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Displaying items by tag: Strangford Narrows

Glasgow based Flex Marine Power has issued a Notice to Mariners regarding its activity within the Strangford Narrows in County Down in Northern Ireland.

The turbine mooring system is being decommissioned and there is a workboat, and buoys marking the location.

Strangford Narrows is a narrow six-mile stretch of water with strong tides in the southeast of County Down leading from the Irish Sea into Strangford Lough.

The operations, which will take place between 2nd and 15th August, are part of continued research by Flex Marine Power Ltd in conjunction with Queen's University, Belfast into the performance of tidal turbine moorings in the Narrows.

The work may impede navigation as the workboat will periodically be loading and unloading at Portaferry Quay and transiting between the Quay and the location of the works.

The Notice to Mariners dated 1st August is accessible on the Bangor Marina Facebook page here

Published in Power From the Sea

#MARINE WILDLIFE - The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) has confirmed a new humpback whale sighting, this time in Northern Ireland.

According to the IWDG, this is the third consecutive year that a humpback whale has been spotted in Northern Irish waters, with this sighting being only the fourth ever validated record for the species in the North.

IWDG sightings co-ordinator Pádraig Whooley described it as "an important development [that] highlights a trend towards increased sightings of this large baleen whale species in Irish waters."

He also remarked on the "unusual" location of the sighting in the fast-running waters of the Strangford Narrows at the Ards Peninsula.

The discovery comes just a week after confirmed sighting of two humpback whales at the opposite end of the island of Ireland, off Galley Head in West Cork, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

Published in Marine Wildlife
Two renewable energy companies have applied for planning permission to install a tidal turbine array off the Welsh coast.
Energy Efficiency News reports that the 10MW array commissioned by RWE npower renewables would consist of seven SeaGen turbines from UK-based Marine Current Turbines (MCT), enough to generate energy for 10,000 homes.
The windmill-like turbines would be installed 1km off Anglesey in north Wales between Skerries and Carmel Head and be operational by 2015.
SeaGen turbines are already operating in Northern Ireland's Strangford Narrows, an installation accredited by Ofgen as Britain's first tital power plant. MCT is also working with ESB International on a 100MW project off the Antrim coast.
The Welsh Assembly has set a target of capturing 10% of tidal and wave energy off the Welsh coast by 2025 as part of its renewable energy plan.
Energy Efficiency News has more on the story HERE.

Two renewable energy companies have applied for planning permission to install a tidal turbine array off the Welsh coast.

Energy Efficiency News reports that the 10MW array commissioned by RWE npower renewables would consist of seven SeaGen turbines from UK-based Marine Current Turbines (MCT), enough to generate energy for 10,000 homes.

The windmill-like turbines would be installed 1km off Anglesey in north Wales between Skerries and Carmel Head and be operational by 2015.

SeaGen turbines are already operating in Northern Ireland's Strangford Narrows, an installation accredited by Ofgen as Britain's first tital power plant. MCT is also working with ESB International on a 100MW project off the Antrim coast.

The Welsh Assembly has set a target of capturing 10% of tidal and wave energy off the Welsh coast by 2025 as part of its renewable energy plan.

Energy Efficiency News has more on the story HERE.

Published in Power From the Sea

A total of 16 were found, mainly grey pups and juveniles - which are both protected under European legislation - were recovered from Strangford Lough and Dundrum Bay.

The Environment Agency said circumstantial evidence indicated interaction with some form of net in at least two cases, but there was no proof the seal deaths resulted from legitimate, licensed fishing activity.

"Neither is there evidence linking these deaths to the marine current turbine being trialled in the Strangford Narrows, as this would not inflict the sharp cuts seen," the agency said.

Declan Looney, senior wildlife inspector from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, said: "Members of the public can assist by reporting all dead seal strandings to NIEA on 028 4461 5520." More from the Belfast Telegraph HERE.

 

Published in Marine Wildlife

About World Ocean Day 

World Ocean Day is celebrated annually on June 8th to highlight the important role the ocean has for our life and the planet. The focus each year is on the 30x30 campaign: to create a healthy ocean with abundant wildlife and to stabilise the climate, it is critical that 30% of our planet’s lands, waters, and oceans are protected by 2030.  

One of the issues affecting our ocean is marine litter which has become a global problem for both humans and marine life. However, communities around Ireland have demonstrated their desire to be part of the solution by taking part in several beach cleaning and clean-up calls to action. 

Statistics show that the number one cause of marine litter is litter dropped in towns and cities.

In 2021, the initiative changed its name from “World Oceans Day” to “World Ocean Day”. By dropping the “s”, its organisers wanted to highlight the fact that we are all connected by a large ocean. This shared ocean supports all life on the planet, by producing most of the oxygen we breathe and regulating climate. No matter where we live, we all depend on the ocean to survive.

This means that each piece of marine litter removed from a beach, river, lake, park or street in Ireland, will have a positive impact on a global scale.

At A Glance - World Ocean Day is on June 8th each year

United Nations World Ocean Day is celebrated annually on June 8th to highlight the important role the ocean has for our life and the planet.

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