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Coastal Development in Ireland
State Cannot Licence Seaweed Harvesting Where Rights Already Exists Says English
#Seaweed - The State cannot licence seaweed harvesting in a era where harvesting rights already exist. That is the official position of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, following “ongoing assessment of the legal interaction” between applications for…
Teen Stung By Lion’s Mane Jellyfish Off Louth Beach
#Jellyfish - Ireland’s recent invasion of lion’s mane jellyfish has extended from Galway Bay to the East Coast, where a teenager was hospitalised after a nasty sting in recent days. Herald.ie reports that 14-year-old Jack Dunne was stung over most…
Seaweed Harvesting Begins In Bantry Bay
Mechanical harvesting of sub-tidal seaweed was set to begin today (Wednesday 4 July) in Bantry Bay. Operations by BioAtlantis Aquamarine Ltd, using the Atlantis Explorer (Callsugn EIPQ2) are expected to continue for the duration of the licence until 2024. Harvesting…
Lion’s Mane Jellyfish In Irish Waters Are Larger Than Usual
#Jellyfish - Lion’s mane jellyfish in Irish waters this summer are much larger than usual. That’s according to zoologist Dr Tom Doyle, who spoke to The Irish Times after a recent spate of incidents that saw swimmers hospitalised by stings…
The VOS Sweet is conducting surveys off East Cork for the Celtic Interconnector project
#MarineNotice - The survey vessel VOS Sweet (Callsign PCPE) is currently conducting offshore geotechnical and environmental survey operations associated with the proposed Celtic Interconnector on behalf of EirGrid. The VOS Sweet was set to commence operations yesterday, Monday 18 June,…
A lion’s mane jellyfish in Newfoundland, Canada
#Jellyfish - Bathers have been put on alert in Galway Bay after a number of swimmers were hospitalised for stings by lion’s mane jellyfish. According to the Connacht Tribune, one woman was stung in the face on Saturday 9 June,…
The specially designed Clochan huts on Inis Mór
#Glamping - Kayaking and yoga on the Loop Head Peninsula is among the coastal offerings included in The Irish Times’ selection of Ireland’s top ‘glamping’ spots. Aside from the aforementioned Purecamping experience on the Wild Atlantic Way, perhaps a stay…
Milford Haven Marina & Waterfront in south-west Wales
#CoastalNotes - The Welsh Port of Milford Haven and The National Museum of the Royal Navy have joined forces to promote and celebrate the Milford Haven Waterway’s rich naval and maritime heritage. Together the two organisations hope to raise awareness…
Holyhead marina in north Wales, with project images for the waterfront development planned by Conygar Stena Line at Newry Beach
#Holyhead- Holyhead, north Wales is where a developer behind a £100m marina development is in talks to take full control of the scheme by acquiring the stake of ferry giant Stena Line. As the Daily Post reports, Conygar Stena received…
A Blue Flag standard is an international award which recognises outstanding compliance with bathing water quality and sewage treatment regulation. Above: Killiney Beach, Co. Dublin which lost its Blue Flag status last year, failed to regain in 2018. In the backdrop is Whiterock Beach, Dalkey.
#CoastalNotes - Blue flags have reached a record total in those awarded to Irish beaches and marinas for 2018 by An Taisce environmental group. The 83 Irish beaches and seven marinas writes The Irish Times, that have achieved the accolade…
Merrion Strand: good for walking, not recommended for bathing
#CoastalNotes - Seven beaches in Dublin and Galway have failed to meet the EU’s minimum standards for bathing water quality. That’s according to the latest Bathing Water Quality in Ireland report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which identifies Sandymount…
The Sandpiper jack-up barge is being used to conduct the survey from three locations in East Cork
#MarineNotice - The Sandpiper jack-up platform is conducting nearshore geotechnical survey operations associated with the proposed Celtic Interconnector on behalf of EirGrid south of East Cork. Similar to last autumn’s nearshore survey, the operations are taking place at three coastal…
Deeper Water Dumping Might Be Solution To Dublin Bay Dredging Issues Says Diver
#DublinBay - The dumping of sewage sludge in deeper waters beyond the Kish Bank “might well serve as a model” for the current dredging of Dublin Port. In a letter to The Irish Times earlier this week, Cormac F Lowth,…
Dredging works to deepen channels for larger cargo and cruise vessels started last autumn
#DublinBay - Murky seawater in Dublin Bay should not be blamed on dredging, according to Dublin Port Company’s CEO. Earlier this week, it emerged that all planned diving excursions in Dublin Bay by Irish Underwater Council members had been cancelled…
Dublin Port ahead of deepwater channel dredging operations that began late last year
#DublinBay - All planned diving expeditions in Dublin Bay have been cancelled due to silt from dredging operations clouding the water, it has been claimed. The Irish Times reports that Irish Underwater Council members have abandoned all scheduled dives, as…
New Interactive Website Maps Ireland’s Historic Shipwrecks
#Shipwrecks - Heritage Minister Josepha Madigan yesterday (Wednesday 25 April) announced the launch of a new website with an interactive map of the thousands of historic shipwrecks in Irish waters. The Wreck Viewer has been developed to facilitate free and…

Coastal Notes Coastal Notes covers a broad spectrum of stories, events and developments in which some can be quirky and local in nature, while other stories are of national importance and are on-going, but whatever they are about, they need to be told.

Stories can be diverse and they can be influential, albeit some are more subtle than others in nature, while other events can be immediately felt. No more so felt, is firstly to those living along the coastal rim and rural isolated communities. Here the impact poses is increased to those directly linked with the sea, where daily lives are made from earning an income ashore and within coastal waters.

The topics in Coastal Notes can also be about the rare finding of sea-life creatures, a historic shipwreck lost to the passage of time and which has yet many a secret to tell. A trawler's net caught hauling more than fish but cannon balls dating to the Napoleonic era.

Also focusing the attention of Coastal Notes, are the maritime museums which are of national importance to maintaining access and knowledge of historical exhibits for future generations.

Equally to keep an eye on the present day, with activities of existing and planned projects in the pipeline from the wind and wave renewables sector and those of the energy exploration industry.

In addition Coastal Notes has many more angles to cover, be it the weekend boat leisure user taking a sedate cruise off a long straight beach on the coast beach and making a friend with a feathered companion along the way.

In complete contrast is to those who harvest the sea, using small boats based in harbours where infrastructure and safety poses an issue, before they set off to ply their trade at the foot of our highest sea cliffs along the rugged wild western seaboard.

It's all there, as Coastal Notes tells the stories that are arguably as varied to the environment from which they came from and indeed which shape people's interaction with the surrounding environment that is the natural world and our relationship with the sea.