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Displaying items by tag: EU 'Blockade'

Government members at senior level have rejected claims from UK prime minister Boris Johnson that the EU is seeking to impose a blockade in the Irish Sea after Brexit.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said another of Mr Johnson’s claims – that he needed to dismantle parts of the withdrawal agreement he reached with the EU in order to “stop a foreign power from breaking up” the UK – were “not the case and he knows well that’s not the case”.

Mr Johnson wrote in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday that the EU was threatening to impose a food “blockade” in the Irish Sea that would destroy the “economic and territorial integrity of the UK”.

This was a reference to the need for the UK to outline its future food standards regime to the EU before being granted permission to export to the bloc.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney dismissed Mr Johnson’s claims as “totally bogus” and “absolutely not true”. He said the UK was damaging its international reputation and he criticised as “spin” Mr Johnson’s claim about a blockade between Britain and Northern Ireland.

Further reading from the Irish Times here.

Published in Irish Ports

Marine Wildlife Around Ireland One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with marine wildlife.  It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. As boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat.  Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!