North County Leader - 01st September 2015

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NEED A TAXI? “My Parents know I’ll get home safe”

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1st September 2015 • Volume 22, Issue 30 • Leader House, North Street, Swords, Co. Dublin. EirCode: K67 P5W4. • Tel: 01 8•400•200 • info@northcountyleader.ie • www.northcountyleader.ie

Donabate Woman Shortlisted In Photography Competition Linda Foley from Donabate has been chosen as one of three finalists in the Canon Ireland photography contest. The competition was open to amateur photographers around Ireland and aims to help budding photographers to take their work to the next level. Entrants were tasked with capturing the essence of their home town or county, showing a unique insight into their area that won’t have been seen before. Linda focused on the scenic views and nature of her local area in Donabate and the wider Dublin area. Linda will now go on to the final stages of the competition, where she will have to shoot five photos that continue this theme. The winner will be announced at a Gallery Showcase event on 10th September at a city centre location. Commenting, Jonathan Sultan, Marketing Manager of Canon Ireland, said: “We are delighted to announce the finalists of this competition, and really feel we have discovered some very talented photographers throughout the process. The entries were testament to the fact that, though we all take quick snaps on our phones now, there is really no comparison to the quality and possibilities when using a camera. The talent in the competition was outstanding and it’s wonderful to see Dublin scenery captured by Linda.”

The news that marine conservationists have attacked overfishing in the Irish Sea and warned of an impending ecological disaster, has been rubbished by a leading fisherman here in the North County.

By Patrick Finnegan Scientists say ocean floor habitats are at high risk of deterioration because of “unsustainable” prawn trawler fishing, which is indiscriminately depleting other types of marine life. Given that marine life plays a significant role in the lives of many families here in the North County, the County Leader spoke to David Price of Rockabill Shellfish Ltd in Balbriggan. He is a member of one of the most respected fishing families in the North County, and he poured scorn on the scientists’ assertions that overfishing was having a detrimental effect on the Irish Sea. Originally from Rush, Price whose family owns 11 trawlers, five prawn trawlers and six razor fish boats, was most definite when he said: “They are absolutely wrong. I’d like to know what type of evidence they are using, because there’s no money being allocated to scientific studies. This is all about people jumping to conclusions with extremely rough figures.” Scientists claim however, that stocks of fish including cod, whiting and sole have fallen because these fish have been caught in prawn

nets. They are advising there should be no dedicated fisheries for those fish next year. Price responded by saying, “The quota for prawn fishing has been restricted in the Irish Sea dramatically over the past 10 years. We’ve had to install technical measures, like Swedish grids, a big aluminium gate that is placed in the nets, which allows the cod to escape. These were unworkable and dangerous. In fact one fisherman was hit by one of them on one of our boats, where he broke his leg. Because we had to use this gear, each of our boats lost between six and eight weeks trying to get it right,” he said. “There is supposed to be a shortage of cod in the Irish Sea, but I can assure you that there is an abundance of cod out there. The studies are there to back this up. Every boat in Ireland that is fishing for prawns uses four nets, which are solely targeting prawns and have a far lower fishing circle.” As prawns are bottom feeders, the nets used to catch them are used only for prawns and are not targeting white fish like cod and whiting. Occasionally, cod that are feeding on prawns can be caught in the prawn nets, but the net is designed to allow their escape. He continued, “The older nets had a float height off the ground of shoulder level, but the new nets have a float height of waist level. This reduces the catching of cod by at least 75 per cent.” Continued on page 14

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Balbriggan based fisherman, David Price at Howth Harbour, with one of his trawlers in the background

Burgandy House, Forster Way, Swords

Tel: 807 7999 or 807 7998


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