taken from the water - it is opened to release the fish, the majority of which are already dead. These fish are not counted for and the extent of the damage is not known for direct human consumption but may be sold for non-direct human consumption after processing. Examples include food additives, pharmaceutical and fish oils. Food hygiene rules will apply for storage and handling.

Non-human consumption examples include fish meal, pet food and fish oil for animal feed. Animal By-product (ABP) regulations will apply to storage and handling.

A fisherman/operator may decide at any point from the

time the undersized fish is caught until it is sold or given to another owner, whether it will be used for non-direct or non-human consumption. They will be responsible for the undersized »» page 10

Turnkey seaweed farms: the missing link in commercial seaweed cultivation Gery Flynn

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cean Harvest Technology, the Co Galway based seaweed innovator has joined an international consortium to trial the prototype of a turnkey kelp growing system which, if successful, will revolutionise commercial production across seaweed species worldwide.

Located at a sea site near Solund on the west coast of Norway, the project, ‘AT~SEA Technologies’ is a commercial spin-off from the successful European AT~SEA-research project (2012-2015). The consortium includes Ocean Harvest (IRL); Tecnored (ES); Devan Chemicals (BE); Hortimare (NL); Eurofilet

(FR); and J2M (BE).

Dr Stefan Kraan, cofounder and scientific director of OHT says they began growing kelp in October and expect to harvest the first crop in May 2016. They aim to begin offering turnkey seaweed farms by 2017.

According to Kraan, seaweed has proven to be a very versatile product with many applications and a huge and growing demand worldwide: “Today, seaweed is used widely in the food industry, in animal feeds in cosmetics and personal care products, and in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. The importance of seaweeds is set to further increase as new applications develop in the biomaterials, biochemicals and bioenergy sectors,” he says.

At this early stage of the

‘AT~SEA Technologies’ project, Kraan is reluctant to reveal much about the production methods used, except to say that young seaweed plants are grown below the water surface on large strips of an advanced technical textile called AlgaeTex. “Before launching a proprietary technology package onto the market, seaweed production will be increased systematically. Over the 2016-2017 winter season, we plan to expand production capacity from one to four hectares. Several companies and individuals are already showing interest in what we are doing in Solund, ” he says.

“The textile mat has been developed using unique fibers and coating. If you were to try growing kelp on simple polyester strips

it would soon fall apart.

In a nutshell we will be providing a turnkey seaweedgrowing system that is likely to

become a significant source of income in coastal communities where job opportunities are very scarce,” he says.

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YOURVIEW

Inshore Ireland and its publishers do not accept responsibility for the veracity of claims made by contributors. While every care is taken to ensure accuracy of information, we do not accept responsibility for any errors, or matters arising from same. Contact the editor at mills@inshore-ireland.com.

Is it time for a food label that includes a human rights commitment?

Francis O’Donnell, IFPO

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elebrity chef, and campaigner on food and environmental issues, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, would not be regarded as a friend of the European fishing industry. He championed the banning of discards in a very clever way, and I believe much of what he had to say was correct.

But the complexity of

putting a discard ban in place without causing serious economic problems for coastal communities was lost in the discussion. I think this was remiss of him - but that is just my opinion.

His latest battle called ‘The Big Food Fight’ addresses the demand for perfect cosmetics in terms of the appearance of food such as carrots and parsnips, and how large retailers are treating some food producers who supply them.

Last week the programme clearly showed how large UK retailers go to pains to inform their customers how concerned they are about workers human rights, their own workers and those that supply them. One large retailer was clearly caught dumping perfectly good food, even though it professed to supply that food to local charities is not sold. There have been some extremely embarrassing moments in some of the episodes for large retailers.

Abuse allegations On the November 2 last,

the Guardian newspaper published a report on alleged widespread abuse of undocumented migrant workers in the Irish fishing industry. The report went further, alleging that sleep deprivation, inhuman working hours, people smuggling and human trafficking was occurring within the industry and that in some cases people were being deceived post arrival to Ireland in terms of pre-agreed contracts.

Allegations of human trafficking and abuse are extremely serious.

Notwithstanding the accuracy or not of the Guardian article, I for one abhor any of its findings that relate to human rights abuses. It is critical to point out that the article clearly stated that many migrant workers were and are being treated properly and with dignity within the Irish fishing industry.

When the story broke, media hounds from all corners emerged from the forest demanding radio interviews and comments.

This was natural and I now believe this is an opportunity to finally address the non

EU migrant ‘undocumented worker issue, one and for all’

Transparency must prevail

What our industry needs is a proper system, to obtain work permits that ensure safeguards for those workers in terms of human rights, sleep, proper pay, safety on board, and nutrition. What we don’t need is a mass deportation programme that would adversely impact families in Asia and Africa that rely on a weekly or monthly wage earned on an Irish fishing trawler.

I found it interesting that an Irish fish processing company supplying a very well-known, large UK retail outlet contacted me for advice when the retail company threatened to withdraw orders because of the Guardian report.

This was and is cynical, and very two-faced in my opinion.

Large retailers continue to demand wild fish products at lower costs, making it extremely difficult for fishing businesses to stay viable.

Inadvertently they are driving wages down in the war against their competitors. It

is only when a story breaks that could impact on their brand that they rise high on their hobby horse.

Large retailers profess corporate social responsibility as part of their business strategy and business models.

It’s a gimmick for most, and once one gets behind the mask it’s clear that they are as responsible as is industry for poor pay and working conditions meted out to some workers. They are squeezing us all so that they can grow.

Customers need to know where their food comes from and that there is a cost to growing or in our case catching that food.

Cheap food will in most cases equal cheap labour.

As customers we are also responsible. It may be time now for a food label that not only includes a human rights commitment but one that the large retailers are willing to pay for and not get for nothing.’ Then this extra cost can be paid to the workers.

It’s time we put the squeeze on some of the large retailers. It may be that Hugh Fearnley Whittinstall is on to something after all.

New chairman elected to NIFF F

ollowing recent meetings around the coast of the regional forums, representatives from the National Inshore Fisheries Forum (NIFF) met in Dublin to elect a new Chairman for its organisation. The position became vacant after Ciaran Quinn stepped down as chairman. Alex Crowley was unanimously selected as chairman of NIFF and acting interim Chair Eddie Moore remains as vice chairman.

“I believe a great amount of credit should be given to both Ciaran Quinn who was the first NIFF chairperson and Eddie Moore who acted as interim Chair following Ciaran’s resignation. Both have done tremendous work in moving NIFF forward and achieving some of its goals. I am looking forward to working with the other representatives of NIFF and to continuing the work they have initiated for the inshore sector at national level,” remarked Alex Crowley

The latest meeting of NIFF took place in November at Agriculture House in Dublin where NIFF representatives met with Minister Simon Coveney and department officials; BIM, Marine Institute and the SFPA. In addition to Alex Crowley’s appointment, other pressing issues were dealt with, in what was described as a very constructive meeting.

development of line-caught fisheries. This plan has come from industry through the regional forums • activities of large foreignowned factory ships currently operating off the NW coast • conflict between vessels of different sizes in inshore waters

• Potential benefits of having a commercial bluefin tuna fishery and a herring fishery in the NW of Ireland for the inshore sector At the meeting NIFF also gave support to the recommendations in the Indecon report on their review of marine taxation; for the extension of the VAT

exemption to vessels of less than 15GT; recommendations on social protection as outlined in the Report of the Working Group on Safety Training and Employment in the Irish fishing Industry.

The NIFF hopes to meet again early in the New Year; it is expected the RIFFs will meet before then.

These included:

• recreational/noncommercial potting • Cost that must be borne by the industry in their effort to get new bi-valve fisheries classified and opened and potential measures that could be introduced to help alleviate that cost • lobster maximum size regulation and review options • NIFFs request for a position on the Celtic Sea Herring Management Advisory Committee • A plan for further

Roundstone Co Galway where lobster fishing is a major local economic contributor

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report

The wild salmon angling vote goes on a war footing economy that feeds local tourism and sport interests.

For example, the lovely Bunduff River beside the Bundrowes or Drowes in Co Sligo had a conservation level of 305 fish last season but faces closure now due to declining returns for spawning.

The answer is clearly the same for the Eany and Eske in Co Donegal which closed due to the location of salmon farms that have infested migrating smolts for many seasons now.

Conflict of interest?

Noel Carr, FISSTA

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he salmon angling season ended in September with little signs of any recovery of wild Atlantic salmon and seatrout stocks as the graph sadly continues to decline.

The new draft list for 2016 of closed and open rivers is just published, and confirms that the current state of management policy is killing this invaluable wild Atlantic salmon resource. Some closed rivers may never open again as the odds are stacked against them. Every coastal community has a river

So departments such as Agriculture and Energy that have no care for the wild salmon, issue licences to applicants for commercial netting, salmon farming, forestry and wind turbines – all of which impact on the spawning beds, while the Departments of Tourism, Environment, and Natural Resources lose potential revenue, due to poor water quality and fish losses to the detriment of our economy.

Earlier in the summer, Agriculture, Food and Marine minister, Simon Coveney, produced his vision for the future of salmon farming in the National Strategy Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture.

It stated that open net cage

salmon farming seemed to be his only option to grow the production of farmed salmon from the current 8,000 tonnes to over 45,000 tonnes by 2023 - primarily for export markets.

His failure to research and develop new Recirculating Aquaculture Systems technology (RAS) is unforgivable, because of the potential to deliver that same tonnage by 2018. Bearing in mind, this type of production would be inland and away from the contamination of our migrating smolts.

FISSTA has never opposed aquaculture, but will continue to campaign against the net cage method because it causes sea lice infestation that kills wild salmon.

Lost competitiveness

It appears that the new and revolutionary RAS way of salmon farming is being lost to Ireland while we lose competiveness to the rest of the world as consumers.

The market and consumers are moving to ‘clean’ farmed salmon against the old open net cage production method.

FISSTA has objected to every salmon farm licence granted since the early nineties and as always the scientific advice of the Marine Institute is

put forward in support of and although it is ignored, it Ministerial approval. has to be a matter of concern Never, or rarely, has the for any new Minister to State scientific advice from address.

Inland Fisheries Ireland or international authorities Flawed decision (ICES advice to NASCO) been No accredited NGO such as considered, despite our many FISSTA can have confidence appeal submissions. that the advice prepared The important issue is that by the Marine Institute is every party gets a fair hearing free from influence by the and that justice must be Department’s Fisheries seen to be done by arriving Division. We contend that at decisions that are purely the Minister’s decision to scientific evidence based. grant a salmon farm licence FISSTA has consistently in Bantry Bay last September contended that the is procedurally flawed and Marine Institute is not an we hope ALAB will refuse the independent entity to advise licence on these and other a Minister. We believe that grounds. the general public does not To date we have failed to view them as a free agent get a high powered salmon either. summit type meeting with We have also consistently An Taoiseach Enda Kenny; yet asked why the Minister he gave almost a full day to manages the Marine meet Norwegian salmon farm Institute’s operating budget interests to the detriment of and staffing allocation under our wild salmon resource. the direct control of the How can a few companies Fisheries Division, rather with 80 fulltime and 40 than under the many other part-time jobs in their salmon non-fisheries divisions within farming industry hold an DAFM. angling tourism industry of The main function of the 12,000 jobs and €800m to Fisheries Division is obviously ransom? development of the industry; Thankfully our members FISSTA believes that the vote in Ireland, not in Norway, industry representatives are where we campaign to too close to the Fisheries convince voters in places such Division. as the Moy valley in Co Mayo The conflict of interest that that new ideas and supports arises for the Marine Institute from politicians are needed if due to the Department’s our massive angling tourism Ad for is Inshore Ireland_Layout Page 1 action indisputably clear 1 26/08/2015 potential is16:45 to be realised.

SEA GASTRONOMY Fi sh & Sh ell fi sh of the North Atlantic

Har dba ck boo k 440 pages over 220 recipes over 380 colour photographs created by chef, photographer and author Michael O’Meara with contributions by Dr Peter Tyndall & Ernie Whalley Publ ished by Artis an Hous e LAU NCH OCT OBE R 201 5

Michael O’Meara

RRP €30

An outstanding work, Sea Gastronomy, Fish & Shellfish of the North Atlantic is surely destined to take its place alongside classics like Alan Davidson’s North Atlantic Seafood (1979) and Rick Stein’s first book English Seafood Cookery (1988) as a game changer in the way we understand, value and cook with the treasures of the ocean.

Georgina Campbell Ireland Guides This book is beautifully illustrated by many superb images, with fascinatingly elegant yet simple recipes for what used to be called ‘by-catch’. Fish once wasted, but now rightly valued. Michael O’Meara clearly has a deep understanding of his culinary and photographic crafts, as well as a mighty respect for the sea.

Doug Allan Wildlife film-maker, photographer & marine conservationist Michael O'Meara personifies the best sort of cook – curious, skilled, dedicated, enthralled by the wonders of nature, and alive to all the delicious possibilities that the oceans can bring to the table.

John McKenna McKennas Guides

AN HO

R

C O

N

A

E

AR

IS

US

T

In Ireland we are fortunate that our seas are among the most productive fishing areas in EU waters. With such fortune comes responsibility. This book fits perfectly with this approach.

John Evans Marine Institute, Ireland

N E M A

Books of taste created with passion in the heart of Connemara www.artisanhouse.ie

Killybegs Angler Denis Rowan caught a fine 3lb seatrout at the Salmon Leap falls on the Glen River at Carrick Co Donegal

8

inshore ireland December 2015/January 2016

Freshwater Focus

Summer rays of thornback and sunshine Brendan Connolly

T

he summer of 2015 will not be remembered for its settled and warm weather but instead for a few days of comfortable sea angling when the sun’s rays did brake through the incessant cloud cover.

On one such day, two anglers set out on Donegal Bay for a day’s fishing.

Cruising out, they could see the summer haze shrouding the hills surrounding the bay, and a light breeze from the northwest ruffled the azure blue waters. Looking below the boat, the water was unusually clear to 6 or 7 metres.

A short distance out, they turned off the engine and the boat slowly drifted.

Mackerel feather were released and streamed down into the clear depths.

Silver flashes Almost immediately, the feathers began to jerk one way and the other. Silver flashes glinted, appearing as if out of nowhere. Watching from above, the anglers saw how the mackerel agressively hit the feathers, mostly without getting hooked. Then suddenly, two and three silver flashes remained visible, as they felt the strong pull of the mackerel.

Delighted with their good fortune, the anglers reeled up their catch, savouring the luxury that is summer mackerel fishing around the coast of Ireland.

Again and again, the mackerel feathers plumbed the depths. And again and again, they lifted up to six mackerel at a go into the boat. Before long, they had filled the bucket and stopped fishing. As the winds were very light, they decided to slowly drift over sand to see what bottom fish they could catch.

Plastic frilled muppets Both anglers rigged up traces comprising a large hook at the bottom, a smaller hook further up the line and a lead weight above the swivel, in a classic ledger fishing set-up. One angler then added coloured beads and plastic frilled ‘muppets’, shaped like mini squid around his hooks.

The second angler just had the bare hooks without any attracters.

Both anglers decided to try this experiment as they had experienced each method ‘out-fishing’ the other on different occasions. Fishing in extremely clear water with visibility of over 6 metres, they were keen to try the two techniques in these conditions.

Fresh mackerel strips were threaded onto the hooks; a larger one on the larger hooks and a smaller thinner strip on the smaller one.

In this way, they targetted small and medium-sized sandy bottom fish.

Letting the lead and trace down to the bottom, they could feel the lead slowly bumping over the sandy ridges of the sea floor.

Comfortably sitting back in the boat, they exchanged

fishing stories, theories, and experiences, as they soaked up the sunshine. Both would have been happy for this state of affairs to continue, but it was not long before the tip of one rod gave a few sharp twitches.

The angler tightened the line a little, running it over his index finger. Again, sharp little tugs were transmitted like mini electric shocks to his finger. He lifted the rod and felt a heavy weight at the end of the line.

Reeling in as he lowered the rod, he stopped reeling and lifted the rod again.

Pumping the rod like this, slowly but surely, a large white shape came into view below. Soon the white underside of a Thornback Ray broke the surface.

Carefully wrapping a cloth around the tail with its rows of sharp spines, the thornback was lifted into the boat. It was a nice female of about 5lb, and on the rod without any coloured muppets and beads.

Soon it was the turn of the other rod to catch another thornback; a male this time, which was also returned.

Both rods continued to catch more thornbacks, with more caught by the rod without the muppets and beads.

Flounders and turbots Then, a lighter pull was felt on one of the rods, and a good sized flounder was boated and released. As the boat drifted into shallower waters, more flounders were caught again with the rod without the coloured attracters doing better. Both rods then caught a turbot

A fine spotted or homelyn ray from Donegal Bay

A fine thornback ray from Donegal Bay within a few minutes of each other.

Returning into deeper water, another drift was started, and once more the rays showed up but this time, three or four Spotted Ray, or Homelyn Ray, were boated, both males and females. Again, as the boat drifted into shallower water, the anglers caught more

flounders.

Content with the variety of species caught, the anglers concluded that on that day of very clear water, the rod without coloured beads and muppets did better than the other with attracters. Having enjoyed both the rays from the sun and the sea, the anglers reeled up their rods and steered a course home.

Donegal teenagers scoop top honours with their seaweed desserts

F Donegal students newly crowned in Budapest on November 6th - European Youth Entrepreneurs of the Year 2015 From left to right are Paddy Mc Shane, (16) Mary Kate Carr (16), Rebecca McShane (16, Aimée Byrne (16) and Ronan O’Hare (16) from Colaiste na Carraige in Donegal won the award for their business 'Milseog na Mara’, meaning Desserts of the Sea, which offers healthy alternatives to jellies and chocolate mousse using a type of locally sourced seaweed – Carrageen Moss – as the main ingredient.

our Donegal teenagers have been named the European Young Entrepreneurs of the Year 2015. Mary Kate Carr (15), Aimée Byrne (16), Rebecca McShane (16) and Ronan O’Hare (15) from Glencolmcille won the award for their business, ‘Milseog na Mara’(Desserts of the Sea), which uses a type of locally-sourced seaweed, Carageen Moss, as the main ingredient to make healthy alternatives to jellies and chocolate mousse.

The competition is hosted

by YouthStart, European Entrepreneurship Award – an affiliate of the Network for

Teaching Entrepreneurship in Budapest, and is operated in Ireland by the youth organisation, Foróige.

Founded by US businessman, Steve Mariotti in New York in 1987, the NFTE aims to prevent ‘at-risk’ young people from low-income communities from ‘dropping out’ of the education system.

The programme teaches young people to think like entrepreneurs; to take calculated risks; to be open to learning and be empowered to own their own destinies and operates across the globe.

In Ireland, 1,500 participants have set up 600 businesses as part of this year’s Foróige NFTE entrepreneurship programme, generating a collective

turnover of €250,000. The programme runs from September to May. Research carried out by NFTE among 3,600 young people who participated in the programme found that 70% of all participants have found a job - either as an employee or an entrepreneur.

The survey also shows that each NFTE entrepreneur in turn employs an average of 3.5 people.

Earlier this year, the Donegal group was named Youth Entrepreneurs of the Year in Ireland and their reward was to represent their country on the European stage. Ireland has now been honoured at the awards for three consecutive years.

inshore ireland December 2015/January 2016

9

Fisheries

Research finds seals ‘not guilty’ of competing with commercial fishing boats

Seal populations in Clew Bay are not adversely affecting fish stocks, according to the study.

Gery Flynn

S

eals are not threatening commercial fishing stocks in Irish waters, with the possible exception of wild Atlantic salmon, a new study carried out by Queens University Belfast, University College Cork and the Marine Institute has found.

The study finds that seals are having no significant impact on populations of the most popular species of fish caught commercially along the south and west coasts of Ireland from counties Galway to Waterford and indicates that the seals do not compete with fishermen over the stocks.

The issue of seals in Irish waters is a constant controversial topic with regular calls from the fishing and aquaculture sectors for culls.

Dr Keith Farnsworth from QUB’s Institute for Global Food Security who led the study emphasised that its findings do not say that seals cause no problems for the fishing industry: “Seals do create significant problems for the fixed nets used by estuarine salmon fishers, and they may also impact on numbers of wild salmon. This is because the seals are eating much smaller fish than the larger, mature specimens that fishermen are required by law to catch.

So seals are often eating the same species of fish as we buy in the supermarkets, but younger versions of them.

“And there are hundreds more younger fish than mature fish in any given species. In fact, we found evidence that seals may actually be doing the fishermen a favour, by eating some species that prey on the valuable stocks the fishermen are after.”

He said that seals were not adversely affecting numbers of the most commercially fished species off the south and west coasts such as herring, mackerel, cod, haddock, whiting.

“We found that seals have very little effect on the fishery, mainly because total seal consumption was by an order of magnitude smaller than the catch across all species. Competition may be intensified by larger seal populations, but for most fish, apart from salmonids, bib and sole, even a quadrupling of total seal predation little affected predicted fishery catch,” he said.

According to Professor David Reid of the Marine Institute the research team examined material as diverse as seal ‘scat’, the gut contents of seals and fish samples from commercial catches and research vessel surveys in order to make their conclusions.

“The idea of seals being direct competitors with fishing boats intuitively seems pretty obvious. But in this case, it is not really true. They both ‘eat’ fish; but not the same fish, and they do not compete with each other,” he said.

“This is not to say that seals do not compete with fishermen in other ways.

In other recent work we showed that fishermen who use set nets around the coast of Ireland can lose fish straight out of their nets to

Photo Gillian Mills

seals,” Professor Reid said.

The seal study was funded by a Beaufort Marine Research Award, with the support of the

Marine Institute.

The full research report is available from Queens University Belfast.

SFPA Information Event

Wednesday 27th January 2016

Inspection requirements, landing obligations, technical measures and points are among the many topics that will be covered at a special Fishing Industry Information Breakfast for fishermen, processors and shellfish producers in Dublin, Louth and Wicklow which is being held in Dublin on 27thJanuary 2016 by the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) . Further meetings are planned for Castletownbere; Clonakilty; Dingle; Dunmore East; Killybegs and Ros a Mhil.

Details will be announced in early 2016.

The SFPA will be joined by representatives from a wide range of organisations including: the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine; Air Corps; BIM; FSAI; Inland Fisheries Ireland; Irish Coast Guard; Marine Survey Office; Loughs Agency and the Naval Service.

They will provide information and help with queries on the latest developments and regulations and day to day matters relating to the industry including quota management, food safety and trade.

Details of the venue will be available on www.sfpa.ie. The event is free to attend but places are limited so anyone interested in attending is asked to register by emailing events@sfpa.ie.

10 inshore ireland December 2015/January 2016

Fisheries »» from page 5

fish until it is sold or otherwise transferred.

If a decision is made that the fish will be used for non-human consumption, ABP rules will apply from that point onwards; this decision is final and those fish cannot be subsequently used for non-direct human consumption.

The original or subsequent owner is responsible for the undersized fish until it is sold or otherwise transferred. That person must also ensure that the appropriate rules (Food

Hygiene or ABP) are complied with. Landing, handling and transportation of fish and fish products will remain the responsibility of the operator.

At a preliminary meeting to discuss 2016 fishing opportunities, Simon Coveney, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, outlined the challenges facing Ireland’s fishing industry to Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Commissioner, Karmenu Vella.

“The discard ban will directly apply to our important prawn fleet and our Celtic Sea whiting

fleet. I made it clear that I will be working at the December Council to achieve quotas that take account of this new situation where all catches in these fisheries must be landed.”

Minister Coveney added he would be looking for a “phasing in” of the new limits recommended by the scientific advice for some key economic stocks to be fished by fleets subject to the discard ban.

Industry reaction Speaking to Inshore Ireland, Francis O’Donnell, IFPO, said the

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has advised vessel owners what landing obligations apply to them, but he questions some of the science behind the allowable catches: “The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea’s (ICES) recommendations for haddock in the Irish Sea are totally out of sync with the real-time situation. There is an explosion in numbers and a significant review of the TAC plus quota top-up is an absolute must.

Whiting in Area VI is the same,” he said.

“2016 itself will be a challenge for everyone and a pre-cursor to what will follow as the landing obligation is phased in between now and 2020. We need a pragmatic approach that focuses on minimising discards through technical control measures, and this takes time.

“The landing obligation must not put people out of business in our fishing industry. Thousands of other jobs are at risk in ancillary services, and they are sometimes forgotten. This will be a long and arduous process to say the least,” he said.

Guidelines The North West Waters Control Expert Group, which includes the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA), is currently developing a common guidance note on the LO to ensure a clear and consistent message is communicated to all industry operators across the region.

The Expert Group represents the Northern European Member States and provides advice and control recommendations to the DG’s Fisheries of the participant Member States regarding fisheries in waters of the North West Region.

The SFPA expects the guidance note to be approved shortly and will be available on www.SFPA.ie

De minimis exemptions • Maximum 7% for whiting of their TAC by vessels using bottom trawls ≥ 100mm in the Celtic Sea and the Channel (ICES Areas VIIb-j) • Maximum 7% for whiting of their TAC by vessels using bottom trawls ≤ 100mm in the Celtic Sea (ICES Area VII (excluding VIIa, d and e) • Maximum 7% for Norway lobster (Nephrops) of their TAC by vessels obliged to land this species in ICES Area VII and Via

UNDERSIZED FISH COVERED BY THE LANDING OBLIGATION

Follow Food Hygiene Rules Store Separately Record in Log Book

Non‐direct Human Consumption

Food Hygiene Rules

If you initially decide to send the fish for Non-direct Human Consumption you can change your mind later. However, once fish goes into the Nonhuman Consumption route it must stay in that route.

If you catch fish from a species covered by the Landing Obligation which is below MCRS you must land it, unless it covered by one of the exemptions

On board your vessel, you must follow Food Hygiene rules, store the undersized fish separately and record the catch in your log book

Non‐human Consumption

At any point, from the time you catch the fish until you sell or otherwise transfer ownership of the fish, you can decide whether the undersized fish will go for Non-direct Human Consumption or Non-human Consumption

ABP Rules

Food Hygiene rules apply to the storage and handling of fish for Non-direct Human Consumption ABP Rules apply to the storage and handling of fish for Non-human Consumption

STOP!

Food Additives

Fish Meal

Pharmaceuticals

Pet Food

Fish oil for human consumption

Fish oil for animal feed

BIM’s sea fisheries development manager, Michael Keatinge, speaking at their information seminar on the Landings Obligation.

Once you decide to send fish for Non-human Consumption you cannot put it back into the Nondirect Human Consumption route.

Seamus Gallagher, SFPA; Tara McCarthy, CEO BIM and Hugh McBride, McBride Fishing, Donegal.

inshore ireland December 2015/January 2016 11

Fisheries

Norman Graham, Marine Institute, Tara McCarthy, CEO BIM and Denis O’Flaherty, Irish South and East Producers Organisation

John Nolan, Castletownbere Fisheries, Tara McCarthy, CEO BIM and Trudy McIntyre, NIFF

Simple gear options could assist with the 2016 Landing Obligation Ronán Cosgrove, BIM

A

workshop hosted

by BIM at the end of October brought key parties affected by the Landing Obligation together with fisheries experts to gain a better understanding of the challenges posed by the introduction of this new demersal fisheries management regime.

Presentations from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Marine Institute, BIM and the SFPA included consideration of the main fisheries affected by the new regulation in 2016, and technical options to assist in reducing catches of undersize fish in those fisheries.

The principal Irish fisheries affected next year are Nephrops and mixed demersal (whitefish) fisheries. Depending on catch compositions, restrictions to discarding will mainly apply to Irish vessels catching Nephrops in all Irish waters; whiting in the Celtic Sea, and haddock in the Irish Sea and West of Scotland.

De minimis allowances For operators affected by restrictions on Nephrops discarding, the Marine Institute estimates that the maximum amount of undersize Nephrops that would be landed if no improvements in selectivity occurred is around 400 tonnes.

As recently reported by BIM, an increase in cod-end mesh size from 70 to 80

mm should reduce catches of undersize Nephrops by around 40% with minimal loss of marketable catches. A 7% ‘de minimis’ or permitted level of discarding of total Nephrops catches in 2016 will also assist in reducing those catches.

For vessels affected by restrictions on Nephrops discarding and restrictions on discarding of either whiting or haddock, BIM recommends that in addition to increasing cod-end mesh size, vessels employ a 300 mm square mesh panel (SMP) or a separator panel.

Previous BIM trials demonstrated reductions in whiting and haddock of 52% and 70% respectively in the 300 mm SMP, and 68% and 98% respectively in the separator panel. Importantly, no loss of Nephrops catches was found to occur in either of these devices which are commonly in use in the Irish Sea and can easily be employed in other areas such as the Celtic Sea. Reductions however in catches of these species were consistent across size classes so loss of marketable fish catches will occur. If, in addition to Nephrops, whiting and haddock are an important component of your catch, then an increase in cod-end mesh size may offer an alternative solution.

Recent work by BIM demonstrated that increasing cod-end mesh size to 90 or 100 mm will result in reductions in smaller grades of Nephrops, predominantly tails, by around 11% in economic value, but will reduce catches of undersize whiting by around 50%, and should

result in all marketable catches of haddock and gutted grades of whiting being retained.

Square mesh cod-ends In terms of fisheries dependant on mixed whitefish in the Celtic Sea, BIM again recommends that operators currently using smaller mesh sizes and facing issues with undersize whiting should increase their cod-end mesh size to 90 mm. Some loss of round whiting is likely to occur, but this should be at least partially offset by more opportunity to catch larger more valuable fish.

Again, a permitted level of discarding of 7% of

total whiting catches in 2016 will further assist in reducing those unwanted whiting catches. BIM is also currently assessing square mesh cod-ends as an additional bycatch reduction measure for both Nephrops and whiting.

In relation to other potential issues next year, haddock to the West of Scotland is not considered to be problematic due to very low levels of discarding associated with a relatively large minimum cod-end mesh size of 120 mm. In addition, all hake will have to be landed in the hake gillnet fishery but the length composition of hake catches

in this fishery suggests that this won’t negatively affect Irish vessels.

Major challenges will undoubtedly unfold as the landing obligation is phased in for additional species in the years ahead.

Nevertheless, general consensus at the workshop was that the challenges in 2016 are not overly daunting when current discard levels, ‘de minimis’ allowances and simple options for reducing unwanted catches in affected fisheries are considered collectively.

For more information on BIM’s gear technology work, go to http://www.bim.ie/ our-publications/fisheries/

12 inshore ireland December 2015/January 2016

Fisheries

Sinn Féin calls for fishermen to unite to lobby government and Europe

F

ishermen and stakeholders gathered in Dungarvan, Co Waterford, for an international fisheries conference organised

by Liadh Ní Riada, MEP, to discuss the challenges facing the fishing industry. The event focussed on three major themes: fisheries regulation and its impact on fishing; adding value to the sector and having a voice at government and European level.

In the opening address, Senator David Cullinane said the conference was about Irish fishermen having their say on fisheries policy at a European and national level.

“I have no doubt that the session on ‘sustainable fishing without criminalising fishermen’ will hear views on how we can best manage

our resource so that both our stocks and the fishing industry have a sustainable future.

“Fishermen are the custodians of our sea, and it’s in everyone’s interest that we protect fish stocks and the livelihoods, he said.

MEP Liadh Ní Riada emphasised the necessity for a specific focus on developing and investing in the industry, along with unification.

“Our fishing industry is only a shadow of its potential, and that’s primarily because governments have ceded any semblance of real sovereignty over our own waters, combined with a lack of investment, a lack of vision and the urban-focussed approach taken regarding economic development and diversification.”

Hundreds of family businesses that fished for generations have disappeared, and today’s young people

are reluctant to pursue a career in fishing, she added.

“The EU and the government justify these facts by declaring that the CFP’s main aim is to protect all of Europe’s seafood industry, and the environment. But what about protecting Ireland’s fishermen?” she asked.

Sinn Féin believes that with political will, a solid vision and cooperation throughout the sector, along with unification, “the Irish fishing industry can be a source of economic growth nationally” and could effectively lobby government and the EU. Ireland’s fisheries, despite significant growth potential, “are among the most underdeveloped of our natural industries, especially compared to agriculture,” she said.

In government, Sinn Féin would focus on communities and well as the problems, by

taking a pro-active, holistic approach and uniting under one banner, to lobby government and to identify and develop solutions that take into account economic diversification, protection of fishermen, community development supports for SME start-ups and social enterprises.

Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on Agriculture and the Marine, Martin Ferris, echoed that the sector needed to unite “in the common cause” to create a powerful lobby: “It’s no secret that government does not think of fishing as a strong sector that has to be reckoned with. There are basic issues on which we can all agree: rights for fishermen; social welfare provisions; safety at sea, and above all, protection of stocks…

“There is a myth out there that fishermen are overfishing

MEP Liadh Ní Riada and exhausting stocks. How could that be true when we are the ones who have the most to lose when the stocks are reduced?” he asked.

‘Fishing for Litter’ initiative

F

ishermen in Clogherhead, Castletownbere and Union Hall are taking part in a BIM pilot initiative that encourages fishermen to collect litter they bring up in their nets and to take it ashore. Armed with heavy-duty bags to collect this litter, fishermen then dispose of it appropriately on the quayside.

“This scheme underpins the Marine Strategy Framework

Directive (MSFD) - Europe’s legislation that supports the protection and sustainable use of the marine environment. A key objective is to reduce plastic in the ocean which this scheme can do at a very practical level,” explained Michael Keatinge, BIM’s Director of Fisheries Development.

Alan Smith, skipper of Clogheread-based Celtic Warrior, explains how it works: “We have the bag set near the conveyor and it’s easy for the crew to pick out the marine litter and throw it into the bag as they

Participating skipper, Alan Smith, Clogherhead

pick out the catch. We work with the Clogherhead Development Group to keep the pier tidy and are happy to do our part to also keep our fishing grounds clean and healthy.”

Fishermen working out of Clogherhead, Union Hall and Castletownbere wishing to join the scheme should contact BIM project officer, Catherine Barrett, on barrett@bim.ie or 087 289 7651; Oliver Kirawan (Clogherhead) 086 830 7331, or the Harbour Master in Union Hall and Castletownbere.

inshore ireland December 2015/January 2016 13

Seafood Desk

Island Seafoods scoops joint sustainability award Established in 1986, Island Seafoods is a family owned and run business based in Killybegs, Co Donegal. The judges were impressed with the quantity and quality of sustainability measures in a company of its size and its level of innovation. New technology has enabled them to track the kWh consumed per tonne of fish processed, and they are working to

reduce overall operational electricity and water consumed for cooling and cleaning by 15% by 2016.

“Over 85% of total Irish food and drink exports are now coming from companies that are fully verified members of Origin Green. Sustainability is an established driver for the industry in terms of how it conducts business,” Aidan Cotter added.

Categories & winners

Michael O’Donnell, father and son, Island Seafoods, area co-winners along with Glanbia Ingredients of the Bord Bia sustainability award, 2015

T

he achievements of eight Irish food companies were recognised at the biennial Bord Bia Food and Drinks awards that recognise excellence across a range of categories: branding; consumer insight; digital marketing; entrepreneurship; exporting; innovation; success at home and sustainability.

Opening the event, Minister for Agriculture, Food and

the Marine, Simon Coveney highlighted last year’s record exports of €10.5bn which he said was “well positioned” to achieve the target of €19bn’ set out in Food Wise 2025.

“As the industry continues to develop premium positions in established markets, significant progress is also being made in opening new markets that can help sustain its growth.”

Congratulating the winners, Aidan Cotter, Bord Bia CEO said it was important to recognise achievements and progress that underpin

growth and competitiveness and elevate the industry’s reputation home and abroad.

“The awards highlight talent, imagination and sheer professionalism that are at the heart of the industry’s current success.”

Due to the ‘strategic importance’ of Bord Bia’s sustainability programme Origin Green, the judges deemed it appropriate to recognised two companies in the sustainability category: Glanbia Ingredients Ireland and Island Seafoods Ltd.

• Export and Entrepreneur: Gallagher’s Bakery • Innovation: Nobó • Success at Home: Celtic Pure • Branding: Glanbia Avonmore Super Milk • Digital Marketing: Britvic Ireland’s Club Orange • Consumer Insight: Glenisk • Sustainability: Glanbia Ingredients Ireland & Island Seafoods Ltd

Judging panel

• John Fanning, Chairman, Bord Bia’s Brand Forum; • Dr Gordon R. Campbell Managing Director,SPAR International; • David Cotter, Country Manager, Procter & Gamble Ireland; • Martina McDonnell, Head of SMB Marketing, EMEA, Facebook; • Joe Ballantyne, Associate Director, The Futures Company; • Gary Flynn, Director, UK & Ireland Large Customer Service, Google; • Martin Chilcott, Founder and CEO, 2degrees; • Matt Dempsey, Chairman, The Agricultural Trust; • Helen King, Director Consumer Insight, Bord Bia • Heather Ann McSharry, former MD Reckitt Benckiser Ireland

A passion for seafood at the heart of young fishmonger’s success

G

eorge Stephens, The Fish Market, Blanchardstown, Co Dublin, is the overall winner of the BIM ‘Young Fishmonger 2016’ competition.

Speaking at the awards dinner in Martin Shanahan’s Fishy, Fishy in Kinsale, Co Cork, Tara McCarthy, BIM chief executive said the award was more than just an accolade: “It showcases the personality and expertise behind our quality seafood. It tests all of the requisite skills a good fishmonger must possess, from product knowledge and customer service, to filleting and business acumen.

In so doing, it raises the bar across the sector.”

She added that George had demonstrated and proved “exceptional skills” across all categories. “BIM recognises the importance of encouraging young people to seek careers in this industry. The talented young fishmongers in this competition are a reflection of the passion and drive

required to succeed in this competitive retail space.”

All five finalists were judged by mystery shopper visits, judging visits and a practical skills test and a business interview in BIM’s Seafood Development Centre.

A professional chef with eight years seafood retail experience, George is supported by his wife and business partner Anne, across their three outlets in Maynooth, Blanchardstown and Mullingar. He specialises in ‘ready-to-go’ seafood products and recently launched a new range of freshly fried fish in his Blanchardstown store.

“I’m over the moon to win BIM’s Young Fishmonger award. I have always been passionate about seafood and I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoy every day in the shop from the early morning delivery of local fish and shellfish, to advising customers on how to cook and prepare everything from monkfish to mussels.”

George received a specially designed trophy, a study

trip to France and a cheque for €1,000. All four finalists received a trophy, a place on BIM’s retail development workshop, a set of professional knives and a cheque for €500.

Finalists:

»» Peter Shanahan, Fish Seafood Deli, Rosscarbery, Co Cork »» Stephen Fagan, Kish Fish, Coolock, Co

Dublin »» Lidia Ulaszek, Dunnes Stores, Knocknacarra, Co Galway »» Eogan Crowe, Quilan’s Killarney, Co Kerry

Martin Shanahan, TV chef and owner of Fishy Fishy restaurant with finalists Eogahan Crowe, Quinlan’s Killarney Co Kerry; George Stephens, The fish Market, Blanchardstown, Co Dublin; Stephen Fagan, Kish Fish, Coolock, Co Dublin; Peter Shanahan, Fish Seafood Deli, Rosscarbery, Co Dublin and Lidia Ulaszek, Dunnes Stores, Knocknacarra, Co Galway.

14 inshore ireland December 2015/January 2016

Interview

An Taoiseach Enda Kenny inspects the Guard of Honour at the opening ceremony of the Beaufort Building

IMERC on target to becoming a ‘globally significant maritime campus’ Gery Flynn

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015 has proven to be another milestone year on the expanding campus of the Irish Maritime and Energy Resource Cluster (IMERC) at Ringaskiddy.

In July An Taoiseach Enda Kenny officially opened the Beaufort marine research building during SeaFest – Ireland’s national maritime festival – which attracted 10,000 visitors to view the campus over two days.

Inshore Ireland caught up with Dr Val Cummins, co-founder and director of IMERC, to learn about progress to date and to see if their ambition to become a world leader and employer in research, training and innovation was being realised.

What is meant by the IMERC cluster and how does it work?

There are many different definitions of clusters; the cluster concept has become a very big academic area in and of itself. But essentially a cluster is a grouping of entities in physical proximity to each other that are very much focused on an enterprise dimension.

IMERC is a cluster of such entities that will facilitate market expansion and enterprise growth.

The IMERC cluster is an alliance between University College Cork; Cork Institute of Technology and the Irish Naval Service. What are the advantages of such a grouping?

We came together because we realised there was an enormous opportunity for synergies because we have that critical mass of

capability with research, training, education and of course the Naval Service.

It’s really a case of joined-up thinking to unlock the shared potential of UCC, CIT and the Naval Service in relation to the whole maritime area.

So the synergies are very clear, and without a shadow of a doubt, we have been achieving impact because of these.

That’s very evident from the success of everything that has happened to date, for example, the Beaufort building; the MaREI Research Centre and the launch in September of The Entrepreneur Ship which is a dedicated space for maritime and energy startups and a touchdown area for foreign direct investment Outline the daily challenges you face as director of the IMERC cluster?

The challenges are very

real when stakeholders come together. As Henry Ford said: ‘Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.’

My job is about facilitating an innovation network, and that’s really a discipline to be managed; it’s not something that happens organically. So, in terms of trying to keep people on the same page or bringing stakeholders together, that requires a facilitator and the cluster management role is really important in that regard.

You have to put a lot of time into setting up the meetings; creating the right environment and bringing people into the same room. We know anecdotally that great things can happen around the water cooler but it can’t just be left to chance. You have to address the challenge of people not always being on the same

page; you need a facilitator who will really work at making the connections that count.

How do you get people from different disciplines to see the opportunities of working together?

Unless you can convince people there is value for them in coming together, you won’t get them into the same room –and that’s the real challenge. Sometimes you have to encourage people to take a risk.

It’s only by taking this approach will something new, novel or innovative emerge.

For example, biologists might query why they are being invited to a meeting about robotics or maritime surveillance. If you can get people to trust you; that you’re bringing them into the room for a good reason, then that’s very important. But it’s equally important there’s something in it for them or

inshore ireland December 2015/January 2016 15

Interview

Dr Val Cummins at the opening of Entrepreneur Ship

Ireland/US Research Agreement on Marine Renewable Energy

Artist’s impression of future developments at Cork Harbour

What’s that? asks Fiona and Aileen Evans of celebrity chef, Martin Shanahan

At the launch of the SEMRU Report on the Blue Economy (l-r) Michael Cuddy and Stephen Hynes, SEMRU and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Simon Coveney TD at the Beaufort building.

Robot Wars - participants at the IMERC Mechathon

else they won’t come back into those kinds of innovation network environments.

bit is about, that’s what coming together is about - whether you’re a parent of a Leaving Cert student deciding what to put on their CV form or whether you’re somebody who thinks they might be interested in moving their company down here or starting up a company in this area.

Summarise some of the high points at IMERC in 2015?

We have a master plan to develop a maritime campus here in lower Cork Harbour and during this year we made very significant progress on site development works.

As well as the Beaufort launch, we also completed significant site development to enable ground work for new buildings. The result is we now have four fullyserviced sites ready for the next building phase.

That was a significant piece of work and I acknowledge the role of UCC’s Buildings and Estates Office who were

amazing and coped with many different building projects and pressures.

SeaFest was another amazing high point because it brought everybody together around the table determined to make it happen. It was incredible because we had expected 2,000-3,000 visitors but almost 10,000 actually came through the doors over the two days.

I believe SeaFest demonstrated the potential of what can be achieved in an area like this, and it also gave an insight into how engaged the public can be when you have something like this to present your services.

How do you ensure that the IMERC ecosystem will not become a silo-driven

ivory tower, disconnected from everyday society?

That won’t happen because it comprises a real diversity of stakeholders and not just scientists or engineers working in their silos. We have the Beaufort building with its enormous research capacity for 135 people; next door we have the National Maritime College, and across the bridge is the Irish Naval Service. And now we also have the Entrepreneur Ship.

But it’s also about constituency: it’s not just inward looking and a cohort of people talking their own language. In terms of relevance to Society, jobs are relevant. We are focused on 3,000 jobs by 2020.

And that’s what the cluster

How do you hope to see the IMERC campus in 2025?

My hope is that we will realise our vision to have upwards of 3,000 jobs facilitated by the IMERC partners by 2025, and that the physical manifestation of that effort will see a globally significant maritime campus in its fullest form here in lower Cork Harbour that will be a blend of research, training, education, Naval service

and enterprise activities.

The IMERC campus will act as a magnet for companies, be they startups, multi-national corporations or indigenous SMEs to leverage what’s on offer here. By 2025 it would be just wonderful to drive into Ringaskiddy and see that campus physically present and vibrant with a mash up culture that we are facilitating in terms of that innovation network.

It’ll be a place too where not just business and research and training can be conducted but a place where the general public will want to come to and experience and value as a national asset.

A longer interview with Val Cummins is available on the Inshore Ireland website www.inshore-ireland.com.

16 inshore ireland December 2015/January 2016

Aquaculture News

Consultancy group on the way to unlocking the potential of rapidly expanding seaweed sector

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n terms of abundant natural resources, Ireland is ‘awash’ with seaweeds of every hue and variety and has a rich history of using many of the common species for culinary and agricultural purposes.

Today, the value of seaweeds (also known as macroalgae) is being rediscovered as local companies develop novel ways to extract their unique benefits for use in modern products and services.

In 2013, Irish Seaweed Consultancy Ltd was established to help nurture and support the growing Irish seaweed sector by providing expert knowledge.

It is the only consultancy in Ireland specialising in seaweeds, and brings together the benefit of a combined twenty years of experience at the forefront of applied macroalgal scientific research.

Finding solutions ISC was formed by four researchers from NUI Galway: Drs Maeve Edwards; Richard Walsh; Benoît Quéguineur and Anna Soler-Vila.

“We aim to provide solutions for the Irish seaweed industry with the speed, flexibility and confidentiality that businesses require,” explained Quéguineur.

The Marine Institute’s strategy 2007-2013 Sea Change – A Marine Knowledge, Research and Innovation Strategy for Ireland stresses that for a seaweed industry to flourish in Ireland, entrepreneurs require support services and training to commercialise ideas.

“We’re in a unique position to use its broad range of knowledge and technical abilities to provide bespoke services for businesses specialising in algal products, in

Ireland and further afield”, Walsh explains.

“Whether a client has a particular requirement for seaweed biomass surveys; sustainable resource management assessment and strategy; assistance with aquaculture methods or product analysis and design, we can provide specialist knowledge-transfer to add value to the Irish seaweed industry.”

The sector is currently worth €18m per annum but is projected to be worth €30m by 2020 an aspiration for the industry clearly shared by the ISC. “Since we began, the ISC has dealt with an increasing demand from companies, some well-established and many newly-formed, looking for biomass seaweed assessments as part of new or existing licence applications all around Ireland,” Soler adds.

“When a client is trying to understand their potential resource, we highlight the importance of developing a sustainable harvesting plan, together with sustainable management practices right from the start.”

Future proofing In a small but continuously expanding sector, it is important not to take the seaweed resource for granted, “so that in every step, it will be there for future generations,” explains Edwards.

Over the past two years, the ISC has helped develop educational and outreach courses for schools and community groups.

This includes shore foraging trips and dedicated science programmes to foster an awareness of the Irish coastal environment and the many species of seaweeds that play a primary

role in Ireland’s marine coastal ecosystems.

As the co-founders of the ISC observe, the seaweed industry is one that is both local and artisanal as well as global and commoditybased, often at the same time. It is also an industry set for rapid expansion in Ireland and further afield.

As seaweeds have a wide and varying range of applications from toothpaste to wastewater treatment one of the many advantages of being a specialist independent consultancy is adaptability to the differing requirements of each of its clients in a complex market-place.

Further information visit www. irishseaweed.com, follow them on Twitter @SeaweedIreland or contact Richard, Maeve, Ben or Anna via email at: contact@ irishseaweed.com Juvenile Palmaria palmata cultivated by the ISC on string

The team in action, biomass survey on the West coast

ISC co-founders (L-R): Richard Walsh; Maeve Edwards; Anna Soler and Benoît Quéguineur

inshore ireland December 2015/January 2016 17

Aquaculture News

Seaweed blends playing an important role in naturally increasing bovine health Paddy Tamplin

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f you ask anyone about seaweed, they will tell you that they know it’s good for you.

But if you ask anyone from China, Japan or Korea, they will tell you that it’s ‘very’ good for you and forms part of their daily diet.

Imagine if we included blends of seaweeds to avail of the bioactive properties nearer the start of the food chain? And imagine if we introduced seaweed into agriculture production, and more specifically at the animal rearing stage?

Animals that graze on our shorelines feed on seaweed, and more and more farmers are realising how this natural resource can improve their animals’ health and performance.

Based in Milltown, Co. Galway, Ocean Harvest Technology (OHT) have been researching and developing various seaweed blends as feed ingredients for the aquaculture and agriculture industries.

These blends (OceanFeedTM) started life by addressing health and performance issues within the farmed salmon industry and recently, OHT has moved to develop ways of addressing the same issues in land-based animals.

OceanFeedTM seaweed blends are now available in feeds for pigs, sheep, poultry companion animals, horses – with the latest formulation for bovine feeds. The future looks promising for addressing and preventing health issues within the aquaculture and agriculture industries using this natural organic option.

Since the abolition of milk quotas last April, many dairy farmers have been scaling up to avail of the extra potential revenue.

With current milk prices averaging only 26c/litre, dairy farmers know they must get the very best out of their herds, to ensure they are producing the highest quality milk, and efficiently expanding their herds through each cow producing a calf every 365 days.

Since quotas were

European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan, visits the OHT stand at this year¹s National Ploughing Championships removed, growth and expansion have exceeded predicted cow numbers to the point where the forecasted national herd increase to 1.4 million in 2020, is already standing at 1.395 million in 2015.

Any farmer will tell you that nutrition is of the upmost importance, leading to healthier animals that perform better, and better performing animals mean easier, more profitable farming. This is why they invest so much of their time and money into getting it right.

The seaweed blends play a major role in gut health, and the latest blend, OceanFeed Bovine HPI (health and performance improver), improves rumen flora.

How it works The insoluble fibre (structural carbohydrates) in OceanFeed Bovine HPI fulfils a function in the animals rumen and digestive tract, creating an environment for good bacteria to thrive, whilst also restricting and suppressing the bad bacteria.

This provides a much better ‘good’ bacterial growth environment which helps digest compounds, and liberates smaller nutrients like amino acids (which convert to protein) and volatile fatty acids (an energy source). With less bad bacteria to be combated, more energy is available to convert proteins and muscle growth.

Two exciting independent scientific trials are planned

for early 2016. These trials will verify the health benefits OHT’s dairy and beef farming customers have and are experiencing using OceanFeed Bovine HPI. The dairy trial, which will measure milk yield, protein, fats, somatic cell count, as well as other health observations, will be in conjunction with one of Ireland’s major universities.

The beef trial of young calves will be in partnership with one of Ireland’s biggest exporters. It will specifically look at reducing and possibly totally replacing antibiotics that may have to Another satisfied OceanFeed customer with Stefan Kraan, scientific director, OHT (l) and Paddy Tamplin, Business Development Manager, OHT

be administered at a young age.

Two further commercial trials are imminent in the USA where we will be assessing milk yield, which is more relevant in the organic milk market over milk solids.

If you would like to know more about these innovative natural health alternatives please visit www.oceanfeed.ie or see our advertisement on the back page

18 inshore ireland December 2015/January 2016

Marine R&D

Scientists on RV Celtic Explorer discover deep-sea mud volcanoes and carbonate chimneys

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team of scientists led by Dr Jens Carlsson, University College Dublin, onboard the national research vessel, RV Celtic Explorer discovered a field of carbonate chimneys supporting a range of deep-sea life, during an expedition to research mud volcanoes in the Gulf of Cadiz.

The research cruise, ‘Deep-Links’, mapped the sea floor, using the Marine Institute’s Remotely Operated Vehicle ROV Holland I to gather biological, geological and chemical samples at the chemosynthetic mud volcanoes.

“One the most surprising finds on the cruise was the presence of large fields of fallen carbonate chimneys.

At first we thought these chimneys where old wood or bones from a whale. But as we moved up the flank of the volcano we saw more and more toppled chimneys, and when we got to the peak of the volcano, we had standing chimneys all around us,” remarked Dr Carlsson.

The scientists named the

location ‘Chimney Henge’, because of the circular arrangement, resembling the famous Stonehenge Neolithic monument in England.

“The background to these chimneys is fascinating as they are caused as a side effect of chemosynthetic microorganisms that build up over thousands of years of activity,” Dr Carlsson added.

“The abundance of carbonate chimneys shows there has been a long history of intense methane gas escape and mud eruptions supporting chemosynthetic life for many thousands of years.

Mud volcanoes, while submerged, are similar to volcanoes on land but instead of lava, they emit liquefied mud with methane and the highly toxic, hydrogen sulphite. These volcanos have been found at depths of 5,000m and can reach several hundreds of metres high.

“Despite the extreme environment, these volcanoes host life - life forms that are very different to the ones we are used to. Instead of using the energy from the sun, like plants do, life on a mud volcano is chemosynthetic,” Dr Carlsson explained.

“This means that rather

than using sunlight for energy, chemosynthetic microorganisms feed on methane and hydrogen sulphite. And if the sun was to go black, life at the mud volcano would go on. These microorganisms are then eaten by other animals like deep-water snails, shrimp and sea cucumbers among others, which in turn are eaten by other organisms such as fish and crabs that might end up on our dinner table.

“Some animals like mussels, clams and tubeworms however can harbour these chemosynthetic microorganisms inside their bodies and get all the energy they need from this symbiotic relationship.”

The ‘Deep-Links’ project aims to track where chemosynthetic energy goes.

“How much of this energy is picked up by animals like corals or sponges that live close to the chemosynthetic energy and in animals feeding on the shrimp, crabs or fish that live on the mud volcano?

“While we know that plenty of energy is produced in the chemosynthetic environment, we know much less about the animals that make this energy available to the larger environment – the Deep-Links.”

The team on board RV Celtic Explorer deployed ROV Holland I to survey three mud volcanoes, Hesperides, Anastasia and

Two of many standing chimneys at ‘Chimney Henge’. Note the many chimneys littering the sea floor. The standing chimneys are covered in marine sponges

ROV Holland 1 returning from the deep with samples from the sea floor Photos courtesy of Dr Jens Carlsson, UCD Gazul, in the Gulf of Cadiz.

The ROV spent considerable time on the sea floor at depths from 1,200 to 400m, and sent live video feeds back to the vessel and sampling the biology, geology and chemistry of the chemosynthetic ecosystems and animals living around them including samples of the mud to samples of the water column.

The team returned to Galway with over 300 samples and 100 hours of ROV Video.

The samples are now stored in the Marine Institute’s freezer for analyses including, chemistry, genetics and atomic composition of animals,

sediments and water.

The team included researchers from the National University Ireland Galway, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, the Geological Survey of Ireland, National Oceanography Centre (UK), Duke University (USA), the Marine Geology and Resources/Geological Survey of Spain and the Georg-August University of Göttingen (Germany).

The Deep-Links expedition is supported by the Marine Institute, funded under the Marine Research Programme 2014-2020 by the Irish Government.

Fallen chimneys at ‘Chimney Henge’ are evidence of thousands of years of chemosynthetic activity

inshore ireland December 2015/January 2016 19

Marine R&D

300+ students learn about sustainable oceans during science week

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he Marine Institute welcomed over 300 transition-year students during science week as part of Galway Science & Technology Festival, and the Sea for Society FP7 project. Dr Paul Connolly, Fisheries Ecosystems and Advisory Services and other staff outlined their work programmes and how science of sea impacts our daily lives - for example the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the water we drink.

Students also watched a short video (https://vimeo.

com/133036075) on the recently commissioned Galway Bay Ocean Observatory, which streams live data and video from the seabed off the coast of Spiddal.

“We’re delighted to see so many students here and I hope they’ll be inspired by the people they meet and by the work we’re doing to understand our unique ocean resource. I’m sure we’ll see some of them again as ocean explorers, marine biologists, oceanographers, or geographers mapping the seabed, or as engineers, developing novel marine renewable energy devices,” remarked Dr Peter Heffernan, CEO. “I believe they will have many

opportunities, particularly with a national and EU focus, on the potential of the ‘blue economy’ through the Government plan Harnessing Our OceanWealth and the European Commission’s Atlantic Strategy.”

Vera Quinlan, of INFOMAR (national seabed mapping programme by the Marine Institute and Geological Survey of Ireland) demonstrated her work mapping the seabed using the latest technology, and discovering mountains in the Atlantic Ocean higher than Carrauntoohil.

Vera has developed Ireland’s first Augmented Reality (AR) Sandbox, based on a concept first developed as part of a National

Science Foundation (NSF) funded project lead by visualisation collaboration, KeckCAVES, at the University of California. (see page 21)

Stock assessment Fisheries scientists explained how they assess fish stocks to determine sustainable limits for fishing. Students learnt about ocean acidification and had an opportunity to carry out experiments on pH levels. They also learnt about the science behind seafood safety, and met the scientists that ensure the Irish shellfish we eat are free from naturally occurring toxins.

AquaTT, lead Irish partner

Tomorrow’s budding marine scientists

in the Sea for Society F7 project, outlined its objectives and the Blue Society concept. They highlighted that the ocean was home to millions of undiscovered species; it provides food and transport as well as essential biological, mineral and energy resources; it regulates climate; is at the heart of the water cycle and produces half of the oxygen we breathe.

Students got to test drive a mini submarine (ROV) with the help of the Research Vessel Operations team and were also introduced to marine career and maritime training opportunities by the Irish Maritime Development Office.

Photos Andrew Downes

Understanding the deep sea is key to a sustainable blue economy

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he European Marine Board (EMB) called for major progress in deepsea research to underpin future management and exploitation of living and non-living deep-sea resources during the 3rd Oceans of Tomorrow Conference hosted by the European Commission in Brussels recently.

The event highlighted the recommendations of the EMB position paper titled Delving Deeper: Critical challenges for 21st century deep-sea research.’

The paper explores the mismatch between the rising demand and capability to exploit deep-sea resources and the lack of scientific knowledge and regulatory frameworks to effectively manage this vast area, much of which falls in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

“What is clear is that

technology development and commercial interest is moving at a pace that outstrips the ocean governance discussions and the generation of new knowledge through scientific research. If commercial activities are to proceed, it is imperative that we develop a much greater knowledge and understanding of the deep sea,” emphasised Prof Jan Mees, EMB chair.

Poor baseline data Professor Alex Rogers, lead author and chair of the working group, remarked that the lack of baseline data for deep-sea ecosystems identified by the report has a direct bearing on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process.

“Without continued efforts to produce basic underpinning science, regulation and governance of the deep sea will remain an

exercise on paper rather than knowledge-driven decision making. Our results show that everyone recognises the need for this from science to industry.”

An overarching recommendation of the paper is that to support ‘blue growth’, European public research funding investments should target fundamental scientific research of the full deep-sea system and the establishment of environmental baselines.

Where possible, this should be done in a timeframe that will complement and keep track with industrial expansion in the deep sea.

“Ninety-seven percent of the water on our planet resides in the ocean and everything we eat depends on it. More than 50 per cent of the oxygen we breathe is produced in the ocean.

With such reliance on the ocean, it’s essential to

focus research efforts on better understanding its vulnerabilities,” outlined Dr Peter Heffernan, Marine Institute CEO. The event was attended by over 130 stakeholders, representing policy-makers, academia, industry and NGOs. The EMB briefing event included interventions

by Niall McDonough, Executive Secretary, EMB; Sigi Gruber, Head of Marine Resources Unit, DirectorateGeneral for Research and

Innovation, European Commission; Ricardo Serrão Santos, Member of the European Parliament and Alex Rogers, EMB WG Deep Seas Chair, University of Oxford.

The European Marine Board represents 36 member organisations from 19 countries, including Irish members, the Marine Institute and the Irish Marine Universities Consortium.

For more information see www.marineboard.eu

Ninety-seven percent of the water on earth resides in the ocean

20 inshore ireland December 2015/January 2016

Marine R&D

INFOMAR: From Phase One to Phase Two

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015 was an important year for Ireland’s national marine mapping programme, INFOMAR. The project is a joint venture between the Geological Survey of Ireland and the Marine Institute; it is a two-phase, multi-annual programme with the first phase focussing on twenty-six priority bays and three priority coastal areas.

This year marked the final mapping campaign of Phase One and was a critical time for the project. The workload was significant: Bannow Bay; Youghal Harbour; Wexford

Harbour; the area around the Boyne Estuary and some small areas in Lough Foyle and Carlingford Lough.

While most of these areas required full mapping, some areas such as Wexford and Lough Foyle already contained mapped sections from previous efforts; mapping therefore was an exercise in filling in gaps in older surveys.

Carlingford Lough merely required a grid of spacedout survey lines in order to verify the accuracy of previously-acquired data.

The survey vessels involved were RV Keary, Geo and Tonn and MV Cosantóir Bradán, with the

latter providing mobile office space rather than an active survey platform.

New addition

This year we welcomed the addition of RV Tonn to the fleet. Designed as a shallow water mapping vessel, it joined RV Geo in mapping the very shallow waters along the coast, while RV Keary concentrated its efforts in deeper water, often extending its survey coverage further offshore to areas previously mapped by RV Celtic Voyager.

Weather conditions posed a considerable challenge throughout 2015. It is difficult for vessels to acquire

accurate survey data when sea conditions are rough. In particular, wind direction and strength on the south coast posed a barrier to mapping operations on a regular basis.

Sometimes the smaller vessels were able to map in sheltered areas (e.g.

Blackwater River in Youghal), while at other times they had to remain on standby to operate again once the weather calmed down. Despite the down time, a lot of ground was covered in the end.

2015 was also a first time to involve staff and contractors from both the Geological Survey of Ireland and the Marine Institute

to work together on the smaller inshore vessels. The combination of scientific and nautical experience served the project well, producing a very cohesive team that dealt well with the multitude of challenges posed by shallow water surveying.

Looking forward 2016 marks the beginning of Phase Two of the project.

While until now, the approach has been to focus on specific bays and areas, the aim from now on will be to map the remaining areas between those bays, along with large areas of the Continental Shelf in the Atlantic and the Celtic Sea.

Operational mapping to innovation data usage showcased at INFOMAR 2015

Eoin Mac Craith GSI

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his year’s annual seminar marked the end of Phase One of the national inshore mapping programming, and presented on a wide array of topics within the sector of seabed surveying in Ireland.

INFOMAR is a joint venture between the Geological Survey of Ireland and the Marine Institute, with the first phase focussing on twenty-six inshore priority bays and three priority coastal areas.

The second phase will aim to survey the remaining unmapped areas in the Irish marine territory.

Members of the INFOMAR team presented on various topics that showcased the breath of work being carried out within the institutes involved – from the operational mapping side to the innovative ways that the collected data are being used.

Date gaps and problem solving The broad range of themes included data gaps (i.e. the sections of the Irish marine territory yet to be surveyed –

from areas of the continental shelf in the Atlantic and Celtic Sea to the ribbons of unmapped seabed along the coastline that are too shallow to map with conventional vessel-based techniques); solutions to the problem of mapping those gaps; digital maps; education; outreach and public awareness; heritage and tourism; transport & shipping; research; natural resources and various other challenges to which the team must now turn their attention.

Among the interesting innovations to emerge were the possibility of using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to survey the intertidal areas along the coast; the development of online story maps and interactive map viewers so that the public can easily access and explore the INFOMAR seabed data online, and the option to create 3D products from the data – be they interesting seabed features or shipwrecks – in the form of downloadable PDF files that can be manipulated to present the features from different angles.

The Marine Institute also had on display their impressive Augmented Reality Sandbox – this is a tray of sand with an overhead projector that utilises a Kinect 3D camera to measure the topography of the sand and then project a corresponding coloured contour map onto the sand’s surface (see sidebar).

Marine date network Another topic presented was EMODnet (European Marine Observation and Data Network).

This is Europe’s largest marine data network and incorporates INFOMAR data to display an overall seabed map of Europe in its bathymetry data portal.

EMODnet Coastal Mapping intends to do the same thing with the near shore data at a 25m x 25m grid resolution. A challenge

highlighted was the stitching together of different bathymetric datasets from around Europe as they are produced at different resolutions.

The European hydrographic offices will coordinate their efforts to work on a consolidated approach to map the very shallow waters and intertidal zones, by looking at best practice and emerging technologies.

From a navigational safety point of view, another presentation demonstrated the importance of hydrographic notes. These are documents prepared by the INFOMAR team - often while at sea on the survey vessels - and sent to the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO). They provide details on uncharted, dangerous rocks that do not appear on original Admiralty charts (due to the limitations of older mapping techniques), yet do appear during modern INFOMAR surveys.

Along with the scientific benefits of the seabed data, this is also a critical application as it feeds into the nautical chart updates performed by the UKHO.

Vanguard shipwreck

The Augmented Reality Sandbox Launched at INFOMAR 2015, the AR Sandpit is the first of its kind in Ireland. It was first developed as part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project lead by visualisation collaboration, KeckCAVES, at the University of California. The AR is a scientific educational tool that INFOMAR believes will help users to explore the importance of topography, contouring, geology and hydrography.

The AR sandbox consists of a computer running simulation and visualisation software; a Kinect 3D camera that detects depth data and a projector that essentially projects the topography to match the real sand topography.

“This AR sandbox was constructed as part of the education and outreach programme for INFOMAR and we believe it will help share the story, the science and the adventure that is INFOMAR,” remarked Vera Quinlan, Marine Institute.

inshore ireland December 2015/January 2016 21

Marine R&D This objective will require a re-thinking of how operations are carried out; for instance, one approach may be to divide the inshore coastal zone into seven broad sections, within which the necessary infrastructure and bases of operations will be moved around, as needed. The deeper waters of the shelf area may be divided into three sections.

New challenges will be encountered by the inshore vessels as they will have to operate in more remote areas without obvious ports-of-call for overnight berthing. Many areas will be unsheltered compared to some of the bays previously surveyed and will require very calm weather conditions for the vessels to operate safely.

The INFOMAR project management welcome feedback on what areas of the Irish marine territory should be prioritised for Phase Two. The optional areas are circled in the inshore and offshore

zones maps below.

Any suggestions on the order of preference in which these could be mapped can be emailed to archie.donovan@gsi.ie

RV Keary leaving Derry on Nov 1 to survey Lough Foyle

Aileen Bohan with sound velocity profiler

Peter Cullen, training Aileen Bohan and Hanna MacCan in boat handling skills

Photos Agust Magnusson, GSI

Fabio Sacetti, Marine Institute, during transit on RV Tonn

Youghal survey area

Eoin checking the survey gear under RV Keary

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Photo Fáilte Ireland. gen andnwh as food an play g urinIreland promotes better use of outdoor places through education, research and partnerships (see pg 9).

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Gery Flynn, features editor: flynn@inshore-ireland.com 091 844 822 / 085 747 5797

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inshore ireland December 2015/January 2016 23

Marine Education

Everywhere we go…people always ask us… who we are…we’re from EDUCATE TOGETHER!

Vera Quinlan INFOMAR

I

t was pouring rain and twenty eight, 12 –yearolds from 5th and 6th class are singing as they sloshed their way down the hillside of Mullaghmore.

Before the field trip we had a classroom session on mapping techniques and seabed features. Historical mapping with lead lines and transits were discussed and compared to modernday mapping with GPS and multibeam.

Now we were on Mullaghmore with a map and compass (and GPS) and comparing the geological structures of this hill to the seabed features off the Co Clare coast. Despite the weather, spirits were high especially when we beat the teachers to the summit!

The author piloted a primary school seabed mapping programme with over 186 students from Junior Infants to Sixth Class at Kilcolgan Educate Together National School. From March to June 2015, the programme included eight contact classroom hours and three half-day field trips.

Mapping & marine litter The primary school Social, Environmental and Scientific Education (SESE) curriculum was referenced, and topics covered reflected the curriculum but differed depending on age range and classes. Subject areas included habitat mapping; dune and sand wave formation; environmental (marine Litter); Burren geology; tides; mapping techniques and multibeam theory. Field trips were run on Mullaghmor Co Clare; Bishops Quarter Beach, Co Clare, and Gratan Beach Co Galway.

Habitat mapping, sand dunes tides and marine litter were the topics for the Junior and Senior infant classes. We discussed what a habitat was on land and at sea, and then we set out to find our own seashore habitats.

We studied-and rolled down-the dunes on Bishop’s

Quarter and came up with ideas about how they were formed and the differences in sandwave formation under the sea.

“We built small piles of stones on the water’s edge at the start of our day, and when Vera told us to find them at the end of our trip, we couldn’t believe how far up the beach they had travelled.

We thought she had tricked us, it was a great exercise in understanding tides!” remarked Rachel, a parent helping out.

We took samples of five different types of litter on the beach, discussed where it came from and how it affects both animals and the environment. “It was a brilliant day; I held a crab!” exclaimed Rohan aged 5.

Shipwrecks & multibeam 3rd and 4th class class bounced on exercise balls and gave excellent feedback after we discussed the recent ‘first’ Atlantic Ocean seabed survey from St Johns in Newfoundland to Galway. http://www.marine. ie/Home/site-area/newsevents/press-releases/ mountains-atlantic-oceanmapped-multinationalteam-celtic.

Shipwrecks and multibeam theory were also on the agenda.

“We were so excited to realise that we were among the first children to see the mid-Atlantic seabed images,” remarked Fern aged 10.

Learning about the shipwrecks was Jack’s (aged 10) favourite part.

“I never knew there were so many in Ireland, I’m going to download the images from the website (www.infomar. ie) and do this for my history project!”

Seashores & tidal theory 1st and 2nd class were animal mad so one focal topic was seashore habitats, and included a field trip to the very productive Grattan Beach.

Here we found great examples of Blenny, Butterfish starfish, shrimp and crab to name but a few.

Tidal theory is easily demonstrated on Grattan with its shallow shelving beach; it is also a great platform for sand carving, so we aligned our sand carvings of the sun, moon and earth for springs and neaps and somehow Pluto Saturn and Mars ended up in there too!

But such is the fun working with seven and eight year-olds. Back in the

classroom, multibeam theory incorporated examples of sonar in the wild; how dolphins and whales use echolocation and short pulses of sound to characterise objects, much like the MBES system, in addition to using it for communication, navigation and food location.

The aim of the pilot programme was to develop a keen curiosity in the children to want to learn about our marine environment. It seems there is a huge interest to further this learning both from the students and teachers at Kilcolgan Educate together.

Based on a recent ‘Explorers marine education programme’ run by the Marine Institute it was apparent that many other primary schools and teachers also have a significant interest. Creating a love of marine science and an understanding of the importance Ireland’s marine resource and environment is crucial to its survival.

‘Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn’ – Benjamin Franklin.

Exploring seashore habitats, Bishops Quarter

What’s sonar?

24 inshore ireland December 2015/January 2016

Crows Nest

The team at Inshore Ireland wish readers and customers a

HAPPY

CHRISTMAS & The Very Best For 2016

ILEN on course for 2016 launch Br Anthony Keane, OSB

S

ince her return from the Falklands many years ago, Ilen has been nursed back to strength by the best of Ireland’s traditional shipwrights in Liam Hegarty’s yard in Oldcourt, West Cork.

To those who wondered whether and when; to those who asked about times and seasons, the answer remains that the destination is the journey itself, and that Ilen has served as an educational platform at every stage of her transformation.

But now, in these our own times, the final cause that has informed so much

work and inspired so much learning sees her irresistibly heading for the sea on a cast iron real-time track that leads ineluctably to her destiny.

Our maritime school, with its well charted certainty, feels the ground move under its feet as it is carried off in surprise to a new life of pupils and teachers all at sea.

Next summer, Ilen will sail away from the eponymous Ilen Estuary and move more than nine waves out from shore to retake Ireland from the sea.

Clearing Clear Island and Mizzen Head she will enter the mysterious arena of the quick and the dead where Donn, the Bull leads the Cow and the Calf, and all who come under his protection, to another world to the West,

to the end of life and its beginning.

Oilean na mBeo and the great temple of Sceillig Mhichil marvel and suggest another way under the bright shining banner of Archangel Michael, Psychopompous and leader of souls.

Taking a course west of the Blaskets to view them from the sea and the wonders that brought us here in the first place, we will soon have Cuchulain’s Leap to port as the Ilen enters the Shannon Estuary for the first time in ninety years.

Here every care will be lavished upon her as she prepares for her playful role of introducing Ireland’s youth of all ages to the oceans, letting them ride on her back and tug her locks as they unfurl and trim her sails, and enjoy the salutary terrors

of the waters as they learn the sure uncertainties of life.

She will be joined by those who wish to trade their limited certainties for the elemental dynamism of the sea. For nothing more surely searches out the resonance of the deep buried treasure of our inner selves.

Deep calls upon deep in the roar of mighty waters. Abyssus abyssum invocat.

They sailed to the sea in ships to trade on the mighty waters. These have seen the Lord’s deeds and the wonders he does in the deep, tossing the waves up to the Heavens and down again onto the deeps. There is the sea, vast and wide with its moving swarms past counting, living things great and small. The ships are moving there and the monsters you made to play with. (Psalms 103 and 106)

Auxiliary Sailing Ketch Ilen Wooden Hull: Larch planks on oak frames Rig: Gaff Ketch with square sail Length on Deck: 56ft Length Overall: 81ft Beam: 14.5ft Draft: 8ft Displacement: 40 imperial tons

An Irish Sailing Ship, 1926 The Ketch Ilen is the last wooden ship from Ireland’s great age of sail.

Designed by Limerick man Conor O’Brien and built by the Baltimore Fisheries School, West Cork, she was launched in 1926 and delivered to the Falkland Islands for inter island transport. She plied her trade for seventy years before repatriation in 1997 to Ireland, where she is being rebuilt and operated by the Ilen School, Limerick, within a community learning programme.

www.ilen.ie

Front Row: Patrick Beautement, Wooden Boatbuilder UK, Matt Dirr, Wooden Boatbuilder US, James Madigan, Wooden Boatbuilder, Colin Frake, Traditional Ship Fittings UK, Dermot Kennedy, Traditional Ship Sailor. Back Row: Eoghan O’Mahony, Traditional Sailmaker, Liam Hegarty, Wooden Boat Specialists, Trevor Ross, Traditional Ships Rigger NZ, Gary MacMahon, Director Ilen School, Br Anthony Keane OSB, Ilen School Director.

An international gathering at the Ilen School, Roxboro, Co Limerick of expert marine traditional riggers, sailmakers and classic boatbuilders marks a significant juncture in the rebuild of Ireland’s 1926 wooden sailing ship Ilen.

The way has now been mapped, essential tasks identified, and if rebuilding milestones are achieved, she will be plying a new trade in Education of the Sea by late summer 2016.

inshore ireland December 2015/January 2016 25

Book Review

SEA Gastronomy: Fish & Shellfish of the North Atlantic

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t 440 pages and weighing over 2kgs, this is no ordinary book on seafood but an encyclopaedic culinary study of the variety of fish and shellfish of the North Atlantic SEA Gastronomy.

Narrated over 12 chapters, this beautifully illustrated publication contains over 200 recipes and information on 120 species. Many familiar, and others less so: Poor cod, Three-bearded rockling, Witch, Starry smooth hound and Lumpsucker, for example, are identified and cooked in dry methods (frying, baking, roasting, grilling, barbecuing and deep-frying or wet methods (poaching, pot-roasting, steaming, sous vide and microwaving.)

SEA Gastronomy is the product of Michael O’Meara, chef/proprietor of Oscars Seafood Bistro, Galway, and represents over twenty years of research, cooking, diving and photographing the

diversity of fish and shellfish.

His passion as a chef is evident on every page, beginning at the age of six at his mother’s side. ‘Using all sorts of offal as well as fresh home-grown vegetables, this was real cooking on a budget of next to nothing,’ he says. Michael’s father was a lobster and inshore fisherman who worked out of Ballymacaw and Dunmore East.

Foraging for cockles, mussels and shellfish in ‘pristine waters’ around Ireland’s coastline, combined with annual camping holidays in France ‘where we explored all regions of the country absorbing by osmosis the culture and fantastic regional dishes and foods’, gave Michael a deep love of food and in particular seafood.

At sixteen he was accepted into the professional chef course in the Galway Regional Technical College, and from there embarked on a quest to cook at the highest level.

Time spent at Dromoland Castle gave Michael an understanding of how a French kitchen was run.

But to France he went to ‘learn from the best’, and describes the experience as ‘akin to boot camp, with 18-hour days the norm, but the passion, adrenalin and camaraderie was extraordinary.’

Combining photography with cooking was a natural synergy for Michael as both disciplines are visual arts, he says. Food photography that began as a hobby grew into a

secondary career whereby his collection of fish and shellfish images became a fundamental basis for this book.

Describing SEA Gastronomy as a ‘celebration of the culinary potential of our highly valuable marine resources’, Michael however acknowledges that the sea is not an infinite resource, requiring proper fishery regulation and management.

‘For example, if herring are prevented from spawning in an area… the entire food chain is disrupted, because young herring are the primary converter of zooplankton into fish that are in turn consumed by larger fish, and this chain works all the way up to the alphapredators such as sharks.’

The conservation message is driven home by marine biologist Dr Peter Tyndall who contributes a chapter on sustainability and its importance to maintaining healthy fish stocks.

‘Serious over-exploitation of our fishery resources has undoubtedly been a major problem. But the fishing industry has adapted to the required changes, and is still adapting through reduced effort, full traceability and the employment of selectivity devices.’

New data from the European Commission however ‘proves that these efforts to achieve a sustainable industry are paying off, as eighteen times more commercial species are now fished at

safe biological limits than was the case only 12 years ago,’ he writes.

He cautions however that some species have undergone little or no stock assessment ‘so the conscientious consumer finds it difficult to make a decision about their sustainability’.

Product certification such as the ‘Responsibly Sourced Standard’ operated by BIM (the Irish Sea Fisheries Board), and independent bodies such as the Marine Stewardship Council and Friends of the Sea, set standards and work with fishermen and retailers to create awareness for consumers and to educate the next generation.

In the foreword, restaurant critic with The Sunday Times, Ernie Whalley, believes Sea Gastronomy is an important publication.

‘First and foremost, it is a catalogue of the marine life on and around Ireland’s shores. So far as I am aware, no other author has achieved or even attempted this task.’

While acknowledging that fish is perceived as expensive, especially by people who do not have the opportunity to buy directly from a boat or on the pier, ‘can we expect a commodity for which we send folk out in small boats in all weather to be cheap? he asks.

Whalley also contends that cooking fish at home is not a challenge, but says many cookery writers ‘to their shame’ largely ignore or gloss over the preparatory skills.

‘Here again, this book, enhanced by high production values, comes up

Competition The publishers have generously offered a copy of SEA Gastronomy as a competition prize Q: How many species are described in SEA Gastronomy?

Answers to: mills@inshore-ireland.com or by postcard to 3 Hillview Cottages, Pottery Road, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin.

Closing date: January8, 2016 Good luck!

‘An outstanding work…. surely destined to take its place alongside classics like Alan Davidson’s ‘North Atlantic Seafood (1979)’ and Rick Stein’s ‘English Seafood Cookery (1988)’ as a game changer in the way we understand, value and cook with the treasures of the ocean.’ Georgina Campbell, food writer RRP €30 ISBN 978 0 992 6908 4 7 SEA Gastronomy: Fish & Shellfish of the North Atlantic is Published

by Artisan House Connemara, Sea Gastronomy is available nationwide through Dubray Books, Easons, Waterstones, Hodgis Figgis, independent bookshops and from ‘Oscars Seafood Bistro’ Galway or online at www.artisanhouse.ie

trumps. Not only by equipping the reader with the necessary techniques for cooking fish, written in plain language, but by supplying enticing recipes aplenty, ranging from the easy to the moderately challenging, which keen cooks will appreciate.

‘This book has a mission to demystify, to take the fear out of fish and, better yet, to encourage the appreciation of a wider range of species. After all, tastes do change.’

Gillian Mills, Dublin

26 inshore ireland December 2015/January 2016

Coastline News

Women of the Islands

Rhoda Twombly, CoE

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any challenges face Ireland’s off-shore islands. Take for example Inishbofin off the Galway coast which is now a prime tourism destination, but only because two women saw the potential: Margaret Day and Margaret Murray.

They faced huge infrastructural and access deficits when they built their hotels in the 1960s: Inishbofin had no phone, electricity or running water; neither had they a proper ferry service, making promotion of Inishbofin extremely difficult.

But the isolation of the island was turned into a positive ― particularly in the clever advertising by Margaret Day of her hotel: ‘Pure Boredom – Nothing to Do. Just Peace and Quiet and Sandy Beaches’.

These forward thinking, entrepreneurial woman, set Inishbofin on the road to island tourism at its best.

While sense of community has always been strong on the islands, special interest groups need a leader and sense of direction to progress and succeed. Working with FAS, Mary McCarthy of Inis Oírr became the facilitator of two women’s groups: Mna le Cheile/Women Together and Comhrá na nÁosach, the senior women’s group.

She has stimulated creativity and skill in craft work among the groups, particularly in quilting, creating a small shop enterprise and a workshop cottage where she teaches craft and sewing classes.

From this has sprung other activities: teaching sewing in the school; exhibitions; sponsoring grant writing projects; presenting each new borne baby with a quilt, and taking group trips. But most of all, this has created more solidarity among the women of the community and has helped increase confidence.

Education is a continuing concern for islanders, never more so than now as the Department of Education uses a ‘one size fits all’ policy in terms of the teacher-student ratio numbers. The primary school on Inis Meáin held onto its second teacher only through private benefactor funding. Sherkin Island wasn’t as fortunate and lost their second teacher in 2014.

The challenge of keeping young people on Inis Meáin by providing secondary education was the driver for the pilot scheme in 2001 that created Coláiste Naomh Eoin ― a boarding school that serves island children as well as those from the mainland.

Head teacher Mairead Ni Fhatharta deplores the fact that on Clare, Bofin and Turk Islands, parents have to send their children away for secondary education. This not only clears the islands of young people during the

week but gives parents the uncomfortable feeling that as their children have to leave so young, they are not completely rearing their children themselves.

With an eye to increasing student numbers and creating an extraordinary learning experience, other islands with secondary schools are working to raise funding to support enrolment of mainland students.

Ongoing challenges

Lack of nursing cover; decreased budgets and difficulty securing a locum doctor are some of the challenges Marion Broderick, GP on Inish Mór faces. Marion has championed many causes ― most recently the proposed use of helicopters rather than fixed-wing service currently in use. While this has been shelved for the moment, Dr Broderick is still working to retain the service and to ‘stop the department from trying to cut off our air service again’..

Throughout the islands, the level of health care can be changeable and uneven.

Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann / The Federation of Ireland’s Islands, had pressed the Department of Health (under two ministers) and the HSE for a ‘national level’ meeting to address these concerns.

The health care consultation, which includes two island representatives and Marion Broderick began last June; an assessment of health care on each island is currently

underway.

Living on Irish islands for nearly 30 years, I have met women of extraordinary strength who contribute positively to their communities in their everyday lives. They have set their islands on the road to recognition and sustainability through tourism, craft work and alternative therapies and farming practice.

Women that save lives through the medical and rescue services; women who strongly influence our youth

through teaching and sport, and women who are leaders in community development, working to provide services, training and enhancement of the environment.

Rhoda Twombly was speaking at the Women and the Sea symposium in September at the National Maritime Museum, sponsored by UCD Earth Institiute; UCD Humanities Institute, the NMMI and the Atlantic Archipelagos Research Consortium

Multihulls to compete in Round Ireland 2016

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ultihull class Team Concise is to enter three boats - the MOD 70 and two Class 40 boats - in the 2016 Round Ireland Yacht Race. This is the first time that multihulls have been invited to compete.

The multihulls will compete against each other for a new race trophy and course record. Last May, Omani trimaran MusandamOman Sail set a new Ireland circumnavigation record of 1 day, 16 hours, 51 minutes

and 57 seconds, but not in a ‘race setting’.

The Round Ireland race record (for monohulls) is held by Mike Slade who completed the race in 2 days, 17 hours, 48 minutes and 47 seconds, in ICAP Leopard 3 in 2008.

Another ‘first’ for 2016 is a trophy for the best sailing school boat on corrected time. The race officially opens for entries in January but early expressions of interest can be registered at info@roundireland.ie

Multihull, Team Concise

inshore ireland December 2015/January 2016 27

Outside Ireland

The Baltic Sea: a test case for a new generation of multi-annual plans

Brian O’Riordan LIFE Platform*

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he Baltic, a much troubled Mediterranean sea of the North Atlantic, enclosed by ten States including eight European Union Member States, is the sea area chosen by the European Commission to trail blaze the much heralded multiannual plans (MAPs).

Although subsequent MAPs for Europe’s four other main sea basins are likely to differ substantially content-wise, the multi-species ecosystems approach, based on maximum sustainable yield (MSY), will provide the management framework on which the other MAPs will be modelled.

Although launched in October 2014 through a Commission proposal, the Baltic Sea MAP, has been held up for the last seven months due to fundamental differences between the Commission and Council of Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers (the Council) on the one side, and the European Parliament on the other, over permitted levels of fishing.

The Commission proposal, endorsed by the Council, includes ranges for fishing mortality that exceed those required to achieve MSY. The impasse must be resolved by the co-decision process, called the ‘trialog’, involving negotiations between the Council, the Parliament and the Commission.

These are on-going, but

with no end in sight.

The Baltic Sea is also ahead of the game regarding quota setting for 2016. The agreement reached by the Council at their meeting in October, seems to make noone happy. Conservationists contend that the soonto-be adopted Council Regulation sets fishing levels for seven out of 10 stocks at unsustainable levels – i.e. above levels recommended by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).

Small scale fishers from the Western Baltic are also unhappy as the Council agreement restricts the capture of cod in sea areas adjacent to Denmark, Sweden, and Germany to 46 weeks-of-the-year. For six weeks-of-the-year from mid-February to the end of March, no fishing for cod will be allowed. Previously, derogation gave vessels under 8 metres access to this spawning season restriction.

The overarching objective of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), which entered into force at the start of 2014, is to ensure that fishing and aquaculture activities are environmentally sustainable in the long-term and are managed in a way that is consistent with the objectives of achieving economic, social and employment benefits, and of contributing to the availability of food supplies.

The major policy planks of the reformed CFP underpinning this objective include the management

of fisheries on the basis of MSY, to be achieved by 2015 if possible and by 2020 at the latest; a regional approach, through which fisheries will be managed on the basis of five distinct sea basins: Baltic Sea; North Sea; North Western Waters; South Western Waters, and the Mediterranean; and for fisheries management to be based on scientific advice and implemented through multi-annual plans.

Multi-annual plans are intended to minimise decisionmaking based on short-term interests and to maximise the likelihood of sustainable fishing practices. Under the reformed CFP, multiannual plans should include the target, and deadline for completion, of fishing at MSY. They should also contain measures to implement he landing obligation, technical measures, as well as safeguards for remedial action where needed.

The experience of the Baltic however indicates that the adoption of MAPs for other sea areas faces some stormy seas ahead. *LIFE (Low Impact Fishers of Europe) is an umbrella organisation run by fishermen for fishermen Its aim is to provide a clear and coherent voice at EU level for the previously mainly silent majority of European fishermen, who are smaller scale and who use low impact fishing gears and methods, but have historically lacked dedicated and effective representation in Brussels at Member State level.

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