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Displaying items by tag: World Cup Trout Fly Angling Championship

#Angling - Thomas O'Loughlin's impressive 12-fish catch was more than enough to snag him the top prize at the World Cup Trout Fly Angling Championship on Lough Mask recently.

The Corofin, Co Clare native's final bag of 13.43lbs was 50% larger than that of his closest rival Jonathan Craven of Connacht in the 60th running of the competition, which took place over five days ending on Monday 1 August, as the Clare Champion reports.

His victory marks the first for any Clare angler in the Lough Mask contest – but is just the latest in a series of accolades for 'Tommy', who comes from an experienced family of game anglers.

The Clare Champion has much more on the story HERE.

Published in Angling

#ANGLING - Inland Fisheries Ireland has teamed up with the committee behind the World Cup Trout Fly Angling Championship to develop a biosecurity initiative for the contest, taking place on Lough Mask from 2-6 August.

The premier event in the angling calendar will be contested by up to 500 keen fly fishermen from Ireland and abroad, each anticipating lifting the coveted World Cup.

The anglers that fish this competition realise the true gem that Lough Mask represents, providing quality angling in clean, unpolluted waters.

Towards that end, the biosecurity initiative aims to prevent non-native invasive species and harmful aquatic pathogens being inadvertently introduced into the lake on angling equipment.

Central to the initiative is that all anglers must disinfect their landing nets and boots each day before registering for the competition.

Anglers will be requested to co-operate with stewards on each morning and to bring their landing nets and boots with them to the registration centre. There, they will dip their gear in supervised disinfection tanks and receive a stamp from the Biosecurity Steward to show that they have used the facility.

Only anglers who can show this stamp to the Registration Officer will be registered to fish the competition on that day.

In recent years, despite considerable effort on behalf of IFI and many other angling and conservation groups, the non-native invasive Zebra mussel was introduced to Lough Mask.

Invasions elsewhere in Ireland's inland waterways include the notorious Asian clam, which has taken residence from the River Shannon to the Grand Canal.

The present biosecurity initiative - which follows the recent launch of a smartphone app to identify and report aquatic invasive species - represents an effort to make anglers aware of the dangers posed, and to alert them to the fact that other harmful and environmentally damaging invasive species are present on the island of Ireland, and that these can be inadvertently introduced to the lake on wet nets or soiled boots.

Information packages relating to the threats posed by invasive species will be available to anglers’ during the competition.

Published in Angling

ESB’s 2040 strategy Driven to Make a Difference: Net Zero by 2040 sets out a clear roadmap for ESB to achieve net zero emissions by 2040. 

ESB will develop and connect renewable energy to decarbonise the electricity system by 2040. ESB will invest in the development of new renewable generation, including onshore and offshore wind and solar, and will significantly increase the amount of renewable generation connected to our electricity networks.

ESB will:

  • Deliver more than a fivefold increase in our renewable generation portfolio to 5,000MW.
  • Reduce carbon intensity of generation fleet from 414 to 140gCO2/kWh by 2030.
  • Decarbonise 63% of our generation output by 2030 and 100% by 2040 (up from c20% now).

Offshore wind

ESB know the importance of offshore wind in tackling climate change and delivering net zero. Ireland has a unique capability given its prime location to take advantage of the potential of offshore wind. ESB are working hard to develop offshore wind projects for the benefit of everyone across society in Ireland and the UK. This includes ongoing engagement with marine users and local communities so ESB can deliver these significant projects.

Offshore wind will play a major role globally in our fight against climate change. It will help to replace energy generated by burning fossil fuels with that from a clean, safe and secure renewable energy source. Ireland’s geographic location on the exposed edge of the Atlantic presents us with a significant opportunity to generate electricity from wind – both offshore and onshore.

Power from onshore wind farms currently provide over one-third of Ireland’s electricity needs. But, whilst its marine area is many times the size of its landmass, Ireland’s offshore wind potential is only starting to be realised. ESB have a coastline stretching over 3,000km but only one operational offshore wind farm – Arklow Bank, with a capacity of 25 MW. In contrast, Belgium’s coastline is only 63km long, but it has already developed more than 2,000 MW of offshore wind. In Great Britain, with a coastline four times the length of ours, offshore wind generation now equates to over 440 Arklow Banks, with an installed capacity of 11,0000 MW as of late 2021.

The Irish Government's target to install 5,000 MW of offshore wind capacity in our maritime area by 2030 is set out in the Climate Action Plan 2021. It also has the objective to source 80% of Ireland’s electricity needs from renewables by the same year. In line with this, ESB is applying its professional and proven engineering expertise to the challenges set within the Climate Action Plan.

ESB are committed to playing a strong role in developing Ireland’s offshore wind potential for the benefit of the people of Ireland. This will be done in consultation with marine users and local communities, and with due care for the marine environment.