Inshore ireland vol 13 nr 1 (Spring) 2017

www.inshore-ireland.com The Marine & Freshwater Environment Publication

€1.90/£1.50 Bi-Monthly Condition of non-EEA workers is misrepresented

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Spring 2017 Vol 13 Issue 1

ONLINE EDITION

Investment to safeguard inland fisheries

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Seafood industry advised to ‘prepare for the long haul’ regarding Brexit negotiations Gillian Mills & Gery Flynn

I

reland’s seafood sector faces “unique challenges and must be protected during the Brexit negotiations”.

The key challenge for government will be to ensure that fisheries and seafood concerns are “high on the EU agenda” and not separated from overall negotiations on a new EU/UK relationship.

Michael Creed, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, was addressing a packed gathering of industry and State fisheries and seafood representatives attending a Brexit meeting in Dublin.

Ireland’s seafood sector is a €1bn industry with a first-sale value of €500m, exports worth €560m and employs 11,000 people in mostly remote coastal areas.

Brexit poses a “very particular set of serious threats” over and above trade implications common to most sectors, he added.

These concern potential loss of access to fishing grounds in the UK Zone, and possible attempts by the UK to increase its current quota share at the expense of Ireland.

“Any changes to existing rights for the Irish and EU catching sector must be resisted strenuously,” he said.

Behind the scenes , DAFM officials will be studying

UK demands, strengths and weaknesses along with their fishing and trade interests, against Irish strengths and weaknesses and Member State priorities.

Assistant Secretary General Cecil Beamish said it was imperative that the Irish position was presented as a united effort to ensure a common voice based on the facts.

“Prepare for a long haul,” he warned.

Industry concerns

Producer, processing and exporter representatives unitedly said access, quota and trade were the key issues, and had to be negotiated collectively.

If the UK successfully

negotiates exclusion of fishing vessels from their 33% share of North East Atlantic Waters, what will happen to displaced Irish and other Member State vessels?

Wherever they go, additional pressure will inevitably be put on fish stocks, they warned.

Irish concerns are underpinned by UK commentary, notably by the Minister of Fisheries George Eustice’s remark in The Guardian (October 30): ‘British fishermen will catch hundreds of thousands of tonnes more fish after Brexit.’ (see sidebar) Ireland shares 47 of its 50 Total Allowable Catches (TACs) with the UK and stands to lose “catastrophically from an

Oilean an Oir (27m) steaming down the Minch loaded with mackerel (see Mackerel Review article pg 12).

EU without Britain,” warned Sean O’Donoghue, Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation.

Ireland also enjoys the benefit of ‘Hague Preferences’ (along with the UK) of increased quotas for some key species when reductions are imposed.

“This arrangement will be threatened when we will be the only Member State benefitting post Brexit,” he warned.

Around 33% of Irish catches came from UK waters in 2015. The two main species were mackerel and nephrops “requiring anything from 40% to 50% access to British fishing grounds”. »» page 14

Photo John Cunningham

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Seals on Dalkey Island at low water.

Photo Gillian Mills

Dublin Bay divers lodge complaint for lack of transparency in Dublin Bay

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he Irish Underwater Council has lodged a complaint with the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee, for

a ‘lack of transparency’ on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding Dublin Port Company’s Dumping at Sea

Permit for Dublin Bay. Key reasons include: • Dates in the public notice not in agreement with the permit

Marine Institute Foras na Mara

Our Ocean - A Shared Resource Ár n-Aigéan - Acmhainn Comhroinnte

• Public notice did not state that the applicant intended to dump contaminated dredge material • Relevant documents were not made publicly available by EPA, their stated policy to make all DAS documents available.

Of particular relevance was the request by DPC to include three new dredging areas to permit S0004-01, including areas within an SAC, without any public consultation.

Letters from the IUC to the EPA questioning the legality of permit S000401 were also not made publicly available.

• Issuing of open-ended permits where the applicant controls the start and finish date whereby a permit is in use for periods when there has been no public consultation • Dumping at Sea under permit S0004-01 was not reviewed for compliance

with the Habitats Directive once the dump site was incorporated within the Rockabill to Dalkey Island SAC, in contravention with the requirements of the Habitats Directive. (The EPA stated that dumping at sea was a ‘project’ and not a ‘plan’ and that compliance with the Habitats Directive only applied to plans • The permit holder, rather than the regulatory authority, is the access point for the public for info on particular DAS permits.

• DAS Permit S0004-01 does not explicitly state that the permit is to be used for the dumping of contaminated sediments • Information on each load dumped using DAS permit S0004-01 that was specifically required to be recorded in the Annual Environmental Report (such as GPS data on source of each dredge load) was not reported.

Ireland’s National Agency for Marine Research and Innovation An Ghníomhaireacht Náisiúnta um Thaighde Mara agus Nuálaíochta

www.marine.ie The diversity of marine life less than 15km from the centre of Dublin City.

Photo Willie Siddall

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Comment

Gillian Mills

W

hat is certain is that nothing is certain, when it comes to Brexit.

That was the common thread running through a recent marine department-led Dialogue of State agencies and representatives from all sectors of the seafood industry.

Brexit poses specific and unique threats for an industry that is most exposed above all others.

Its workplace - the very source of the seafood chain – is not a fixed location but comprises

Richard FitzGerald

22nd January 1957 to 5th December 2016 Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

It is with deep sadness that we learned of the passing of Richard FitzGerald on 5th December 2016.

Richard was a Kerryman, reared in Beaufort, close to Killarney, where he was educated at St Brendan’s College. He completed a primary degree (B.Sc.) in Zoology at University College Cork where he was further awarded a PhD for studies on ecological interactions of fishparasite communities under Professor Maire Mulcahy. He was involved in research and development in Aquaculture for almost 30 years in a variety of roles and posts.

Richard also held MBA and Accountancy qualifications.

In the 1987, Richard began his career as Technical Director of Aquahatch, a salmon farming company, owned by the state venture capital agency NADCORP, based both in Lough Allen, Co. Leitrim and at Ballinaclash, Co. Wicklow. In the early 1990’s, he returned to UCC to establish and manage the Aquaculture Development Centre (now the AFDC), building it up

stocks of migratory fish that equally do not recognise borders.

Access, quota and trade, have been identified as inseparable elements of what will be the biggest challenge to Ireland’s fishing industry since Ireland joined the European project in the early 1970s. And regardless of the failings of the deal then brokered, what is certain is that the Common Fisheries Policy is not open for renegotiation, no matter how palatable that might be.

Ireland shares 47 of 50 quota stocks with the UK whose EEZ comprises 33% of North

from scratch, initially in the Lee Maltings and then overseeing a move to the Distillery Fields. In 1998, Richard was appointed to the Aquaculture Licensing Appeals Board, part of a new regulatory system for the aquaculture industry which was intended to mirror An Bord Pleanala in hearing objections to licence applications. He joined NUI Galway in 2006 as a Senior Research Fellow, and shortly after became Research Coordinator and manager of the NUIG aquaculture research lab at Carna until the end of 2015, managing large scale projects, personnel and the facility itself. While there, Richard supervised several PhDs on cod and wrasse, as well as many undergraduate projects. He also served as a member of State Boards, Agencies, as an EU expert and for various representative/ consultative fora and trade organisations both nationally and internationally.

Richard has a long association with AquaTT, back to its foundation in 1991, when he compiled and submitted the original application for EU funding to establish the company to co-ordinate training for Aquaculture throughout the EU. He was the first Chair of the company and served on the Board regularly over the past 20 years.

His research interests were quite broad including; the growth performance of finfish in response to critical rearing conditions and husbandry practices; growth modelling; feed utilisation and formation of social hierarchies in farmed fish populations; the development of novel

Inshore Ireland is published by IIPL Ltd

East Atlantic waters. If Ireland and other Member States are excluded from these waters, displacement is inevitable, putting additional pressure on other fishery zones, resulting in potentially lower quotas.

But Ireland also stands to lose its closest ally – irrespective of issues that exist between the two fishing interests on this island.

Along with the UK, Ireland enjoys a degree of certainty through ‘Hague preferences’ that ensure additional quota on key stocks when reductions are proposed. Without the UK, Ireland stands alone against all

dietary formulations for farmed fish; the immunocompetence of farmed stocks; and product characteristics and quality. He published over 30 peer-reviewed papers and 100+ technical reports.

Richard served as an external examiner at post-graduate (MSc & PhD) levels in Ireland and several EU countries. He was also extremely interested in natural freshwater and marine fish populations, with a rare and extensive knowledge in both aquatic environments developed over the span of his career.

Richard was an excellent researcher, a gifted and inspiring lecturer and extremely generous with his time, especially with students and colleagues. A scholar, a gentleman and a wonderful character, he often stated that his head was in Cork but his heart was in Kerry. He had a library of expressions which he would draw on every now and again to spice up a conversation; “that wan would mind mice for you at the crossroads”. In his youth and later in life he was an avid stamp collector, enjoyed music, travel, cooking and was insatiably curious.

Wanting to try the world of business, he ventured into seafood processing in the early 2000s, and was well known in the English Market, Cork and by many top restaurants throughout the country to whom he supplied high-end specialist fish products.

Richard passed away following a short illness at University Hospital, Galway.

He was the much loved husband of Frances, brother of Gilbert and Bernard and brother-in-law of Carol and

Editor

Features Editor

Gillian Mills

Gery Flynn

mills@inshore-ireland.com

flynn@inshore-ireland.com

01 235 4804

091 844822

other Member States and this arrangement could be threatened.

And while the challenges and uncertainty cannot be overstated, a glimmer of hope is shining from Brussels which so often is seen in a different light. The UK is heavily reliant on the EU market into which it sells the vast majority of its catch. If they move to exclude all vessels from their waters – or apply tariffs and other restrictions - it might just find the drawbridge raised against it, threatening the very thousands of livelihoods that pro-Brexit voices said would be safeguarded and enriched.

Mary. He is sadly missed by his stepsons John, Adam and Darragh, niece Hannah, nephew David and a whole legion of friends from many times and places.

Those of us that were lucky to have known, loved and worked with Richard will fondly remember him with a

Patsy Kelly

For the inshore fishing community of Galway Bay, 2016 will be remembered - not for the temperate weather, nor for the size of the catch or indeed for the occasional unusual species encountered. Instead, it will be remembered with great sadness for the untimely passing of Patsy Kelly, fisherman, Ballinacourty on Wednesday 7th September.

Fishing continuously on a full-time basis since the age of seventeen, Patsy was one of the true father figures on the Bay. Always helpful and ever in great humour whatever the weather or fishing conditions.

For a man who spent long, full days alone at sea, he was the most wonderful of friends to meet for a chat and update.

His knowledge of the Bay was encyclopaedic but he also read widely and could enlighten one on many surprising and interesting topics. It was always a pleasure to meet him with his charming uplifting Sales & Marketing sales@inshore-ireland.com

087 290 2045 085 747 5797

comment

Brexit poses more questions than answers but perhaps all is not doom and gloom

smile. He was a great scientist, friend, teacher, mentor, listener and talker, who always had time for you. All of these qualities were tempered with a great integrity, humanity and a powerful wit.

Ni bheidh a leithead ann aris.

Paul Connolly approach making all the time in the world available for your chat no matter how busy he was, getting ready for the next day’s fishing or landing his catch.

He was generous of heart and of time. A meticulous approach to his craft characterised the man. A firm believer in sustainable fishing with a deep sense of the privilege that accompanies his work marked him out as a true gentleman of the sea. His fishing vessel, Loch Corrib, was neat and tidy in every way, always looking as well as the day she was launched.

Ever conscious of his personal safety, Patsy took great care in the maintenance of his vessel and gear and always wore his lifejacket.

An offshore wind, an ebbing tide, a master at his work, so untimely interrupted.

Patsy was a devoted husband, father, son and brother understandably beloved by his family from whose lives the colour has been drained and for whom a pale monochrome filter casts a drab cloak now. And yet, as we remember Patsy we cannot find a better recipe for facing the future with a bright enthusiasm than the exemplary legacy of the man himself.

Ken Kaar Design

Durgan Media info@durganmedia.ie

074 91 77893

The publishers do not accept responsibility for the veracity of claims made by contributors and advertisers. While care is taken to ensure accuracy of information contained within Inshore Ireland, we do not accept responsibility for any errors or matters arising from same.

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Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill to address issues raised by Supreme Court ‘Barlow’ case Inshore Ireland has seen a letter (9/12/16) to Michael Creed, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. It reads: I [Francis O’Donnell, chief executive, IFPO] refer to a recent Dail answer you gave on the 30th of November 2016 in relation to the proposed introduction of legislation in light of the recent Supreme Court decision in the Barlow case. This issue was discussed at length at the IFPO AGM on the 3rd of December in Galway, as were comments published by BBC Northern Ireland of late on the same issue.

You have indicated that you intend to introduce this legislation and to date we note that there has been no consultation with the Irish Fishing Industry in that regard. None the less, you have stated a policy intention. This is clearly a departure to the norm. It is equally in breach of the Common Fisheries Policy that you referred to in the Dail.

You are obliged to consult with us prior to the exercise of your Ministerial Prerogative on policy.

Access by foreign vessels (this is the term used in the 2006 fisheries act for non- Irish vessels.

See Definitions) to the exclusive Irish territorial waters is of major

concern to the directorship and membership of the IFPO, Irish processing industry and Irish citizens in general as this would most likely relate to the alienation of Ireland’s natural resources.

On behalf of my Directors and members, I have to express grave reservations in relation to the proposed intent of bringing legislation forward that would extend or increase access to Ireland’s exclusive fishery zone by foreign vessels beyond that agreed at the London Fisheries Convention (LFC). I am also concerned that by making provision to allow one of the contracting parties of the LFC, (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) to alter this agreement then it is my understanding that all the other 11 countries may avail of any new agreement.

Why does the State feel obliged to adhere to an arrangement which was never implemented some 52 year later without consultation and without due and proper consideration of the issues which are many.

Department response to Inshore Ireland invite to reply (15/02/2017) The Irish Fish Producers’ Organisation (IFPO) has communicated its concerns about the preparation of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill and matters arising from the Supreme Court judgment to the Minister.

In relation to matters arising from the litigation which led to the judgment, it is important to be aware that the original case now comprises two parts; while the Supreme Court has issued judgment in one part, the other part is yet to be heard and accordingly matters pertaining to the litigation remain sub judice.

The necessity for a legislative amendment to the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006 arises in order to take account of the Supreme Court finding in relation to the longstanding reciprocal access arrangements for Northern Irish sea-fishing boats to Ireland’s 0-6 nautical mile zone. It is important to note that the Supreme Court upheld the High Court finding that the Voisinage arrangements are not invalid but that, as it stands, there is insufficient provision in domestic law for them. The Supreme Court in fact noted that the arrangements were a sensible recognition at official level of practice and tradition, where fishing boats traditionally fished neighbouring waters.

With regard to the concerns raised in the IFPO letter in terms of compliance with the Common Fisheries Policy, Article 5 of Regulation 1380/2013 recognises and permits neighbourhood arrangements (such as these Voisinage arrangements) which existed prior to the coming into force of the CFP. The Voisinage arrangements were in place prior to the London Fisheries Convention 1964 and were continued under the terms of the Convention. Ireland is a party to that Convention and is bound by its terms.

North South cooperation across a range of policy areas is in the interests of the people of the island of Ireland. There has been regular and positive engagement between Ministers Creed and McIlveen within the framework of the North South Ministerial Council.

The Government has approved the publication of a Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill to address the issues raised by the judgment and expects to have this commenced as expediently as possible. The amendment will not change access arrangements but will fulfil Ireland’s obligations and ensure that the longstanding arrangement is given a proper legal footing. The Bill has been published this week and is on the Oireachtas website.

BRING your PFD (lifejacket) to the Skipper Expo 2017!

BIM is asking all fishermen who will be attending the Skipper Expo to bring their PFD with them. We would like you to do this for three really good reasons.

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Firstly, we will be offering a service whereby your jacket can be inspected by a BIM expert, who will also show you what to look for to keep your PFD working properly.

Secondly, if your jacket has a PLB we will help you to make sure it is correctly registered, to maximise your chances of being rescued quickly, should the worst happen.

3 Thirdly, we would like to try to set an Irish record for the greatest number of people wearing a PFD in a mass photograph to help promote the vital safety message of ‘Live to tell the Tale’.

So do please remember to bring your PFD to the Skipper Expo 2017 and Stay Safe at Sea.

www.bim.ie

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News

Conditions for non-EEA workers in Ireland’s fishing industry is misrepresented, says IFPO

by Gillian Mills

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he Irish Fish Producers Organisation has reacted to recent ‘main stream media coverage’ of the ‘Atypical Permission Scheme for Non-EEA Fishing Crews’* in the Irish fishing industry.

‘We have been given little or no opportunity to give our position and the narrative has been very one-sided. The public will believe there is wide spread abuse of the permit scheme,’ remarked Francis O’Donnell, IFPO chief executive.

On Wednesday February 8, Senator Nash raised concerns in the Seanad, saying the scheme should be reviewed/ replaced. (Senator Nash was Minister of State with responsibility for business and employment in 2015 when a scheme was developed to improve conditions of non- EEA workers in the fishing industry.)

In response, Deputy Denis Naughten, on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality Francis Fitzgerald, said he would bring the Senator’s concerns ‘directly

to the attention’ of the Tánaiste and would ask that the issue be included in any review of the scheme.

In an email to Senator Ged Nash, O’Donnell said there was ‘no factual basis’ for the recent media accusations: ‘In my view, this could not be further from the truth as most fishing vessel owners are hard-working and law abiding citizens. The IFPO has been at the forefront in the national media condemning any abuses of human rights for both Irish and non-Irish persons working within our industry.

‘Like any industry, there may be those not committed to abiding by the law, something we cannot and will not support. However it is my view that very little has been said in the media positively about those, for example in my organisation, that are fully compliant with the current scheme and who are paying about the minimum wage.’

O’Donnell added that as far back as 2008, the IFPO highlighted the issue of undocumented workers at government level.

‘We as an organisation do no support undocumented people working on fishing vessels; that is why we support the scheme.’

Amending the current

scheme is the way forward, O’Donnell contends.

‘It would be totally unfair to fishing businesses if the current scheme was “scrapped or replaced”. It would take time to replace... and would probably result in the scheme not being renewed at all, causing massive uncertainty for both non-EEA employees and employers.’

O’Donnell has asked the Senator for ‘help and support in an open and transparent way’ to amend the current scheme. He has also recognised the role of the Workplace Relations Commission and An Garda Síochána who have been active in detecting breaches in the system. *The first permit expires in March 2017.

The current scheme does not allow permits to be transferred between fishing vessels. It also requires non-EEA employees whose permits have discontinued prematurely for whatever reason, to return to their home country to reapply.

The IFPO has written to Minister Francis Fitzgerald seeking an urgent meeting to discuss the renewal process.

Minister Frances Fitzgerald Department of Justice and Equality 51 St Stephens Green Dublin 2 29/01/2017 RE: Atypical Working Scheme for Non EEA workers in the Irish Fishing Industry Dear Minister Fitzgerald, I am writing to as CEO of the Irish Fish Producers Organisation (IFPO) to advise you that the first of these Atypical permits will expire in March of this year. The scheme is constructed in a way that is silent in terms of the renewal process. We have a significant number of fishing vessel owners and Non EEA crew members that are very anxious to renew their permits with a smooth transition to doing same.

The current scheme does not allow for the transfer of the permit between fishing vessels which in my opinion is a limitation that is not necessary. In any working situation a contract may be breached by the employer or employee.

In any event a transferable permit system with proper checks and balances ensures that no Non EEA crew member is left unemployed without the means to support themselves. The current scheme was put in place by a task force in a matter of weeks and could not anticipate all the issues at that time. Of particular concern to many of my members and their non EEA employees is the requirement to leave the country and return to their home country to reapply for a permit if their contracts are discontinued prematurely for whatever reason.

The scheme is very much appreciated and needed within the Irish Fishing industry. We have formed a close and respected working relationship with the WRC who police the scheme and we are fully committed to making sure that workers rights are protected.

I would ask that a meeting is scheduled with personnel from your own department, the WRC and the IFPO to discuss the renewal process with a view to identifying problems with the current scheme as identified above, so that the new scheme could function in a smoother way for all parties affected by it.

Yours sincerely, Francis O’Donnell IFPO chief executive

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inshore ireland Spring 2017

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.

Ban pair-trawling in estuaries as a first step to protecting the marine environment Pádraic Fogarty, Ecologist and campaign officer for the Irish Wildlife Trust

T

he end of the year sees familiar scenes in the southwest of Ireland as large boats enter shallow inlets and estuaries in pursuit of small prey. The end of 2016 was no different.

The prey in question is sprat – a small fish in the herring family that gathers in larges shoals late in the autumn to spawn. Despite its small size – only around 15cm when fully grown – it plays an oversized role in marine ecosystems.

A recent report by Inland Fisheries Ireland highlighted how the sprat is the main food of sea trout in the Irish and Celtic seas. BirdWatch Ireland - in a study published last year on the impacts of fisheries on seabirds - listed 12 species that mainly feed on sprat, including puffins, shag, terns, gulls and the endangered Manx shearwater.

The small, silvery fish are eaten by many of the larger predatory fish in shallow coastal waters such as cod, whiting, hake and haddock.

Even the largest animals that frequent our shores, the giant fin and minke whales, will feed on shoaling fish such as sprat.

Food chain

In short, the humble sprat is essential food for all manner of other wildlife. By eating small plankton suspended in the water, the shoals of sprat are a key link in the whole ocean food web. If we want healthy seas for our wildlife and the people who depend on it for a living, we have to protect the sprat.

There can surely be no worse indictment of our

inability to wisely manage our marine resources therefore than our failure to protect this small fish?

The large boats entering Kenmare Bay, or Kinsale Harbour late in the autumn, drag between them a finemeshed net that captures all in its path. Although the authorities tell us that these catches are ‘clean’, there is no way of verifying this.

Since the shoals of sprat are such an attraction to hungry seals, dolphins and larger predatory fish such as bass and salmon, it is likely that some level of bycatch is unavoidable. Therefore not only is pair trawling inflicting serious impacts on the wider marine ecosystem by removing the sprats, it is also sieving our coastal inlets of other marine life.

It is hardly any wonder that small-scale inshore fishing has all but disappeared from our coasts. Knowing the damage that is being caused, many local fishermen, anglers and business operators in the Cork and Kerry area have long been calling for pair trawling to be banned.

Listed species

In 2015, sprat appeared for the first time in the top 10 list of Irish Sea fish catches.

That year, according to the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, 10,366 tonnes were landed into Ireland; however its value was small, at only €190 per tonne.

While sprat are cured and eaten, particularly in Baltic and Scandinavian countries, most of the sprat caught in Ireland is sent for fishmeal, and this is reflected in the low prices.

If left in the water, sprat are surely worth significantly more than this measly sum, by supporting not only our precious marine wildlife

but also local marine-based enterprises such as angling and whale watching, as well as fishing for the larger, more valuable fish?

Compared to commercially important fish, such as mackerel and herring, very little is known about sprat.

Capricious and variable

In the Natural History of British Fishes (1826-1880), the well-known fish scientist Frank Buckland described sprat as ‘…wanderers; the shoals are capricious in their movements, and exceedingly variable in their numbers.’

Not much has been added to our store of knowledge since these words were written.

In a reply to a Parliamentary Question by Deputy Michael Healey-Rae in January, Michael Creed, Minister for Agriculture, Food told the Dáil: “Available scientific information is that sprat in Ireland spawn from January to June with a fishery normally taking place from October to Christmas. This is a fortuitous situation, allowing some degree of reproductive output as the fishery takes place after the fish have been able to spawn.”

This is incorrect as we have no data to show when or where sprat spawn around our coast. We know they spawn in autumn in the south-west because Colin Barnes of Cork Whale Watch has directly observed this behaviour.

The stock is not managed under the ‘total allowable catch’ quota system; scientists have no idea how large the stock is, or whether it is increasing or decreasing.

A project currently underway in Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology aims to answer some basic questions about sprat biology;

however this research is only a first -step in helping us to understand the life story of this important fish.

There are currently no controls as to when, where or how much sprat is taken from the water. Given our appalling record in managing fish stocks for sustainable exploitation, we are right to be concerned that another chapter of ecological ruin is playing out before our eyes.

The fact that the catch plummeted from over 10,000 tonnes in 2015 to 4,700 tonnes in 2016, shows we are dealing with a volatile situation. We know from past experience that poor management can wipe out whole stocks which never recover.

Call for immediate ban

Given that we already know how important sprat are in the ocean food web, we do not need to wait for more scientific studies to tell what we need to do. The answer is clear: we need to ban pairtrawling from inshore waters.

Sprat could continue to be exploited for smallscale artisanal fisheries that are destined for human consumption, but only with low impact gear that does not endanger other marine life.

That we should be sending tonnes of sprat to be ground

up, destined to become fish pellets for unsustainable fish farming, is a lunatic act of self-destruction.

Banning pair-trawling is an important first step in ending the cycle of over-exploitation of our inshore waters, but that’s all it is – a first step. The government has promised that long-overdue legislation to designate marine protected areas (MPAs) will come before the Dáil later this year.

If handled wisely, this process could see big benefits for coastal communities and small-scale fishers. It would mean not only the end of pair-trawling, but also other destructive fishing gear such as tangle nets and bottom trawls.

Allowing small fish the chance to grow; protecting spawning areas and carefully managing low impact fishing, has been proven to create economic opportunity as well as protecting sea life.

We can’t give up on fishing as a viable future and assume that aquaculture provides the only path forward. The Irish Wildlife Trust will be working in 2017 to lobby for an end to pair-trawling and we encourage those who support us to contact their local TD to do the same.

Pádraic Fogarty’ book Whittled Away – Ireland’s vanishing nature’ publishes in March

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Report

Fisheries proposal falls short on social and economic indictors Gillian Mills

T

he European Parliament Committee on Fisheries has published a Working Document (08/2016) that evaluates the objectives and targets of the Commission proposal on conserving fishery resources and protecting marine ecosystems through technical measures.

It finds that current regulations have failed to indicate these objectives.

The proposal suggests that technical measures aim to control the catch that can be taken with a given amount of fishing effort and also to minimise the impacts of fishing on the ecosystem but concedes they have not yet led to achieving common fishery policy objectives.

The Commission also indicates that problems still exist with measuring effectiveness in helping to achieve CFP conservation measures.

The proposal calls for a resultsbased management approach whereby the Commission has set out targets to reduce, and eliminate where possible, unwanted catches by 2019, and to achieve maximum sustainable yield for all stocks by 2020. It also proposes targets to mitigate the adverse impact of fishing on marine ecosystems to ensure a good environmental status by 2020.

To achieve these targets,

the Commission proposes environmental, economic, social and compliance indicators to monitor technical measures.

Data for monitoring would be available under the existing Data Collection Framework; from advice given by the STECF and ICES, as well as annual reports drawn up by EFCA. The proposal however fails to make clear the precise nature and characteristics of the social and economic indicators, the Committee finds: ‘The Commission text contains two articles setting out objectives and targets. Article 3 refers to “general and specific objectives” while Article 4 sets out “targets”. However, no clear distinction is made between the two. Furthermore, establishing a set of targets based on compliance with environmental directives could lead to great legal uncertainty.’

Regarding environmental impact assessment requirements, a specific objective relates to providing positive incentives which rewards responsible (fishing practices).

The proposal however fails to indicate what kind of incentives are envisaged, the Committee contends. A review and reporting procedure is also outlined, to monitor objective and target achievements based on indicators.

Rapporteur Gabriel Mato concludes that Article 34(2) regarding follow-up should be reviewed.

In conclusion, the Committee says the proposal gives rise to questions that should be resolved in the Parliament resolution: »» the necessity to have two different articles concerning objectives and targets respectively and what legal purpose this could serve »» unnecessary reiteration of CFP objectives already set out in the basis regulation »» incentives are not provided despite their necessity among the objectives in line with the accompanying impact assessment provisions »» legal uncertainty could prevail from the use of the term ‘ensure’, especially in the article referring to regulation targets »» some specific objectives could be more accurately classified as general objectives »» directives involving transposition of common provisions into national law do not appear to be the most appropriate instrument to establish regulation objectives »» the Water Framework Directive has nothing to do with CFP technical measures »» descriptors relating to implementation of the Marine Strategy Directive cannot be used to establish environmental objectives or be linked to technical measures »» regulation objectives on technical measures adopted under the Codecision procedure by the European Parliament and the Council should not be established indirectly under the Commission decision on good environmental status of marine waters »» to turn the 5% obligatory catch exemption into an objective is excessive »» unnecessary to reiterate the substance of and to quote verbatim EU provisions in force »» minimise automatic amendment of the regulation by undefined or external elements or procedures to the regulation itself »» the risk of automatic transposition into EU law of agreements concluded between third counties is inadmissible »» Article 4 contains one arbitrarily quantified limit and two unquantified limits that are subject to future modifications originating outside the Codecision procedure and the CFP »» the proposal contains no indicators that provide scientific basis to achieve quantifiable targets

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&reference=PE584.005&format=PDF&language=EN&secondRef=03

T0: Diamond mesh

T45: Square mesh

T90

Land use and climate change explored at Dublin congress

O

ver one hundred climate scientists from around the globe attended an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in Dublin (14/2) to explore a Special Report on land use and climate change, chaired by Dr Hoesung Lee. The report focuses on climate change; desertification; land degradation; sustainable land management; food security and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems. The findings

will form part of a further report in the overall work programme being carried out under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and actions to combat climate change.

Addressing delegates, Denis Naughton, Minister for Communications, Climate Change and Environment said the need for scientific foundations to underpin climate action could not be overstated: “The role played by the IPCC is to the fore of informing policy actions

to be taken in addressing the global challenges of climate change. From an Irish perspective, this Special Report touches on a number of areas of particular relevance to our own climate agenda, including sustainable land management and food security.”

A draft Scoping Paper will follow, describing the objectives and an annotated outline of the Special Report, as well as the process and preparation timeline. Progress will be reviewed at the next meeting of the IPCC in April.

8

inshore ireland Spring 2017

Freshwater Focus

Parteen Weir and surrounding area Photos Clare County Council

Dredging is not the only answer to managing flood risk Gery Flynn

A

new way of managing flood waters that involves a wider ecosystem approach, which is proving effective across Europe, has yet to be accepted in Ireland where hard engineering is still the response favoured by policy-makers to this growing problem – a new report finds.

Natural Flood Management – Adopting ecosystem approaches to managing flood risk * by ecologist and broadcaster Anja Murray and commissioned by Friends of the Earth, contends that soft engineering - a whole catchment approach to managing soil, wetlands, woodlands and flood plains – can be highly effective by slowing down the flow of water on a catchment wide scale and reducing flood risk.

“Our climate is warming and major flood events, currently expected once in every 50 years, are likely to occur once every decade by the second half of this century,” Anja Murray tells Inshore Ireland.

“Compounding this situation is the reduced capacity of the landscape to lessen the impacts of flooding and profound changes in land-use since the 1960s have generally sped up the flow of water through each river catchment”.

“Heavy rainfall therefore takes less time to reach river channels and when so much water travels quickly, there is a greater chance of rivers bursting their banks.

Topography, soil type and land-use determine the rate

at which water travels into river channels and thus combine to influence the tendency of a river to flood” Ecosystem approach Murray argues that because dredging - the so-called hard engineering approach - often reduces local flooding, it is now associated in the public mind in dealing with comprehensive flood relief to the exclusion of a softer, more environmentally-friendly approach that includes the ecosystem as a whole.

“When water has no place to go but straight to the river channel by the quickest route, we end up having to compensate by widening and deepening channels by dredging. This has been practiced since the 1950s to reduce waterlogging so land can carry more livestock or produce higher crop yields,” Murray says.

As to the effectiveness of dredging as the only possible approach to flood management in Ireland, Murray says that a 2015 report from the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General found that the benefits likely to be derived from carrying out such arterial drainage, in purely financial terms, were ‘likely to be only marginally greater than costs’.

“By increasing the volume of water that passes through a channel at any given time, dredging increases flood peak and so exacerbates downstream flooding,” she argues.

“More flooding means that politicians and local authorities are put under pressure to allocate public money for more dredging.

Rather than managing flood risk and incorporating wider

catchment management, the response involves flood resistance and structural defences. By putting all our eggs in one basket, we are only increasing vulnerability in flood prone areas”.

Nevertheless, Murray says that ‘natural flood management’, has been gaining recognition as a viable and cost- effective approach to flood risk management.

“Natural flood management takes a whole-catchment view by managing soil, wetlands, woodlands and floodplains to retain water in the catchment and slow the flow at times of flood risk. Restoration and creation of habitats such as flood meadows and reed beds can act as important stores for flood water and can help to encourage reconnection of rivers with their floodplains”.

Murray’s report highlights projects across Europe and further afield that have restored peat bogs, planted riparian woodlands, restored and created new wetlands, and re-profiled rivers and their floodplains to hold back floodwaters.

In the UK, landowners are now being incentivised to participate in natural flood management.

“This not only prompts the farmers to help alleviate flooding on a catchment scale, but can also help them deal with increased flooding while continuing to provide a source of income,” she says.

Despite such proven successes, natural flood management is still virtually unknown in Ireland and has not been widely discussed in any relevant spheres here.

“There have been no trials or pilots of catchmentbased approaches to flood

management in Ireland, despite our growing problem and hard evidence that natural flood management can be an effective means of significantly reducing flood peak” says Murray, who believes that natural flood management also offers additional benefits to biodiversity, climate change mitigation, and water quality.

“Implementing natural flood management will require incentivised landuse management such as

payments for woodland creation in key locations and for allowing certain lands to flood as part of a catchment based approach. Such a shift will require public support and the involvement of landowners and rural communities,” she says.

Natural Flood Management: Adopting ecosystem approaches to managing flood risk by Anja Murray can be downloaded from the Friends of the Earth website www.foe.ie.

Natural flood management measures include: • peatland restoration for flood attenuation • woodland creation to impede the flow of water and increase infiltration • managing wetlands to store flood water • re-connecting rivers with their floodplain • reinstatement or creation of water storage features in floodplains • creation of new features to temporarily store water • opening up land to flooding • Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) • Managed coastal realignment with saltmarsh and mudflat restoration

inshore ireland Spring 2017

9

Freshwater Focus

Major investment to safeguard Ireland’s inland fisheries resource Gery Flynn

I

nland Fisheries Ireland’s Fisheries Protection 2016 Review highlights the results of protection work undertaken on the country’s freshwater fisheries resource which contributes €836m annually to the economy.

Launching the review Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs and Natural Resources Seán Kyne T.D. commended IFI personnel for their dedicated efforts to project Ireland’s “invaluable” inland fisheries resource.

“The vast array of river, lake and coastal based habitats present huge logistical challenges for our front-line protection staff and IFI management. These challenges are being met by augmenting traditional patrol and protection methods with state-of-the-art surveillance technologies and new and innovative patrol methods in the ever changing environment in which services are delivered.”

Caretaking the resource

IFI chief executive Dr Ciaran Byrne said the agency’s role was to act as “stewards of the inland fisheries resource.

“That role is crucial as we endeavour to protect and conserve Ireland’s aquatic habitat and the wild, indigenous fish populations that live within it. Our fisheries and environmental officers work relentlessly to ensure the continued availability of this resource to communities nationwide for recreational and business opportunities.”

According to Dr Byrne, Ireland’s inland fisheries resource comprises 74,000

kilometres of rivers and streams; 128,000 hectares of lakes and 5,500 kilometres of coastline and supports rural and peripheral communities through tourism opportunities that may not be there otherwise.

Dr Byrne added he was “particularly proud of and interested in” IFI’s education and outreach programmes for children that aim to “improve social inclusion, environmental awareness and participation in angling”.

The Something Fishy education programme is delivered to over one hundred primary schools nationwide each year, targeting fifth and sixth classes to explore different aspects of fish life.

“As an activity-based educational resource, it is designed to be interesting and attractive to both teachers and students. A key element of the programme is that it promotes learning about fish and the environment in a local context.

“Over the course of 2016 3,766 children from 118 schools took part in the Something Fishy programme, and since its inception in 2005, over 50,000 children have taken part in it. In Dublin alone, this programme has brought 500 children - often from marginalised areas - to angling for the first time. And I’m very proud of that,” he said.

Development funding

Dr Byrne also confirmed that throughout 2016, IFI invested over €1m in angling development projects alone.

“This included 50 angling access development projects as part of the Capital Grants Fund as well as ongoing investment in more than 4,000 angling structures.

“Our National Strategy for Angling Development outlines

Highlights »103 » prosecution cases initiated for breaches of fisheries and environmental legislation.

»1,487 » items of illegal fishing equipment seized - including 301 illegal fishing nets measuring in total 14,782 metres.

»22,066 » environmental inspections of

sites including farms, industrial premises, wastewater plants, forestry sites, wind farms as well as general inspections for pollutants in the natural habitat.

»36,979 » inspections of recreational

anglers undertaken nationwide to ensure compliancy with the fisheries acts, which aim to protect fish populations

how we can grow the economic contribution by an additional €96m per year, and our protection programme goes hand-inhand in helping us realise those ambitions,” he said.

Looking to the future, Dr Byrne said that despite having many reasons to be optimistic for Irish angling, the looming shadow of Brexit was as yet an unknown entity but was already impacting on the sector because most visiting anglers to Ireland come from the UK. “The vast majority of angling tourists come from the UK and now, all of a sudden with Brexit, it may become harder to get here and it certainly will become dearer to get here. Almost overnight, Ireland’s angling product is 15% dearer than it was this time last year.

“Nevertheless, there is something positive that we can trade on. As long as the

Fisheries Inspector Lorraine O’Donnell, Dr Ciaran Byrne, CEO IFI, Minister Sean Kyne T.D. and Fisheries Inspector Michael Hennessy quality of Ireland’s angling product is good the anglers will come. Our own angling survey’s show us that anglers have phenomenal country fidelity, and phenomenal site fidelity. They tend to stay in the same place year after year after year - if the fishing is good enough.

“So, the challenge now for me, as chief executive Inland Fisheries Ireland, and for our staff, is to implement our national strategy . If we do this, our product

will be good enough and Brexit will be mitigated and put into perspective.

In the fisheries service we have to move with the times by grabbing the challenges such as Brexit and turning them into opportunities”, he concluded.

For more information visit www.fisheriesireland. ie/Press-releases/ inland-fisheries-irelandput-188-000-personhours-into-fisheriesprotection-in-2016.html

Water Footprint Network appoints new executive director

D

r Christopher Briggs was appointed following a competitive recruitment process. He is a sustainable development professional with over 25 years’ experience in ecosystem management, climate change and livelihoods.

Over the last ten years he has acted as Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands; worked as Environmental Practice Leader for Latin

Factfile

At Water Footprint Network, we believe that sustainable use of fresh water is a critical foundation for healthy lives and a healthy planet. As our consumer society grows and pressure on our limited supply mounts, the race is on for us to rethink and ultimately, transform the ways in which we use and manage water. To keep us on track, we have a vision of the world we would like to live in.

Vision: A world in which we share clean fresh water fairly amongst all people to sustain thriving communities and nature’s diversity. It is going to take more than the Water Footprint Network to bring this vision to life; it is going to take a global community of dedicated individuals and committed organisations. We believe the Water Footprint has something special to bring as

America and the Caribbean for United Nations Development Programme and, before that was Head of Operations and Policy for the Global Environment Facility.

“I started with a passion for the natural world, and this passion has developed into a lasting drive to improve the way in which we use natural resources. The WFN has already proven its value in helping the global community rethink how we manage and share our water resources.

“I look forward to joining a talented team and working with Network partners to advance this transformation and help sustain livelihoods and nature for all our futures.”

Outgoing executive director Ruth Mathews takes up the role of Chief Policy Advisor - a new position that will enable her to dedicate more time to strengthening global network and accelerating change by influencing policy and practice to achieve greater impact.

we all work together to achieve fair and smart water use. We have made this our mission.

Mission: To provide science-based, practical solutions and strategic insights that empower companies, governments, individuals and small-scale producers to transform the way we use and share fresh water within earth’s limits. Founded as a nonprofit, multi-stakeholder network, the Water Footprint Network will focus its efforts in three key areas: the private sector, the public sector and individuals. We have set for ourselves the following three goals: Companies direct resources strategically into ensuring the economic efficiency and environmental sustainability of water use in operations, supply chains and river basins Governments promote fair and smart water allocation and

implement the policies, regulations and governance necessary to achieve this in river basins worldwide Consumers increasingly acknowledge and consider the impacts on water of their consumption choices by taking steps to reduce their own water footprint To achieve these goals, we work in three strategic pillars: »»Driving action by companies, governments and individuals towards sustainable, efficient and equitable water use »»Building community to escalate change in river basins worldwide »»Sharing knowledge and training practitioners to solve the world’s water crises Water Footprint Network Strategic Plan 2016-2020 and other information can be downloaded from http://waterfootprint.org/ en/about-us/strategy/

10 inshore ireland Spring 2017

Freshwater Focus

ECJ to prosecute Ireland over non-compliance of a Directive Gery Flynn

T

he European Commission has announced it will be taking Ireland to the EU Court of Justice for repeatedly failing to ensure that urban waste water in cities, towns and villages across the country is adequately collected and treated to prevent serious risks to the environment and human health.

Under EU law (Council Directive 91/271/EEC), villages, towns and cities are required to properly collect and treat their urban waste water , to avoid putting human health at risk and polluting lakes, rivers, soil, coastal and groundwater.

Untreated waste water can be contaminated with harmful bacteria and viruses, presenting a risk to human health. It also contains nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorous that can damage freshwaters and the marine environment, and promote excessive algae growth that chokes other living organisms - a process known as ‘eutrophication’.

The EU Commission also raised concerns about Ireland’s failure to ensure that a correct operating licence has been issued for the treatment plants serving Arklow and Castlebridge.

Deadlines missed

EU States had until the end of 2000 to ensure appropriate treatment of

waste water from large agglomerations (population between 15,000 and 150,000), and until the end of 2005 for discharges from medium-sized agglomerations (population between 10,000 and 15,000) and discharges to freshwater and estuaries from small agglomerations (population less than 10,000).

The Commission initiated the first infringement against Ireland in September 2013, followed by warnings in September 2015 and 2016 A recent Commission report on the implementation of EU environmental policy and law in Member States finds that one of the main challenges Ireland faces is maintaining the important investments required for water services, given the urgent need to invest in water infrastructure.

Responding to the Commission’s decision to take Ireland to the European Court of Justice, Eamon Ryan TD, Leader of the Green Party said on RTE that it was “for our own sakes” that Ireland needed to clean up our water act.

“We don’t want E. coli, we don’t want Cryptosporidium in the water. So whatever the legal arguments about the Commission and what we can and should and should not do, in our own interests we need to clean up our water.”

And in a separate but closely-related event, a senior EU Commission official told an Oireachtas committee that Ireland’s failure to devise and implement a realistic and sustainable plan of charging for water use

meant that the waste water treatment issue was unlikely to improve in the short term.

Aurel Ciobanu-Dordea, the Director for Implementation, Governance and Semester at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV) told the Oireachtas Committee on Water Charges that the EU rejected Ireland’s argument that it would pay for water through general taxation instead of introducing water charges based on the amount used.

“How would this system secure in a credible way [and] for a relatively long period of time an investment of €13bn?” he asked the committee.

Comparing Ireland with Scotland in terms of waste water treatment, CiobanuDordea said that Scotland treated 95% of its waste water while the figure for Ireland was only 51%.

He said “it is no matter of secrecy” that Ireland is in breach of EU regulations over the Government’s failure to apply domestic water charges.

“Ireland is in breach of EU regulations over not complying with the water framework directive once it suspended the application of water charges,” he added.

Despite this, he said the EU Court of Justice case against Ireland might not result with the imposition of substantial fines.

He added that a first judgment did not usually result in a fine being imposed and the Court sometimes allowed a further

18 months for governments to comply with directives.

It would only be after such a period that a fine might be imposed by the court.

“Ireland still has time to avoid fines.”

Settlements with inadequate waste water infrastructure: Arklow; Athlone; Ballybofey/ Stranorlar; Ballincollig New; Castlecomer; Cavan; Clifden; Clonakilty; Cobh; Cork City; Dundalk; Enfield; Enniscorthy; Fermoy; Gaoth Dobhair; Killarney; Killybegs; Longford; Mallow; Midleton; Monksland; Navan; Nenagh; Oberstown; Pasage/ Monktown; Portarlington; Rathcormac; Ringaskiddy; Ringsend; Roscommon Town; Roscrea; Shannon Town; Thurles; Tralee; Tubbercurry; Youghal and Waterford City.

Ireland accused of having ‘implementation issues’ with Directive on Waste water Treatment

The EU Commission’s Environmental Implementation Review (EIR)* which analyses how well EU environmental policy and legislation is being enacted country-wide, finds that while Ireland has made significant progress across many environmental policy areas, it has ‘substantial implementation issues when it comes to the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive’.

EIR reports are meant to stimulate a positive debate on shared environmental challenges for the EU, as well as on the most effective ways to address the key implementation gaps.

Main points and findings on Ireland’s approach over the past two years: In 2012, Ireland reported 170 agglomerations with an overall generated load of 5,164,016 population equivalent (p.e.)

In 47 of these, secondary treatment is not ensured meaning that untreated waste water is directly discharged Regarding more stringent treatment, the Commission recorded that only 0.7% of the waste water load with more stringent obligation is subject to such treatment Following completion of the assessment, Ireland reported that compliance had been under-estimated due to some errors in the designation of sensitive zones (sensitive to phosphorus and/or nitrogen) Ireland reported that fifteen agglomerations, instead of one (amounting

to 0.7%), should have been considered compliant. The next reporting exercise should give Ireland an opportunity to rectify this reporting and designation issues Ireland demonstrates low compliance rates with the Urban Waste Treatment Directive and the Commission is following-up on the non-compliances The Commission has an ongoing infringement relating to Ireland’s failure to fully comply with the Directive The investment needs to reach full compliance with the Directive, estimated to be €443m In 2012, Ireland introduced a system of registration of individual waste water treatment systems (septic tanks) in the countryside with a view to their better control Water scarcity is emerging as an issue in the heavily urbanised greater Dublin area – one of the factors behind a move towards domestic water pricing The Commission initiated the infringement on compliance with the Water Framework Directive against Ireland in 2007. Within the framework of this case, the Commission is examining Ireland’s compliance with a number of key provisions of the Directive, including the definition of water services; water pricing; controls over the abstraction of fresh surface water and groundwater and the impoundment of fresh surface water Irish Water was created and took over the water sector in Ireland from January 1, 2014. It replaces the former 34 water utilities and has established a strategic plan to solve the issues linked to the implementation of the Drinking Water Directive and the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive Water charges were introduced in 2013 and were extended to domestic users in 2014; however, the charges were capped and a promise by government to suspend them The proposed Capital Investment Plan 20142016 requires €1.77bn to meet the objectives identified by Irish Water and previous programmes of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (DECLG). Additional infrastructure investment will be needed after 2016 for Ireland to become compliant with the Water Framework Directive, the Drinking Water Directive and the Urban Waste

inshore ireland Spring 2017 11

Freshwater Focus

Bass - top quality fish Brendan Connolly

B

ass are one of the most sought-after sea fish around the coasts of Ireland. Dicentrarchus labrax is a member of the Perciformes group of fish of which freshwater perch are also a member.

Bass are beautifully shaped ― a bar of silver that torpedoes through the water hunting small fish. They can be caught by spinning or with natural bait on the bottom.

Strong surf that stirs up fish and shellfish hiding in the bottom attracts feeding bass.

Rivers flowing across the sand into the sea can also prove successful bass marks.

Bass are caught from beaches all around the coast.

The flavour of bass is exquisite. As finfish go, it is one of the best tasting fish in Irish coastal waters.

For this reason, commercial fishing has put pressure on Irish bass stocks hence the conservation measures in place.

Fishing regulations

Bass can be fished all year round; however all bass caught between January 1 and June 30 must be released alive.

From July 1 to December 31, a bag limit of one bass per day per angler applies with a size limit of 42cm, but this is set to increase to Water Treatment Directives.

According to Irish Water’s own estimates, €5.5bn needs to be invested (2014 -2021) to bring water services in Ireland up to an ‘acceptable’ level. Irish Water estimates that €13bn is needed overall to ensure a ‘good’ infrastructure and service standard. It is vital that these investments are maintained The estimated investment needs (reported by Ireland under Article 17 of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive) to reach full compliance with the Directive are of €443m *The EU Environmental Implementation Review Country Report – IRELAND is available from http:// ec.europa.eu/environment/ eir/pdf/report_ie_en.pdf

Ireland accused of having ‘implementation issues’ with THE Directive

The EU Commission’s Environmental Implementation Review (EIR)* which analyses of how well EU environmental policy and legislation is being enacted country-wide - finds

50cm.

Clogherhead Beach in Co Louth is a wide open gently-sloping beach on the Irish Sea. A group of boys excitedly ran across the small dunes and looked out at its vast expanse. They were armed with spades, a bucket, newspaper, a fishing rod, and a football.

The tide was out and the first thing they did was dig for lugworms. They saw the casts and the small dimples in the sand, revealing the presence of the lugworms.

Plunging the spade between a cast and a dimple they tried to reach the bottom of the U-shaped tube where the lugworms were lying. The first few attempts delivered no results so they dug another spade-full, quickly followed by a second one deeper down, successfully collecting twenty or more lugworms.

These were stored in the newspaper to dry and firm them so they lasted longer on the hooks.

Before long they had worked up a sweat and retired to the upper beach, while one boy rigged up a paternoster trace with three hooks and a lead at the end. Carefully threading on some lugworms, the boy waded far into the shallow sea, lobbing the lead and bait as far as he could.

Sometime later, the boys looked up from their football game and noticed that the rod had fallen off its stand

and was being dragged slowly towards the sea. Lifting it, they noticed a heavy resistance on the line.

Slowly they walked towards the water’s edge as they reeled in; the line reached a long way out over the water.

The line then moved sideways, parallel to the shore. Slowly, they reeled in more line, revealing the silver side of a large fish glinting in the sun. The fish turned and swam in the opposite direction, still parallel to the shore.

This continued for some time, while the boys kept a constant tension on the line. Slowly but surely the fish came closer as it swam over and back. By this time its back was breaking the surface and its tail swirled the water surface.

Then, rather than pulling the fish towards them, they walked into the sea. Being careful to give line if the fish suddenly trashed about, one boy put a finger underneath the gill cover and lifted the fish clear of the water. It was

a big bass approaching 10lb in weight!

Returning to dry beach, they examined the trace and saw the bass was hooked on the middle hook while two small flounder were on the other two hooks.

Later on, examining the stomach contents revealed it was full of small flounder. The boys concluded that three small flounder had taken the lugworm bait and the bass had snapped up the middle flounder... A fantastic catch with a superb taste!

that while Ireland has made significant progress across a range of environmental policy areas, it has ‘substantial implementation issues when it comes to the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive’.

EIR reports are meant to stimulate a positive debate both on shared environmental challenges for the EU, as well as on the most effective ways to address the key implementation gaps.

EIR’s main points and findings on Ireland’s approach over the past two years: In 2012, Ireland reported 170 agglomerations with an overall generated load of 5,164,016 population equivalent (p.e.)

In 47 of these, secondary treatment is not ensured, meaning that untreated waste water is directly discharged Regarding more stringent treatment, the Commission recorded that only 0.7% of the waste water load with more stringent obligation is subject to such treatment Following completion of that compliance assessment, Ireland reported that compliance had been under-estimated due to some

errors in the designation of sensitive zones (sensitive to phosphorus and/or nitrogen) Ireland reported that fifteen agglomerations, instead of one (amounting to 0.7%), should have been considered compliant. The next reporting exercise should give Ireland an opportunity to rectify this reporting and designation issues Ireland demonstrates low compliance rates with the Urban Waste Treatment Directive and the Commission is following-up on the non-compliances The Commission has an ongoing infringement relating to Ireland’s failure to fully comply with the Directive The investment needs to reach full compliance with the Directive are estimated to be €443m.

In 2012, Ireland introduced a system of registration of individual waste water treatment systems (septic tanks) in the countryside with a view to better control Water scarcity is emerging as an issue in the heavily urbanised greater Dublin area – one of the factors behind a move towards

domestic water pricing The Commission initiated the infringement on compliance with the Water Framework Directive against Ireland in 2007. Within the framework of this case, the Commission is examining Ireland’s compliance with key provisions of the Directive, including the definition of water services, water pricing, controls over the abstraction of fresh surface water and groundwater, and impoundment of fresh surface water Irish Water was created and took over the water sector in Ireland on January 1, 2014. It replaced the former 34 water utilities and has established a strategic plan to solve the issues linked to implementing the Drinking Water Directive and the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive Water charges were introduced in 2013 and extended to domestic users in 2014. The charges were capped and the Government promised to suspend them.

The proposed Capital Investment Plan 20142016 requires €1.77bn to meet the objectives

identified by Irish Water and previous programmes of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (DECLG). Additional investment in infrastructure will probably be needed to become compliant with the Water Framework Directive, the Drinking Water Directive and the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive.

According to Irish Water’s own estimates, €5.5bn needs to be invested (2014-2021) to bring water services up to an ‘acceptable’ level. Irish Water estimates that €13bn is needed overall to ensure a ‘good’ infrastructure and service standard. It is vital that these investments are maintained Estimated investment (reported by Ireland under Article 17 of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive) to reach full compliance with the Directive is €443m. *The EU Environmental Implementation Review Country Report – IRELAND is available from http://ec.europa. eu/environment/eir/ pdf/report_ie_en.pdf

Sean Carty with a very fine Donegal bass

12 inshore ireland Spring 2017

Fisheries

Fisheries representative says mackerel review is totally parochial T he Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO) has called on Michael Creed, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, to focus “all his energies” on protecting Irish fisheries ahead of Brexit and to “immediately withdraw a flawed mackerel sharing review on which important time and resources are being squandered”.

Sean O’Donoghue added that the UK Fisheries Minister, George Eustice, has already claimed British fishermen will catch “hundreds of thousands of tonnes more fish after Brexit” while Ireland, which shares 47 out of its 50 Total Allowable Catches (TAC) with the UK, “stands to lose catastrophically” from an EU without Britain.

Thirty-one per cent of 2016 Irish catches come from UK waters; the two main species for Irish fishermen were mackerel and Nephrops, requiring from 40% to 60% access to British fishing grounds.

“With Irish seafood exports to the UK worth in excess of €71m annually and the shared resource, which the fisheries sector uniquely represents between both countries, the Irish fishing sector is perilously positioned as the

high-end negotiations around Brexit continue apace.”

The KFO representative was speaking ahead of a ‘Seafood Sectoral Civic Dialogue’ on Brexit (Feb 1) to discuss the potential impact on Irish fisheries.

“With the unprecedented and particularly demanding challenges presented by Brexit, it’s even more baffling why a ludicrous review is playing out in tandem with this issue causing unnecessary distraction.”

He called for the Irish Government to make fisheries a “top priority” in the negotiations around Brexit and to ensure that the sector “is not used as a bargaining chip” in reaching a final outcome.

“Given the importance of the negotiations, why is a wholly unnecessary review being undertaken into mackerel quota in the first instance?

“This review into the distribution of additional mackerel is pitting different producer organisations against each other at a time when Ireland needs to be focused on the Brexit issue more than ever,” he said.

O’Donoghue added that the course of action being adopted by Minister Creed was “fundamentally flawed” and endeavoured to penalise the Refrigerated

Seawater (RSW) sector “in a disproportionate and unfair manner” whereby the fishing industry in the northwest was “deprived of more than €10m of a mackerel catch in 2017”.

It has since come to light that the scientific advice used to calculate the 2017 TAC was “erroneous”, meaning a sizeable cut of 13% on 2016 catches rather than a 14% increase it had previously advised, he added.

“Aside from the obvious embarrassment of such a mistake in estimating stock size, it has created huge uncertainty for our members who are trying to run businesses and provide employment.”

O’Donoghue said the organisation would be writing to Minister Creed to inform him “in no uncertain terms” that they “will not stand idly

by and allow hard-won quota” to be taken from them when they have endured a 15% cut in mackerel quota last year, and now the prospect of further reductions.

“We will be formally asking him to withdraw the review in light of these developments while also underlining that there was no basis whatsoever, other than parochial, for the review in first place.

“When an increase in the Irish mackerel quota was mooted, the Minister appeared open to the idea of making it available to 27 vessels in the polyvalent sector who have a mackerel entitlement for no reason other than purely parochial.”

He added that if that was allowed to happen it would result in the loss of jobs at sea in Donegal, as well as

employment ashore in the highly-developed pelagic industry in the northwest.

“Moreover, it ignores the fact that those 27 vessels who stand to benefit from this ludicrous review have already been boosted by a mackerel tonnage percentage increase of 750% since 2000,” he said.

The Irish RSW fleet in Killybegs has invested heavily in specialised vessels that have played a “major role” in developing an Irish mackerel fishery and establishing a credible track record in catching mackerel prior to introduction of Total Allowable Catch (TAC) and quotas system in 1983.

“Without this excellent track record, Ireland’s current 21.2 % percentage share of the western TAC would probably be only in the region of 1% to 2%,” he warned.

Killybegs, Co Donegal, the mackerel stronghold

Funding to support innovation and economic growth in coastal communities

M

inister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed has launched Local Development Strategies for the seven Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs) established under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) Operational Programme. He has also announced the first call for applications for the €12m available FLAG funding.

“I am delighted to announce the publication of the new

Local Development Strategies for our seven FLAGs. These Strategies will guide the FLAGs in best using the €12m funding available to them under the EMFF Operational Programme.”

The Strategies will promote and support innovative projects in regions that foster economic growth and jobs, by adding value to seafood products and diversifying local economies of coastal areas towards new economic activities, particularly in the broader maritime sector.

The Strategies were developed by the FLAGs during 2016 and are the

culmination of much analysis and consultation on the needs of their coastal regions and potential opportunities for growth and development.

FLAGs are now inviting applications within their regions to fund projects that contribute to the objectives of their Local Development Strategy.

“I have made available €2.4m to BIM in 2017, and this will be dispersed in full to the projects selected by the FLAGs for support.

Overall, €12m will be available over the course of the EMFF Programme.”

Funding under the FLAG Scheme Contributes to the Action Plan for Rural Development.

Back row: Ger Concannon; Seamus Breathnach, BIM FLAG coordinator; Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed; Marie Louise Heffernan; Luke Aston; Paddy Crowe (Chair), Michael O’Malley and Brian Barrett Front row: Gerry O’Halloran; Padraic de Bhaldraithe; Pat Conneelly and Eamon O’hEanaigh

inshore ireland Spring 2017 13

Fisheries

Do you know the origin of the crab claws you eat?

Norah Parke, KFO

B

rown crab continues to be one of Ireland’s most valuable and versatile fisheries with a unique spectrum of stakeholders. The yearround supply of brown crab - a key element in the commercial success of this industry - is ensured by a fleet of dedicated offshore vivier crabbers and small inshore punts.

Brown crab is marketed as both a live and processed product, both of which have specialised routes to market and fill different but complementary niches in domestic, European and increasingly Asian markets.

The practice of clawing crab (pulling off the claws and throwing the body back in the sea or landing it for other uses such as whelk bait) however is on the increase in some areas.

Poor legislation

This practice is prohibited

by EU Regulation No 724 of 2001 but for administrative reasons has proved inadequate. It may appear to be a practice with little benefit to those who do it but unfortunately there are short-term rewards.

For many vessels it may not be possible to keep brown crab alive until they land; the market for a box of crab claws may be more accessible and lucrative than that for certified, legallycaught and properly handled product. Clawing can also be a ‘cover’ for undersize, poor quality crab and in some instances, a genuine complete lack of awareness on the part of the fisherman.

Whatever the reasons, stakeholders throughout the brown crab industry feel this practice must be stopped.

Brown crab has been identified as a species that could benefit - particularly in new and emerging markets - from the development of a Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP), whereby the long-term objective would be to achieve Marine Stewardship Certification (MSC) or equivalent – an increasing ‘must have’ standard in the marketplace.

The combined forces of Bord Bia and BIM are focussing on this task, and while many aspects

need to be considered, the single greatest challenge to a successful campaign is eliminating crab clawing.

Brown crab are found in all the waters around Ireland but the most important and productive fishery is located to the northwest from north Mayo to the Inishowen peninsula in Donegal. This is the hub of brown crab activity where several large processing plants and specialised live transport companies are based. Several smaller, artisanal-style operators supply crab meat mainly to the Irish food-service sector.

Despite the importance of this species (Cancer pagurus), there is relatively little regulation controlling the fishery. There is, of course, a minimum landing size (MLS) of 130mm140mm, depending on the region where the crab is caught. MLS is extremely important as it ensures female crab reach maturity and produce sufficient eggs to protect the stock from being fished down over time.

Restrictions also apply to the number of days the larger (>15 metre) vessels can fish each year while in the Biologically Sensitive Area (BSA) - a prolific breeding ground for many species located off the south and west coasts of Ireland.

Effort restrictions apply to all vessels over 10 metres.

Action plan

A Consultative Committee to the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority drawn from fishing interests and expert opinion has drawn attention to the treat posed to the crab stock of clawing.

It is hoped that the advisory role of the Consultative Committee can be harnessed to persuade the regulatory authorities to revise the legislation and bring about a more effective legal framework to deal with crab clawing.

In the meantime, consumers have a major role to play.

Demand for crab claws is high, particularly in the food service sector where the majority of claws come from completely legitimate sources.

Today’s consumer is increasingly aware of sustainability, good environmental status and healthy food and is not afraid to ask the provenance of the seafood they are buying.

If this awareness could be applied to the crab salad in the local restaurant, for example, and consumers start asking the question: ‘Did this crab meat come from a whole crab processed in an approved premises?’ or “Can we be sure these claws come for a crab above the minimum landing size?’ the crab clawing issue could be a thing of the past in a short time.

Dear editor

I

n relation to allegations about mistreatment of foreign crews on Irish boats, my family has been supplying trawlers with stores since the late 1890s.

In the last ten or more years, foreign crews have become more prevalent, I meet these foreign men on a daily basis and they always seem cheerful and in good form. Usually the crew do the shopping for the stores and they always go to sea fully provisioned. I have never seen a skipper or owner deny them any food or the necessities of life that we can provide.

Religious and cultural habits apart, I have yet to see a trawler go out without tons of fresh meat, fresh veg and the usual stores. A lot of Irish skippers now prefer the foreign cuisine over the standard Irish fare!

The only time I was ever approached by a crew man wanting to flee a boat was in 2015 when a Frenchman off a French boat who had had a fight with another crew man and wanted to go home to France by air.

I often meet Ghanaian, Filipino and Egyptian lads coming into the shop before they head back to the boat with bulging shopping bags after a day out shopping in Waterford.

We often talk a lot as that is what we are good at in Dunmore East and while they all miss home and hate the Irish weather, I have yet to see someone go back to their boat in fear or against their will, apart from the Irish lads!

Then usually on the directions of their wives and girlfriends to be free of them for a while!

Fishing is a very though and dangerous job and is not for everyone. I and lots of people know people in all walks of life who will treat anyone like dirt given half a chance but to claim that Irish boats are nothing more than slave galleys and death traps run by bullies is a slur and very untrue.

William Power Dunmore East

14 inshore ireland Spring 2017

Brexit »» from page 1

Regarding trade, O’Donoghue is more positive given the UK’s highly dependency on the European market for salmon, nephrops, scallop and crab, valued at over €1bn.

The UK however will become a Coastal State along with Norway, Faroes and Iceland, and will be required to negotiate with the EU. In 2015, Irish imports of UK seafood were worth €148m, representing 65% of total imports. Irish exports of seafood to the UK were valued at €71m, representing 13% of total exports.

“Overall, we must have coalition at Member State and industry level,” O’Donoghue added.

“Whatever our differences, these have to be set aside in terms of Brexit – both in an Irish and European context.”

CFP status quo

On behalf of the Irish Fish Processors and Exports Association, Lorcán Ó Cinnéide said there was “nothing good in Brexit” for Ireland’s fishing industry.

“Anybody who sees this as a way of renegotiating the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), or of getting a higher share of fish, is delusional in the extreme.

I am one hundred per cent right on this,” he said.

From a processing point of view, he sees supply as the biggest issue: “If, and it’s only ‘if ’ at this stage, we have less access to UK waters post Brexit, this has the potential to limit our access to fish, and that could be detrimental.”

He also foresees a threat to investment.

“Uncertainty is an enemy of any business. We mightn’t like exactly every aspect of what we have, but one thing we have is stability – and this is instability.”

He also warns of possible trade distortions depending on UK access.

“A lot of our export trade goes through the UK. If there is going to be tariffs, will there be access to the market, and what sort of access, what sort of customs?

“EU/UK negotiations must take account of the Irish fisheries/seafood concerns.

The effects on Ireland are unique. We will be losing our ‘farm’ so to speak.

“This must be understood at every level: department, government and in Europe.”

Patrick Murphy, chief executive of the Irish South and West Fish Producer Organisation said that as a small trading island off the west coast of Europe, Ireland would be “completely isolated” post Brexit.

The potential impact of the UK exercising full control of its EEZ would be “disastrous, he warned.

“Ireland’s fishing industry will end, unless the concept of ‘relative stability’ [percentage share of the quota] underpinning the CFP since 1992 is revisited, and the current understanding of this concept by fellow Member States is dismantled.”

Quoting the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine he said: ‘There would be zero support from those Member States for any action

by Ireland that might lead to a reduction in their own quotas by so much as a single fish.’

And noting the importance of the Nephrop fishery, Ireland will need “guaranteed access to UK waters” where 40% of the prawn fishery is caught, he warned.

A “comprehensive study” will be required on the effects of additional effort due to displacement on nursery grounds on the west coast.

And he added that Ireland’s valuable fishing grounds “should not be traded” as a means to achieving benefits in non-related industries or services.

Impact on aquaculture

Richie Flynn, IFA Aquaculture, said Brexit has “exposed the failure of success governments to solve the licensing issue” which at this stage has “ground to a halt”.

“Irish aquaculture is shrinking; what we produce in a year, Norway produces in two days. Our product is wanted, let us do our job,” he said.

Exports

Tara McCarthy, chief executive, Bord Bia, said the key drivers of seafood export performance over the past twelve months included a 25% drop in export volume; 28% increase in unit prices reflecting strength of demand, and strong recovery in core European markets along with continued growth in Asia.

Looking at 2017, she said access to raw material would remain a “key challenge” along with challenges facing the pelagic sector and for mussel and whitefish exports into the UK. On a positive note she said quota increases would boost the sector, and noted an expected rise in premium shellfish exports.

Closing the briefing, Minister Creed said fisheries would be a government priority and called on all sectors of the industry to feed into the department. We must produce “collated, refined and developed views. Your concerns are up in lights in terms of impact,” he said.

UK fishermen may not win back waters post Brexit

T

he hopes of British fishermen that the UK can reclaim its waters post Brexit are expected to be dashed by the European Parliament, despite campaign promises Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage, the Guardian reports (15/02/17).

A document obtained by the Guardian states that in order for the UK and EU to keep commitments on sustainable fishing ‘it is difficult to see any alternative to the continued application of the common fisheries policy’.

While there are roughly just 11,000 direct employees in the fishing industry, the UK’s trawlermen were among the most vocal critics of the EU during the referendum, fuelled by frustration over quotas, blamed on Brussels and the CFP. According to the Guardian article, the leaked report from the European Parliament’s committee on fisheries insists that post Brexit, granting access to the EU domestic market should be conditional upon Britain continuing to respect the rights and obligations in the CFP. It adds that EU vesselowners should continue to be allowed manage boats under the UK flag.

UK perspective

F

ishermen across the UK have welcomed Brexit as providing an ‘historic opportunity to secure significant economic benefit to coastal communities once the UK regains control of its 200 mile EEZ.’ The two main organisations - the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation and the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations – are seeking the following outcomes: »» fairer shares of catch opportunity for UK vessels »» full control over access to the UK EEZ by fishing fleets »» creation of a fit-for-purpose management and regulation system, including a grass roots revision of fisheries management based on sustainable harvesting and sound science »» establishment of mutually beneficial trading relationships with the EU and other countries There should be ‘no roll-over’ of the current CFP, and fisheries negotiations should not be entangled with non-fishery related issues, they add. The federations are also calling for a ‘workable’ discards policy.

House of Lords report

A

report published by the House of Lords EU Committee on the risks and opportunities of Brexit notes that fisheries represents ‘less than half a percent of GDP’ and would be a ‘low priority in the negotiations’, but emphasises that fisheries must not be marginalised in the wider Brexit negotiations.

‘Under international law, the UK will have the right post-Brexit to control who fishes within its exclusive economic zone….’ but will continue to be bound by international obligations to cooperate with neighbouring states, ‘if fish stocks are shared between the waters of two or more countries. Fish do not recognise political borders.’

The report adds that Total Allowable Catch and quotas ‘should continue to be based on scientific advice’ and warns that the UK should not ‘discard the positive elements of the Common Fisheries Policy that successive governments have worked hard to achieve.’

In 2014 the UK produced 666,000 tonnes of caught and farmed fish of which 499,000 tonnes was exported - 66% going to the EU. The UK imported 721,000 tonnes, 32% of which came from the EU. ‘If the UK fishing industry as a whole is going to thrive post Brexit, it will need to continue to have access to EU markets.’

Commenting on the report, Lord Teverson, chairman of the House of Lords EU Energy and the Environment Sub-Committee remarked that many in the UK fishing industry believed Brexit would present an opportunity for them to grow and to develop the industry.

But he warned that Brexit would involve many trade deals and that the EU might demand more access to UK waters in return for continued rights to sell fish to the European market with zero tariffs.

Exclusive Economic Zones (sq km) Irish EEZ

438,000

( ~6% of total EU including UK or 17% excluding Mediterranean, Black Sea, Azores, Madeira and overseas territories) UK EEZ

747,000

( ~ 11% of the total or 28% excluding Mediterranean, Black Sea, Azores, Madeira and overseas territories) Total EU EEZ 7,044,000

inshore ireland Spring 2017 15

Brexit

The facts

Worst-case scenarios

»» 36% of total Irish landings of TAC stocks (20122014) were taken from UK waters »» Mackerel and prawns: 50% of the total value of Irish quotas »» 58% of all landings from the UK Zone are taken by non-UK vessels »» UK takes less than 20% of all its landings from outside the UK Zone (including Norwegian waters) »» Quota share: 40 main commercial TAC stock – Ireland »» UK is a significant quota holder in over 30 of these stocks

UK Nephrops Area VII: »» 57% of all landings by all MS are taken inside the UK Zone »» UK share of the quota is 33% »» A UK request for the full 57% would see EU quota share reduced by 36%

Celtic Sea Total Take from UK Zone

Current UK share

Potential EU loss

Cod

52%

8%

-48%

Haddock

53%

10%

-48%

Whiting

47%

11%

-40%

Scotland stocks Total Take from UK Zone

Minister Michael Creed with Patrick Murphy, ISWFPO; Tara McCarthy, Bord Bia; Sean O’Donoghue, KFO; Lorcán Ó Cinnéide, IFPEA; Cecil Beamish, DAFM

Current UK share

Potential EU loss

Haddock

86%

78%

-36%

Megrim

77%

31%

-67%

Monk

75%

31%

-64%

UK EEZ almost 33% North East Atlantic Waters

UK EEZ RED EU EEZ Blue Other EEZ Green

16 inshore ireland Spring 2017

Aquaculture

Consumers demand ‘consistent supply’ of fishery and aquaculture products Gery Flynn

T

he latest report from the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture products (EUMOFA)* published in January shows that when it comes to sourcing seafood, EU consumers have an 80% preference for local,

regional and EU origin.

The survey reveals that Irish consumers buy fish more regularly than the EU average – confirming the upward trend in consumption identified by Bord Bia. Irish consumers also put a higher value on the health benefits of eating seafood, and rely more heavily on encouragement by friends and family to eat fish than

on the media or campaign groups.

The survey finds that EU citizens eat seafood quite regularly, although their distance from the sea does play a role in how often they eat fish.

The majority of consumers indicated they like to try new products and species – showing the importance and potential of diversified sourcing.

Aquaculture licensing Commenting on these findings, IFA Aquaculture Executive Richie Flynn, said that while there was still a lot to be considered and learned from the EUMOFA survey, one message was very clear: “Consumers are buying more fish and want a consistent supply which only the farmed sector can provide. This simple and logical analysis is fantastic news for coastal communities in Ireland, in terms of jobs and exports, but only if we have a ‘fit for

Frequency of Europeans eating fishery and aquaculture products at home

»» 72% - at least once a month »» 42% - at least once a week »» 30% - at least once a month »» 14% - several times a year, but less frequently than once a month »» 13% - never

Product origin?

More than one-third of consumers prefer products from their own country.

Europeans who buy or eat fish and aquaculture products were asked to consider if they would prefer to know product origin.

The relative majority, (37%) prefer products from their own countries followed by products from their region (29%).

More than one in ten prefers products from the EU (14%), while only 3% prefer products from outside of the EU. Slightly less than a quarter indicate they don’t have a preference (23%);

at restaurants and other food outlets »» 34% - at least once a month »» 11% - at least once a week »» 23% - at least once a month, but less frequently than once a week »» 31% - never

Frequency of Europeans buying fishery and aquaculture products »» 67% - at least once a month »» 37% - at least once a week »» 30% - at least once a month »» 15% - several times a year »» 17% - never

more than one in ten says it depends on the type of product (13%), and a small proportion don’t know where the products come from (5%).

know if products they buy or eat are wild or farmed (14%), and 11% feel it depends on the type of product.

Wild or farmed products?

A majority prefer products from the sea, however a large proportion have no preference. 39% say their main preference is for products from the sea, followed by 35% who have no preference.

Only 7% of respondents indicate they prefer freshwater products while 11% say it depends on the product. A further 7% are not sure if the products they buy come from the sea or freshwater sources.

A majority of consumers prefer wild products, but many have no preference.

More than a third of respondents prefer wild products (34%).

By contrast, less than one in ten prefer farmed products (8%); however, slightly less than a third indicate they have no preference (31%).

More than one in ten respondents say they don’t

Sea or freshwater products?

purpose’ licensing regime to ensure a year-round supply of quality aquaculture products.”

Referring to the Independent Review Group on Aquaculture Licensing announced by Minister Creed, Flynn said it “must deliver a system which encourages investment and development in the aquaculture sector following

a decade of stagnation and frustration.

“The opportunities couldn’t be clearer and this survey provides the evidence of a strong case for Ireland to take advantage of an open goal”. *http://www.eumofa.eu/ documents/20178/84590/ EU+consumer+habits_ final+report+. pdf/5c61348d-a69c-449ea606-f5615a3a7e4c

Irish farmed salmon could almost double by 2020, says report

I

n 2014, wild capture fisheries landed 93m globally; this figure has remained stable for over 25 years.

Over the same duration, global per capita demand for seafood has risen from 14 to 20kg person. To meet this demand, aquaculture, which now provides more than half of all seafood destined for human consumption, has intensified. In Ireland, salmon aquaculture has been cited as a ‘growth area’, with government estimates suggesting a 78% increase in farmed production by 2020, is achievable.

Such growth however carries ‘concomitant environmental and socioecominic impacts’ says Dr Liam Carr, Whitaker Institute, NUI Galway and author of Fishing for salmon farming consensus in Ireland, that studied the views of 86 ‘high level well-informed stakeholders who rank-sorted 56 statements’ covering six interrelated salmon aquaculture discourses: Regulatory Oversight; Spatial Conflict; Environmental Impacts; Technology; Ecosystem Functionality and Market Drivers.

Using Q-Method, (a research tool used in psychology and social sciences to study people’s viewpoints), five group perspectives were identified: aquaculture; wild salmon; green; regulatory; and local champions.

Respondents broadly believe that the licensing process needs updating and that regulatory oversight should improve transparency.

Cross-group agreement also suggests salmon farming threatens the environment and that farms ‘harbour infestations of the parasite Lepeophtheirus salmonis (sea lice) which negatively impact wild salmon and sea trout’.

There is less agreement for prioritising aquaculture technologies or market growth for farmed salmon ‘until environmental and regulatory uncertainties have been more completely addressed’.

Policy implications in Ireland

Stakeholders believe that salmon farming is hindered by ‘regulatory uncertainty; legitimate but disputed levels of harm to wild salmon; the environment and entrenched views.’

The report also notes the licensing backlog and says the industry is therefore stalling.

‘Irish authorities have a unique opportunity to modernise salmon farming.

Adaptive, ecosystembased and communityinclusive policies should be enacted and Single Bay Management and CLAMS programmes strengthened.’

The report identifies priorities that include: science; monitoring and regulatory compliance; managing aquaculture alongside other sectors, e.g. tourism. It suggests establishing ‘site-by-site’ sea lice treatment trigger level standards that account for the intensity and scale of operators ‘as well as the unique dynamics, processes and ecological thresholds of bays where farming occurs.’

inshore ireland Spring 2017 17

Aquaculture

Missing report adjourns Bantry Bay salmon farming oral hearing Noel Carr Federation of Salmon and Sea Trout Anglers

T

he great debate on the value of salmon farming took a new direction on February 14 & 15 in Bantry when Dr Owen McIntyre, on behalf of the Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board (ALAB), chaired the oral hearing to decide if the 14 appellants had a case or not. FISSTA have objected to every salmon farming licence in Ireland, north and south, since 1999.

The Bantry oral hearing was adjourned for at least a month after it emerged that due to an oversight, a technical report relevant to the proceedings had not been circulated to all parties.

The applicant, Marine Harvest, had been granted a licence for the Shot Head site. Day two of the oral hearing was to feature a contribution from the company in which it intended to respond to concerns raised by objectors to the development.

After FISSTA and 12 of the 13 appellants gave verbal submissions to the hearing, Dr Neil Bass made a submission on behalf of Marine Harvest. He cited a report that included hydrodynamic modelling of currents in the area and the dispersal rates of sea lice. Appellants including An Taisce and the Save Bantry Bay group said they had not seen it.

Dr Bass added that the company would be “severely disadvantaged” if it could not cite the report to address the concerns raised by objectors.

An adjournment was called by all sides to allow the chairman consult with the board of the Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board (ALAB). It was granted to allow all parties to read the 100-page report.

The adjournment is expected to last four or five weeks after which dates for a new hearing will be advertised.

The re-convened hearing will take place after a judgment is due to be delivered in the High Court relating to an incident three years ago involving a different fish farm in the Bantry Bay area when 230,000 fish escaped and which was cited by many appellants including the FISSTA submission to the oral hearing.

Environmental impact Many of the issues raised were site-specific, highlighting the very sensitive nature of the marine habitat (and impacts of pesticides and sealice on shellfish, pearl mussel, salmonids,) of the bay’s marine and tourism economy.

At the Bantry oral hearing, FISSTA decided to reflect a broader view and cited the outcome of a recent international aquaculture special session conference at NASCO (The

North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation) in Germany where FISSTA, as an accredited NGO, had debated with the International Salmon Farmers Association.

The Steering Committee noted the ISFA statement to the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Council of NASCO that the salmon farming industry was developing rapidly but that advances to minimise impacts of farmed salmon on wild stocks, had not been reflected in the presentations at the Themebased Special Session.

The report, which can viewed on www.nasco. int states that sea lice caused by the open sea net cage method are a serious problem for the salmon farming industry.

The Steering Committee notes that since 2013, the Council has specifically retained an item on its agenda entitled Liaison with the Salmon Farming Industry to allow for an exchange of information concerning impacts of aquaculture on wild salmon.

The committee recommended that ISFA should use this opportunity to provide relevant information to the Council annually, commencing in 2017.

The response from ICES concluded there is substantial and growing evidence that salmon aquaculture activities can affect wild Atlantic salmon through the impact of sea lice as well as farm escapees.

Dumping proposal in Donegal Bay Gery Flynn

A

quaculture producers and members of IFA have expressed serious concerns with a proposal published in December by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine to apply to the EPA for a licence to dump almost 100,000 tonnes of fine peaty silt in Donegal bay, threatening the health of millions of fish and shellfish farmed along the Donegal and Sligo coastline.

“We are all in favour of coastal economic development and the extension of facilities in Killybegs which require dredging, but the consequences of the Department’s proposals to dump the spoil in a site which was previously associated with fish kills would outweigh the benefits by ruining the livelihoods of oyster, mussel and salmon farmers in the bay,” Richie Flynn, IFA Aquaculture told a meeting.

“The site is too close to our members; is too close to Natura 2000 sites, and the level of monitoring proposed is totally inadequate given the scale of the potential losses involved. The models used for dispersion are out-of-date and most significantly, the peaty nature of the silt has not been taken into account.

“This material will drift and spread throughout the bay, potentially causing damage to up to €50m of our stocks and threatening 150 jobs.”

Recalling an incident fourteen years ago when up to a 250,000 farmed salmon died in mysterious circumstances in three farms in Inver Bay, Flynn has called on the EPA to find an alternative site “far away” from any aquaculture or fishing grounds.

“The proposed site was the subject of a report which could not show definitively that dumping spoil in that area was not responsible for the death of 2 million fish in 2003.

“To return to this site now to recommence dumping is highly irresponsible, especially with such volatile material.

The industry requires security in terms of dumping that any material will be washed westwards into the Atlantic by way of brand new modelling.

It is also very important that monitoring at the dredge site, on board ship and at the dump site, are carried out independently to ensure no toxic material is carried out into the bay and that all dumping occurs exactly where it can do no harm, he added.

In 2003 scientists from the Marine Institute failed to get to the bottom of the fish kills in Inver Bay. Irish Salmon Growers’ Association blamed either dredging or trawling for prawns as the cause, and was highly critical of the Department of Marine for ruling out the possiblity that fine silt from dredging in the area may have suffocated the fish.

Another possible cause focussed on the possibilty that dredging for prawns locally had released highly toxic hydrogen sulfide from the sea bed which killed the fish.

18 inshore ireland Spring 2017

Marine R&D

€6m investment and 20 new jobs for Newport facility

T

aoiseach Enda Kenny has announced 20 new jobs and a €6m investment in the Marine Institute’s facility in Newport, Co. Mayo where researchers will be engaged in projects funded from a secured pot of €6m in research grants from agencies including Science Foundation Ireland; Interreg; EU H2020/European Research Council; European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and the British Research Council.

“The announcement by the Marine Institute supporting 20 new positions here in Newport is very timely following the launch of Realising our Rural Potential – the Action Plan for Rural Development. The Newport facility is a real example of innovation taking place in a rural community, and creates exciting opportunities both now and in the years ahead,” remarked Taoiseach Enda Kenny in Furnace, Co Mayo.

“Scientists at doctoral and post-doctoral level working at the facility are involved in conducting research with not only national implications, but also international relevance.

In other words, it firmly brings what is a rural area into a national and international context. This is a relatively unique research facility in operation since 1955, and I am delighted to see the continued excellent quality research that is taking place following €6m in funding from research grants.

“I also wish to thank the Marine Institute and their educational partners for their efforts in building a strong international reputation for marine research and innovation.”

As the national agency for marine research, technology, development and innovation, the Marine Institute seeks to assess and realise the economic potential of Ireland’s marine resource; promote sustainable development of the marine industry through strategic funding programmes and essential scientific services, as well as safeguard Ireland’s natural marine resource through research and the environmental monitoring.

Natural laboratory

The Marine Institute’s facility in Newport is a unique research facility located in the Burrishoole Valley and forms one of the greatest natural laboratories for studying migratory fish in Europe.

The facility offers researchers a unique opportunity to investigate catchment ecosystem events; fish genetics; fish movements (telemetry); fish stock assessment; fish mortality at sea; climate change; oceanography and aquaculture.

The facility is attracting multiple Irish Higher Education Institutions and international partners (including University College Cork; Queens University; University College Dublin; GMIT; Dundalk Institute of Technology; NUI Galway and the University of Glasgow).

The Marine Institute also works with Mayo County Council to actively develop new initiatives at the facility to further enhance what the Marine Institute can offer and benefit the local area.

“The Department and industry consider pollock a very important commercial species for some elements of the Irish fleet. It is good to see a new project on this species being carried out in Newport, using the scientific expertise that is there,” remarked Minister Creed.

Dr Peter Heffernan, Marine Institute CEO said that Ireland has been gaining a reputation in Europe, and internationally for its marine research and innovation, and for driving collaboration in this area.

“We have a strong marine research community supported by growing national research infrastructure. This €6m investment programme will see the Marine Institute expand its research capacity at its Newport facility and the continued investment in marine research will ensure that Ireland stays at the cutting edge of research and innovation.”

Welcoming the news Peter Hynes, Mayo County Chief Executive said it was “fantastic news” for Mayo and the West region.

“Mayo County Council looks forward to continuing to work with the Marine Institute to further develop this cutting edge research facility here in Newport.”

Philip McGinnity, University College Cork/Marine Institute; Paul Ross, University College Cork; Sarah Culloty, University College Cork; Peter Heffernan, CEO, Marine Institute; Taoiseach Enda Kenny; Paul Connolly, Director, Marine Institute; John Killeen, Chairman, Marine Institute Board; Michael Ring, Minister of State for Regional Economic Development; and Patrick O’Donovan, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport at the Marine Institute in Newport.

Photographer Michael McLaughlin

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Dr Peter Heffernan, CEO of the Marine Institute with a number of field assistants who work at Furnace, Newport, County Mayo. Photographer Michael McLaughlin.

inshore ireland Spring 2017 19

Marine R&D

Explorers Marine Education Programme in 2017

O

ver five hundred teachers and 15,000 primary school children will benefit from the Explorers Education Programme this year.

Recent expansion in funding has enabled outreach centres in ten counties around Ireland to triple the number of teachers and children being introduced to marine themes in the classroom.

Providing the opportunity to learn about the importance of engaging with the sea, and strengthening our marine heritage and identity, Explorer education officers introduce marine biodiversity and marine environmental awareness and care into the classroom through a range of exciting STEM marine-based modules including aquariums, seashore safaris and marine projects and workshops.

Dr Peter Heffernan, CEO

of the Marine Institute congratulated the new centres on a successful delivery of the Explorers Programme in the last six months: “Increasing our awareness and understanding of the value, opportunities and societal benefits the ocean provides us is key to sustainably developing Ireland’s marine resource, which is ten times the size of its land mass.”

As the State agency responsible for marine research and innovation “we welcome the opportunity to work with educators to promote the development of our thriving marine economy as well as protecting and conserving our rich marine biodiversity”, Dr Heffernan added.

The need for education in the marine sector at all levels is highlighted by Ireland’s Integrated Marine Plan Harnessing Our Ocean

Wealth, noting Ireland’s marine sector is a vibrant part of our national economy.

‘Ireland’s Ocean Economy’, the report by SEMRU NUI Galway, states that our marine economy in fisheries and seafood production, maritime transport, marine tourism, as well as in emerging sectors and research and development, has a turnover of €4.5bn annually, providing over 16,000 jobs directly and

13,000 related jobs in the general economy. This provides an additional €3.3bn in turnover annually.

The centres representing the Explorers Education Programme were selected as part of a national procurement process and include Leave No Trace; Redrose Developments; Galway Atlantaquaria; Loophead Summerhedge School; Seasynergy Marine Awareness and Activity

Centre; Lifetime Lab; Oceanics Surf School and Marine Education Centre; and SeaLife Bray. The centres are located in Sligo, Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Clare, Kerry, Cork Waterford, Wicklow and Dublin.

The Explorers Education Programme is supported by the Marine Institute, and is funded under the Marine Research Programme by the Irish Government.

The ten Explorers Education Programme™ centres met at Galway Atlantaquaria recently for a workshop and group training in the delivery of the modules to students in Sligo, Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Clare, Kerry, Cork, Waterford, Wicklow and Dublin.

Photograph: Cushla Dromgool-Regan

Arcana appointed to stage SeaFest 2017

G

The Explorers Education Programme™ outreach team learn about dissecting squid as part of the marine biodiversity module delivered to primary schools.

Photograph: Cushla Dromgool-Regan

alway-based and globally renowned event-management specialist, Arcana, has been appointed to stage SeaFest - Ireland’s national maritime festival, this summer. Arcana, which has organised sporting, cultural and commemorative historical events across the globe, has been given the challenge of staging what is fast becoming Europe’s most exciting maritime festival.

The company won the contract to mastermind the programme for this year’s extended activities in the city dockland / waterfront.

Speaking of their appointment Johnny Donnelly, Managing Director of Arcana said: “We’re delighted to have been appointed event managers for Seafest in 2017. We’re really excited to be working with the various stakeholders and partners, both locally and nationally, [to stage] Seafest this Summer.

“At the heart of what we are planning is to make people’s hearts race with wonder and joy and also to stop people in their thoughts momentarily to reflect on the wonders of the waters that surround and nourish all our lives. Lots of shimmers and great waves lie ahead.

We can’t wait!” remarked Johnny Donnelly, managing director, Arcana.

SeaFest takes place from June 30 to July 2. Last year more than 60,000 visitors flocked to the festival to enjoy an action-packed programme of free, family-friendly events at Galway Docks and an international conference at NUIG. The festival feature will see Galway Hookers sailing vessels challenging for The Galway Plate; tours of the tall ship, Phoenix; seafood cookery demonstrations by celebrity chefs; interactive exhibitions and tours of the Marine Institute’s research vessels.

SeaFest is an annual festival, celebrating all things maritime. An initiative of the interdepartmental Marine Coordination Group, SeaFest supports the goals of Harnessing Our Wealth – An Integrated Marine Plan for Ireland in relation to engaging with the sea.

20 inshore ireland Spring 2017

Marine R&D

Multibeam data from Celtic Explorer showcased at HYDRO 2016

I

n November 2016, INFOMAR was represented by Vera Quinlan and Tommy Furey at the 24th annual IFHS Hydrographic Conference and Exhibition HYDRO 2016 in Rostock, Germany.

INFOMAR provided multispectral multibeam data from Celtic Explorer to John Hughes Clarke from the Centre for Coastal and Ocean Mapping. This data featured in the keynote address and presentation

by John Hughes Clarke.

The Centre for Coastal and Ocean Mapping is a joint partnership between the University of New Hampshire and the National Oceanic Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) During John’s presentation, he made the point that backscatter has never reached the same widespread acceptance as bathymetry.

He explained that part of this issue was due to an understanding about what the measurement actually represents, and part was a failing in the fidelity of the measurement.

Two promising approaches are (a): using the full angular response (a much wider range of grazing angle) and (b): multiple scattering frequencies (multi-spectral).

To address these questions and to fuel further research, collaboration between INFOMAR and the Centre for Coastal and Ocean mapping was established to facilitate a research student onboard Celtic Explorer during a multispectral survey for the coming 2017 survey season.

The three-day conference saw many interesting papers on various topics, including, but not limited to: »» Latest technological advances and emerging markets »» Capacity building »» Hydrographic surveying »» Data processing and management »» Nautical charting »» Coastal mapping and seafloor classification »» Marine renewables This event was organised by the German Hydrographic Society (DHyG) on behalf of the International Federation of Hydrographic Societies (IFHS).

INFOMAR Multispectral Data from the EM302 and EM2040

Ireland is recognised leader on seabed data sharing Sean Cullen GS

C

oastal mapping is a key component in regional Coastal Zone Management, and integrating onshore and offshore data is a challenge for all coastal states.

Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) is one of the main tools to deal with current and longterm coastal challenges, including climate change and its impacts (for instance sea-level rise; changes in storm frequency, strength and patterns and increased coastal erosion and flooding).

As stressed in 2002 by the European Parliament and Council Recommendation on the implementation of ICZM in Europe, ICZM requires ‘strategic, coordinated and concerted action at the local and regional level, guided and supported by an appropriated framework at the national level.’

Implementation of ICZM and of the EU Marine Policy requires a response to main need: ‘More high quality, seamless, interoperable and accessible data on coastal areas across Europe, especially bathymetry

and seabed mapping’.

Ireland - through the INFOMAR programme - is recognised as a leader in these endeavours and especially in data sharing. As the only country in Europe to have undertaken a comprehensive cost benefit analysis (CBA), it fell on the Geological Survey to lead an EMODNET work package on Economic Models and Data Governance.

The return on investment is reckoned to be 4:1 - which is low in comparison to a 35:1 ratio published by the USA but provides a realistic if under-estimated return on investment for mapping our seabed.

The Geological Survey was one of the EU partners on the EMODNET Coastal Mapping consortium for DG Mare. http://www. emodnet.eu/coastal-mapping.

Data visualisation portals are the main output of EMODNET and are all accessible on the website.

The project wrapped up in December 2016 and recently briefed the Chair of the EU Intergroup ‘Seas, Rivers, Islands & Coastal Areas’ Gesine Meissner MEP at the EU Parliament.

The consortium comprised mostly EU Hydrographic Offices responsible for charting European waters, bringing together the nautical

charting and seabed mapping authorities responsible for safe navigation in Europe. http://www.searica.eu/ en/events/conference/ towards-a-eu-strategyfor-coastal-mapping The economic benefits of seabed mapping are widely recognised, and it is hoped that more EU support could lead to better data acquisition coordination between Member States.

Even the UN now recognises we know more about the ’backside of the moon’ than the ‘ocean bottom’.

2017 programme

INFOMAR ship time will concentrate off the southeast coast during this season, to target high- value fishing grounds and navigationally important areas approaching Rosslare. Supporting other State bodies such as the OPW and The Discovery Programme will see more use of photogrammetry drones in an attempt to stitch the onshore and offshore gap together.

The Geological Survey and Marine Institute will be operating five inshore vessels this year, along with research vessels Celtic Explorer and Celtic Voyager.

Inshore operations will be based in Arklow, Rosslare and Kilmore Quay – so please visit the boats for a tour and the crews will show you the high resolution data images of the seabed.

Also visit our website at www.infomar.ie

inshore ireland Spring 2017 21

Marine R&D 6°50'W

6°40'W

6°30'W

6°20'W

6°10'W

6°0'W

5°50'W

5°40'W

INFOMAR PROGRAMME

5820000

Proposed Survey Areas 2017 Chart 2 of 4

52°20'N

5800000

52°30'N

²

7°0'W

Rosslare

5780000

52°10'N

!

A

1000km2 SSU Standard Survey Unit INFOMAR Surveys Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

Proposed Survey Areas 2017

52°0'N

Proposed Survey Area Explorer

5760000

Proposed Survey Area Voyager Proposed Survey Area GS Vessels

CHART SCALE 1:180,000

!

A

0 0

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Ronan O’Toole, GS, launching photogrammetry drone near Rosslare, Co Wexford.

BIM Training Schedule March / April 2017

– 14-16 March, Cromane, Co Kerry CTU1 – 21-23 March, NFC Greencastle – 21-23 March, Dunmore East, Co Waterford CTU2 Seaweed On-growing QQI Award (Minor) Level 5 – 28-30 March, NFC Greencastle – 27 March-07 April, NFC Castletownbere – 04-06 April, NFC Greencastle GMDSS Short Range Radio Proficiency – 04-06 April, Cromane, Co Kerry CTU1 Module 1 & 21 – 11-13 April, NFC Castletownbere – 21-23 March, Cromane, Co Kerry CTU1 – 27-31 March, Dunmore East, Co Waterford CTU2 – 11-13 April, Clogherhead, Co Louth CTU2 – 12-14 April, Kilrush, Co Clare CTU1 Passenger Boat Certificate – 18-20 April, Clogherhead, Co Louth CTU2 – 27-31 March, Cromane, Co Kerry CTU1 – 25-27 April, NFC Greencastle Two Day Seafood HACCP Workshop – 25-27 April, Newport, Co Mayo CTU1 – 14-15 March, Clayton Whites Hotel, Wexford (PH: 01 214 4185) Enhanced Safety Training Medical First Aid Aboard Ship STCW-95 – 06 March, NFC Greencastle – 11-13 April, NFC Greencastle – 10 March, Kilmore Quay, Co Wexford CTU2 – 23 March, NFC Castletownbere Three Day Basic Safety Training – 24 March, Dunmore East, – 07-09 March, NFC Castletownbere Co Waterford CTU2 – 07-09 March, Kilmore Quay, Co Wexford CTU2 Skipper Full Certificate of Competency1 – 20 March-09 June, NFC Greencastle – 24 April-05 July, NFC Castletownbere

1

Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport Certificate of Competency

www.bim.ie

Ireland’s EU Structural and Investment Funds Programmes 2014 - 2020 Co-funded by the Irish Government and the European Union

– – – –

03 April, NFC Greencastle 04 April, Cromane, Co Kerry CTU1 14 April, Clogherhead, Co Louth CTU2 19 April, NFC Castletownbere

Enhanced Safety Training Over 15m – 04 April, Cromane, Co Kerry CTU1 For information on our courses visit www.bim.ie or contact: – National Fisheries College (NFC) Greencastle on 074 938 1068 – National Fisheries College (NFC) Castletownbere on 027 71230 – Coastal Training Unit 1 (CTU1) Confirm course 087 683 7134 – Coastal Training Unit 2 (CTU2) Confirm course 087 233 4620

Agriculture, Food and the Marine Talmhaíochta, Bia agus Mara

EUROPEAN UNION This measure is part-financed by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund

22 inshore ireland Spring 2017

Marine R&D

Call for more cooperation as seas get busier

I

ncreasing demands on our seas mean more cooperation is needed between government, industry and environmental groups, according to a new report.

The ambitious study from the Celtic Seas Partnership, an international project led

by WWF-UK, says a more joined-up approach to managing our seas could create thousands more jobs and improve the health of the marine environment.

The Celtic Seas region includes parts of the open Atlantic west of Ireland and Scotland; shallow seas surrounded by land in the Irish Sea and west of

Scotland, and numerous sea lochs, and large estuaries like the Shannon, Severn and Solway Firth.

The Future Trends in the Celtic Seas report estimates these waters support 400,000 jobs and are worth €17bn a year to the economies of Ireland, the United Kingdom and France.

University College Cork’s MaREI Centre have been coordinating the Irish stakeholder activities over the past three years through a series of national and international workshops.

“Future Trends in the Celtic Seas looks at three scenarios for the next 20 years and finds that under

each scenario the seas are set to get significantly busier. Without a more balanced approach to managing our shared seas, this could lead to more conflict between marine sectors and substantial impacts on the marine environment,” remarked Sarah Twomey, Stakeholder Engagement Officer for Ireland, Celtic Seas Partnership.

The report identifies three hot spots in the Irish Sea, South Wales and the West of Scotland, where economic activity is likely to be particularly intense.

Here, decisions over where and how different marine

activities occur will have far-reaching consequences for the economy and environment across the Celtic Seas.

“This report shows that with a balanced approach to managing our seas, taking into account the environment and the well-being of our coastal communities, the Celtic Seas can be a huge asset to our economy.

It’s also important to work together across borders with neighbouring countries - marine wildlife doesn’t recognise national boundaries and we need to manage our seas in a way that reflects this,” said Dr Jenny Oates, Project Manager, Celtic Seas Partnership.

The report provides a number of examples of how busier seas could affect the marine environment.

For example, it suggests increased noise will make the sea less hospitable for marine mammals like dolphins and porpoises.

This could be eased by siting developments away from key breeding grounds or taking action to reduce noise at source. There will also be more competition for

space between industries over the coming decades. For example, renewable energy and fisheries increasingly want to use the same waters and this can lead to tensions.

But the report highlights opportunities for sectors to benefit one another too. It estimates the development of offshore wind across the Celtic Seas could lead to a boost in the ports sector by up to €280m per year.

An interactive website outlining the key findings of the Future Trends in the Celtic Seas report is available at: http://futuretrends. celticseaspartnership.eu/ Celtic Seas Partnership is an international project part funded by LIFE+, the EU’s funding instrument for the environment. The Project aims to draw people together from across the Celtic Seas to set up collaborative and innovative approaches to managing their marine environment.

The project aims to put the people that use the sea at the heart of management and offer them the opportunity to influence how their marine environment will be managed in the years to come.

inshore ireland Spring 2017 23

Maritime

Irish Coast Guard staff at risk unless specialised staff are recruited Gery Flynn

T

he lives of rescuers and survivors in the volunteer services of the Irish Coast Guard will remain at risk unless specialised staff are recruited, according to the former director of the organisation.

In a document dated June15 2015, Chris Reynolds, then director of the IRCG makes the business case for the recruitment of a Technical Quality and Health and Safety Manager because ’the hazardous activities carried out by unsupervised volunteers on exposed cliffs or in open boats in extreme day or night conditions, with the lives of rescuers and survivors at stake, require frequent and on-going management review, risk assesment and supervision’.

Reynolds argues that while injury to a worker is unacceptable in any workplace, ‘serious injury or loss of a [Coast Guard] volunteer would be publically and politically unacceptable, and could destabilise the national voluntary SAR commitment’.

According to Reynolds,the volunteer services of the IRCG ‘are an essential component of the Ireland’s emergency response system in providing the State with a low cost capacity to respond in a professional manner to search and rescue incidents at sea and on inland waterways, cliffs and

littoral areas. ’Utilisation of the CGU Voluntary services represents a saving that has been conservatively estimated at approximately €14m each year against fusing full-time staff, or by comparison to models such as the retained fire service or the RNLI. ‘The combination of local availability, commitment and professinalism ensures that lives are saved, that accidents are prevented and that an early local assessment and interventiion is made to any incident’ he states.

Key duties include: • delivering on health & safety risk monitoring • ensuring safe services by developing a culture of health & safety risk assessment • ensuring the IRCG is always health & safety aware In addition to recruiting a Quality Control and Health and Safety Manager, Reynolds also makes the business case for recruiting three Coastal Unit Sector Officers with responsibility for overseeing the buildings, equipment and local CGU administrative support within the sector.

As for the risks associated with not filling these posts, Reynolds notes that a benchmarking exercise with organisations such as the RNLI, Civil Defence or the Volunteer Coast Guard Service in Northern Ireland, highlights a significant difference in staffing levels.

‘In all of these instances, the

ratio of full-time specialist to volunteer is at a much higher level: 1:30 as distinct from 1:140.

The consequence… is that the response to recognised gaps is protracted and inadequate.’

Key duties of a Coastal Unit Sector Officer include: • managing life critical equipment • managing CG buildings and safety committees • developing new protocols and testing new equipment and proceedures • delivering basic training programmes such as search planning, manual handling, first aid etc • undertaking local safety awareness prograammes on the waters and at schools

INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS FROM KONGSBERG MARITIME

24 inshore ireland Spring 2017

Coastline News

Parkavera River

We’re not looking for money at this stage; we just want to raise awareness and outline what could be done with little or no funds, such as clearing, planting and lighting.

Distillery River

Galway City’s ‘hidden’ canal system to be revealed Gery Flynn

C

oncern over the neglected state of Galway City’s canals has

prompted the formation of a group to create awareness and to include the many users of the waterways, some of which have been working at cross purposes with

THE NAME SAYS IT ALL

WEAR ONE NEAR OR ON WATER. ALWAYS.

iws.ie

each other. Phil James, who chairs the Galway Waterways Association, spoke to Inshore Ireland about the challenges ahead: He said the purpose of the project was threefold, to raise awareness about the various networks of waterways that run throughout the city; to improve their maintenance – not only by the authorities but involving schools, interest groups, clubs etc; and to enhance the waterway network by cleaning and planting the banks, creating new walkways, and demonstrating the potential of hydro-electric power generation.

How do you plan to achieve this?

We are a group of people who wanted to do something ‘active’ for Galway’s canals so we formed the Galway Waterways Association which is a non-profit enterprise. It’s a trading name of ProActivate Ireland (https://www.proactivate. ie), the NGO of which I’m a director. ProActivate Ireland is a non-profit DAC (Designated Activity Company) established to undertake community development work. Most of our work centres on securing European Union support for projects that benefit the people of Galway.

Who or what entity has ownership of or responsibility for Galway’s waterways?

It’s a messy ownership and responsibility structure. To the best of my knowledge, legislation in the middle of the 19th Century put the ownership of all the waters, banks and beds in the hands of the Commissioner of Public Works. Part of this responsibility however was divided up when the Eglinton Canal was created. The navigation through Lough Corrib and extending down through the Eglinton Canal and out into the Cladagh Basin was handed in trust to a group called the Lough Corrib Navigation Trust.

An Act in the 1940s – the Lough Corrib Navigation Act and the Drainage Acts around the same time – designated who should be on the Lough Corrib Navigation Trust. So basically, it now comprises Mayo and Galway City and Council Councillors who are responsible for this one stretch, the rest is shared between the OPW, the City, and the University.

What about access to the city’s waterways?

Even before the Eglinton Canal was built Galway was a city of seven streams and seven islands. Over hundreds of years the natural rivers were gradually covered over, culverted or incorporated into the canal system. They’re still

there but not many people know they’re there, and not many people would know what they look like because of access issues. Many have been badly maintained and are now overgrown by trees that are literally hiding them from view.

Trees are also growing out of the canal walls, and none of the banks of any of the waterways are particularly well maintained in terms of clearing and planting. Down the years, efforts have been made by various bodies such as the sub-aqua and kayaking clubs to clean up the banks and the beds. There have also been efforts by other groups to beautify the banks but nothing ever gets sustained, that’s the problem.

It sounds like Galway has an incredible but invisible asset that you want to reveal, why hasn’t this been tried before?

There have been many attempts in the past but a combination of a lack of public awareness and the apathy that goes with that; a messy ownership structure and a divided community of clubs and interest groups has resulted in not much happening. The thing is we have a tremendous asset here in Galway city.

This is very unusual, perhaps totally unique among all major cities in Ireland. Galway has an intricate network of waterways, and not many people think of it that way. We know of course, Dublin with the Royal

inshore ireland Spring 2017 25

Coastline News

Dublin Bay from Bullock Harbour on a flat calm mid-summer day in 2015

‘Drab and unattractive’ plan for historic harbour is refused

Continuation of the Gaol River

Gillian Mills

A Slaughterhouse River Canal and the Grand Canal, and we know about the Lough Erne system and the Barrow but as far as a city interlaced with canals and rivers, I think Galway is truly unique.

What’s your plan of action and will you be looking for money?

We’re hoping to make a presentation to the City chief executive Brendan McGrath, about our plan. We’re not looking for money at this stage; we just want to raise awareness and outline what could be done with little or no funds, such as clearing, planting and lighting.

How do you hope to get the general public involved?

We plan to hold a public meeting – probably in May – involving the clubs that I mentioned earlier; neighbours and businesses along the canal, etc. We’ll be asking for their vision of what should happen to the waterways, which we will then consolidate into an overall vision. Once we get groups active, our next step will be to create a public education programme for schools, scout groups, civic groups etc.

Have you done anything to promote your ideas so far?

No, purposely not. First, we want to go to the City CEO before we do anything controversial. We want him to be supportive. We don’t want to publish a provocative

Photos Gillian Mills

article that he gets questions about and suddenly he’s on the defensive as soon as we go in to see him. We want to describe to him what we plan to do, get his feedback and then, after that I plan to publish a series of articles in one of the local newspapers – The Galway Independent, The Galway Advertiser or the City Tribune for example - just to get people’s interest.

At this stage if I was publishing something it would be more for general information rather than trying to be provocative.

Then, once we get a little bit of steam behind the effort, I’m willing to be more provocative and critical of what has or has not been done. But I don’t want to do that just yet. It’s absolutely not been publicly announced in any way; we are not pushing it in any way at the moment; but we are working intensively behind the scenes to get our act together and get all the people on board that we want supporting it.

What do you foresee will be your main problems and challenges?

The biggest problem is public awareness, and getting the groups together and singing from the same hymn book - even if it’s not exactly the same hymn sheet, at least that the general tune is the same. I think funding will come to a good cause – and this is a very good cause.

proposed development at Bullock Harbour, Co Dublin, comprising six shop units with overhead apartments, a café and three, three-storey houses, has been refused by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.

Permission to demolish the existing warehouses was also refused.

The proposed plan ‘would seriously compromise the harbour’s ability to attract and maintain good marinerelated uses and would limit the scale and diversity of such uses, which the harbour could support’, the refusal outlined.

It adds that the plan was contrary to the local zoning objective, to provide a water-front development with marine-related uses.

Specific Local Objective 22 of the 2016-2022 County Development Plan states: ‘That any residential development shall form part of a mixed-use scheme which will include commercial marine-based activity and public water-based recreational uses and shall have regard to the special nature of the area in terms of height, scale, architecture and density of built form.’

The Council also refused an application to demolition the existing warehouses on the grounds they ‘have the potential to attract and support marine-related uses’.

The buildings were also considered to enclose the harbour quay and ‘inform the character and amenities of the immediate harbour area’.

Bullock harbour dates back to the twelfth century when the granite structure was fortified for trade and fishing purposes

by Cistercian Monks. Today

it is used as a local centre for fishing and marine-tourism activities, attracting many visitors throughout the year.

The harbour is listed in the ‘Record of Protected Structures’ and is included in the ‘Built Heritage Strategy’ of the Dún LaoghaireRathdown County Development Plan 2016-2022 which states Council policy is to: ‘Encourage and promote the retention of features of the County’s coastal heritage where these contribute to the character of the area, and have regard to these items

identified in the Coastal Architecture Heritage Survey when assessing any development proposals.’

Almost 500 submissions were submitted by local residents in opposition to the plan.

“This decision is a tribute to the strength of feeling to protect this beautiful area of our country,” remarked DL/R CoCo Councillor, Ossian Smyth.

At the time of going to press it was not known if Bartra Property Ltd would appeal the decision to An Bord Pleanála.

4m waves at high tide lash the proposed development site at Bullock Harbour Photos Gillian Mills

26 inshore ireland Spring 2017

coastline news

S Appeal against cruise berth development centres on environmental impact Gillian Mills

S

ave our Seafront, the environmental non-governmental organisation that has been active in the protection and promotion of Dublin Bay for over 12 years, was granted leave (Jan 5) to seek a Judicial Review of An Bord Pleanála’s planning permission for a cruise ship berth and associated works at Dún Laogahire Harbour.

The appeal centres on the Environmental Impact

Study and the Natura Impact Statement and the application as a whole, which was ‘inadequate and fails adequately, or at all, to capture the environmental effects of the proposed development on the environment’ the NGO contends.

It adds that the decision to grant planning permission is therefore ‘not in compliance with the EIA Directive and/or the Habitats Directive’, and that the decision of An Bord Pleanála was ‘unreasonable, irrational, erred in law and

fact, was ultra vires the statutory powers of An Bord Pleanála, and failed to provide any or any adequate reasoning and was not made in accordance with law’.

The proposed development will accommodate cruise ships up to 250m in length and attract an estimated 50 cruise calls (May to September), each averaging 2,000 cruise visitors. The income generated over the season would amount to €10m, according to the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company.

EASCAPES with Marcus Connaughton during March and April will feature a rich tapestry of maritime treasures covering a wide range of topics on the dedicated maritime radio programme in its 28th year.

There is no SEASCAPES on Friday March 3, to facilitate the Northern Ireland election count.

March 10 will feature the intrepid explorer, Pat Falvey, who has summited many of the world’s great mountains, including Mt Everest, and has traversed South Georgia in the Southern Ocean. He talks to SEASCAPES about his heroes Ernest Shackleton from Athy and Tom Crean from Annascaul, Kerry, among many others, and will be presenting a unique one-man show, the world premiere of which takes place on March 30 in the Cork Opera House.

March 17 marks St Patrick’s Day by remembering Lawrence Oates; writer and broadcaster Hugh Oram outlines the unique connection between Plymouth Sound and Cork Harbour. Music will be performed by Lisa Hannigan; Molgoggers and Martyn Travis.

In April, historian Sean T Rickard brings SEASCAPES listeners the story of Admiralty Trawler, Lord Eleneage. Also in April, SEACAPES will be looking forward to the Volvo Dún Laoghaire Regatta this summer, and Riverfest on the River Liffey on the June Bank Holiday Weekend.

News updates will feature swimming, angling, sailing and boating from around the coast and inland waterways, along with news from Sail Training Ireland on their bursary scheme for young sail trainees.

Cruise calls 2017 Date

Vessel

Details

Arrive & Departure Times

Tues 17/05/2017

Serenissima

100 passengers / 60 crew

Arr - 06:00 Dep - 22:00

Mon 12/06/2017

Star Pride

208 passengers / 164 crew

Arr - 07:00 Dep - 18:00

Sat 24/06/2017

Wind Surf

312 passengers/ 163 crew

Arr- 07:00 Dep- 18:00

Mon 26/06/2017

Star Legend

208 passengers / 164 crew

Arr- 07:00 Dep- 18:00

Wed 28/06/2017

Star Pride

208 passengers / 164 crew

Arr- 07:00 Dep- 18:00

Tues 15/08/2017

Star Legend

208 passengers / 164 crew

Arr- 06:00 Dep- 17:00

Sat 02/09/2017

Star Pride

208 passengers / 164 crew

Arr- 07:00 Dep- 17:00

Sun 10/09/2017

Wind Surf

312 passengers / 163 crew

Arr- 07:00 Dep- 18:00

Marcus Connaughton in conversation with Mark Mellett DSM, Irish Naval Service Vice Admiral and chief of staff of the Defence Forces of Ireland

Seascapes is presented and produced by Marcus Connaughton and is transmitted every Friday evening at 10.30pm on RTE Radio 1

WINTER COMPETITION WINNERS Ships to remember Philip Lecane Monkstown, Co. Dublin.

Wind Surf in a windless Dublin Bay, 2015.

Photo: Gillian Mills

At a Hearing on January 31, the mater was adjourned until February 28 to allow time for An Bord Pleanála to plan their response.

James Elliott Strangford, Co Down

Congratulations to our competition winners!

inshore ireland Spring 2017 27

Outside Ireland

Small-scale fisheries and bluefin tuna: a golden opportunity to right historic wrongs and put Mediterranean fisheries on a more sustainable footing Brian O’Riordan Life Platform

B

luefin tuna is a modern icon symbolising wealth and luxury on the one hand and on the other, everything that is wrong with the way we catch and consume fish, and manage fisheries. In Europe, under the guise of conservation and management, smallscale, low-impact fishing fleets, rooted in centuries old traditions, are being unjustly discriminated against. Modern industrial tuna fleets that have had, and continue to have, the greatest impact on the resources, are those that are being compensated with the lions’ share or the entirety of the fishing access rights.

Although the history of tuna fishing can be traced back to prehistoric times, it was only in the latter part of the 20th century that technological development, globalisation, and vast investment combined to overpower the limits of nature and to threaten Bluefin tuna with extinction.

The Bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) is the most widely distributed of all the tunas, and is the only large pelagic species that can live permanently in the temperate waters of the Atlantic.

Its migratory routes are complex; however research indicates that there are only two spawning areas in the world: the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea. It is therefore highly important to establish effective fisheries management in the Mediterranean to safeguard the health of this resource worldwide.

People in the ancient world were as crazy about tuna, including Bluefin tuna, as we are today. Sushi evolved from an ancient Chinese practice of wrapping fermenting fish in rice to preserve it. During the classical era, tuna was also an important element in the diet, economy and culture of Mediterranean communities, featuring in poetry and prose, and depicted on pottery, mosaics, coins and jewellery.

Modern tuna fisheries are

dominated by industrial fleets, massive processing plants and global markets, generating unimaginable wealth. This is a recent phenomenon.

Until the latter part of the twentieth century, although organised as an industry in many aspects, tuna catching was very much a small-scale activity. Some trap fisheries (like the Spanish almadrabas) however were conducted on a relatively large scale. This all changed with the development of purse seining, industrial long lining and high seas drift netting (now banned).

The Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) - an organisation established and run by small-scale fishers to provide a dedicated voice at EU level for their concerns has been taking a particular interest in Bluefin tuna in the last 12 months.

Here’s why.

2017 is likely to be a watershed year for Bluefin tuna and the industry and economies that depend on it all along the value chain from capture to consumption.

Thanks to timely intervention and effective application of conservation measures, Bluefin tuna populations in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean appear to be recovering from the verge of extinction.

This being so, the International Commission for Conservation for Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) may shift Bluefin tuna management from a recovery plan to a management plan, signalling that stocks are no longer in danger, and eliciting a huge sigh of relief from the tuna conservation and catching communities.

What seems like a success story however, hides a huge injustice and a missed opportunity for fisheries management. The very fishing companies whose industrial scale activities led to the demise of tuna populations are being rewarded with the lion’s share of access rights, and the increased quota allocations under the EU’s Bluefin tuna multiannual recovery plan.

The EU recovery plan, adopted in September last year following a resolution in the European Parliament, includes a call for Member States to ‘endeavour to

promote coastal fishing activities and the use of fishing gear and techniques which are selective’ including those “used in traditional and artisanal fisheries, thereby contributing to a fair standard of living for local economies’, and ‘to distribute national quotas fairly…, giving consideration to traditional and artisanal fisheries’. So far however, only some tokenistic gestures have been made by Member States to do so.

Notably in Spain, the smallscale hook and line sector from the Mediterranean coast and the Canary Islands has been completely marginalised over the last eleven years in the recovery plans. Their traditional catch history and rights to catch tuna as a valuable targeted by catch have been completely ignored.

The reference period for the catch track record is set from January 1, 2007 to July 1, 2008 - one year after the small sector was prohibited from fishing under the 2006 ICCAT tuna recovery plan.

For these seasonal polyvalent fisheries, accessing Bluefin tuna would provide an oxygen bubble, allowing other fisheries to rest and the small-scale fishers to diversify their activities, thereby providing a vital tool for helping the recovery of the Mediterranean smallscale fishery in its entirety.

Map of the spatial distribution of Atlantic bluefin tuna (blue), main migration routes (black arrows) and main spawning grounds (yellow areas) from current and historical fisheries data as well as traditional and electronic tagging information. The vertical dashed line depicts the stock delimitation between the two ICCAT management units (modified after Fromentin & Powers 2005).

Further information:

The Small Scale Low Impact Fishery for Bluefin Tuna: http://lifeplatform.eu/wp-content/ uploads/2016/11/20161115_LIFE-BFT-position_ENG.pdf 11 Years Awaiting in Vain for a Fair Quota Allocation: http://lifeplatform.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ Press-release_Bluefintuna_February2017.pdf

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