The Marine Institute welcomed Mari Skåre, the Norwegian Ambassador to Ireland, on an official visit to the Marine Institute’s headquarters in Galway on Tuesday (5 March). Commenting on the visit, Dr Rick Officer, chief executive of the Marine Institute said:…

The Department of Transport has been advised that Greenlink Interconnector Ltd (GIL) is developing an electricity interconnector between the southeast of Ireland, from Great Island in Co Wexford to the southwest of Wales at Pembroke in Pembrokeshire. To allow the…

Five crew members were rescued by the Irish Coast Guard after their fishing vessel ran aground on the northern side of Inis Mór, on the Aran Islands. The emergency call was received by the Valentia Coast Guard shortly before 5am…

A new TV series as Gaeilge follows presenters Tessa Fleming and Irial Ó Ceallaigh as they embark on an epic adventure paddling their way along the North Coast. Together with kayaking expert John Hubbocks, the novice kayakers brave the unpredictable…

Five trails on two offshore islands are among 62 new walking routes announced by Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys. The five new island routes are on the Aran island of Inis Meáin and Oileán Chléire/Cape Clear island…

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has secured a conviction against Sligo County Council for damage caused to a tributary of a river linked to a Special Area of Conservation. The incident happened at Carraun in Corballa, Co Sligo on a stream…

Transition year students from a Kerry secondary school have urged the Government to take action to end “unsustainable pair trawling” in Kenmare Bay. The students from Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine Kenmare, Co Kerry had been invited to the Oireachtas on Wednesday,…

Two Government ministers have welcomed the European Parliament vote approving the Nature Restoration Law. While the controversial legislation has a strong land-based focus, it includes important elements aimed at improving water quality in member states. Minister for Marine Charlie McConalogue…

Ireland's leading environmental NGOs and networks coalition, Fair Seas, has welcomed the announcement of €25 million in new funding for the protection of Irish seas. The European Commission has allocated €15 million, which is matched by €10 million from the…

The success of the “living lab” at Galway’s Grattan beach is the focus of a workshop in Salthill this evening (Tues Feb 27). As Afloat previously reported, the project to install sand fences at Grattan Beach was piloted last year…

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has welcomed the outcome of its prosecution of Uisce Éireann (formerly Irish Water) for chemical discharges to the Ballymacraven River in Ennistymon, Co Clare in May 2023. At Ennis District Court on Friday 16 February, Uisce…

The Port of Waterford made history over the weekend as it handled a cargo of a record-breaking scale. The port received a vessel load of 80-metre-long wide-turbine blades, the largest ever in size to be imported to Ireland. The blades…

Minister for Enterprise Simon Coveney has said he intends to publish an offshore renewable energy (ORE) industrial strategy very shortly. A draft of the strategy was due to be presented to Cabinet this week, he told the third annual national…

There will be “no hierarchy” of access to Ireland’s sea areas under its new maritime licensing system, the head of the new Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) has said. MARA chief executive officer Laura Brien was speaking at the third…

A major new European project aims to improve our understanding of how the bycatch of fisheries impacts protected, endangered and threatened species (PETS) in the Atlantic Ocean, and develop methods for better monitoring and mitigating these impacts. Funded by the…

The owner of Lough Neagh’s lakebed has said he is “open to exploring options” amid reports of the return of toxic blue-green algae blooms. But as BBC News reports, the Earl of Shaftesbury has refused to budge on suggestions that…