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Displaying items by tag: Ireland’s Wild Islands

Three years in the making, Ireland’s Wild Islands is a spectacular three-part TV series that features the marine wildlife wonders of Ireland’s Atlantic islands.

Shot in cinema-quality 4K, the series is hosted by Corkman Eoin Warner who sails a 140-year-old Galway hooker out into the Atlantic to showcase the extraordinary wild magic of Ireland’s western islands.

In the first episode, broadcast this past Sunday (23 April), Eoin starts his island voyage on Rathlin where he witnesses one of the most extraordinary leaps of faith undertaken by any animal on the planet — flightless chicks jumping 300 feet from their cliff ledges down to the ocean.

Eoin then heads west for Malin Head and Inishtrahull, meeting basking sharks and dolphins en route before witnessing a remarkable breeding display of endangered corncrakes on Tory island, filmed for the first time in Ireland.

Then it’s south to Achill Island and the story of the Irish stoat — one of the few predators found on Ireland’s western isles. This first stage of his island odyssey ends at Achill’s beautiful Keem Bay, recently discovered by Hollywood and the site of the most successful basking shark fishery on the planet.

In the next episode, Eoin explores the woodland of Clare Island, finds Ireland’s only native reptile on the Arans and witnesses basking sharks engaged in an extraordinary breeding display.

The series also promises white tailed eagles fighting gales off the Cork coast to raise their young on Garnish Island; humpback whales bubble netting off the Blasket Islands; and the clash of grey seal bulls fighting for supremacy on Mayo’s Inishkea Islands.

Ireland’s Wild Islands is broadcast Sundays at 6.30pm on RTÉ One. Viewers in the Republic of Ireland can catch up on Eoin’s adventures on RTÉ Player.

Published in Maritime TV

Marine Science Perhaps it is the work of the Irish research vessel RV Celtic Explorer out in the Atlantic Ocean that best highlights the essential nature of marine research, development and sustainable management, through which Ireland is developing a strong and well-deserved reputation as an emerging centre of excellence. From Wavebob Ocean energy technology to aquaculture to weather buoys and oil exploration these pages document the work of Irish marine science and how Irish scientists have secured prominent roles in many European and international marine science bodies.

 

At A Glance – Ocean Facts

  • 71% of the earth’s surface is covered by the ocean
  • The ocean is responsible for the water cycle, which affects our weather
  • The ocean absorbs 30% of the carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere by human activity
  • The real map of Ireland has a seabed territory ten times the size of its land area
  • The ocean is the support system of our planet.
  • Over half of the oxygen we breathe was produced in the ocean
  • The global market for seaweed is valued at approximately €5.4 billion
  • · Coral reefs are among the oldest ecosystems in the world — at 230 million years
  • 1.9 million people live within 5km of the coast in Ireland
  • Ocean waters hold nearly 20 million tons of gold. If we could mine all of the gold from the ocean, we would have enough to give every person on earth 9lbs of the precious metal!
  • Aquaculture is the fastest growing food sector in the world – Ireland is ranked 7th largest aquaculture producer in the EU
  • The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean in the world, covering 20% of the earth’s surface. Out of all the oceans, the Atlantic Ocean is the saltiest
  • The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world. It’s bigger than all the continents put together
  • Ireland is surrounded by some of the most productive fishing grounds in Europe, with Irish commercial fish landings worth around €200 million annually
  • 97% of the earth’s water is in the ocean
  • The ocean provides the greatest amount of the world’s protein consumed by humans
  • Plastic affects 700 species in the oceans from plankton to whales.
  • Only 10% of the oceans have been explored.
  • 8 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean each year, equal to dumping a garbage truck of plastic into the ocean every minute.
  • 12 humans have walked on the moon but only 3 humans have been to the deepest part of the ocean.

(Ref: Marine Institute)

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