#MARINE WILDLIFE – The South Dublin Branch of BirdWatch Ireland is organising outdoor meetings over the summer which include watching terns and other species during July at Coliemore Harbour, Dalkey, writes Jehan Ashmore. The first meeting is Tuesday 3rd July…

#BELFAST LOUGH - Following two stakeholder workshops that were held in Liverpool and Dublin in 2011, a new Irish Sea Maritime Forum is to be held this Thursday in Belfast, writes Jehan Ashmore. The one-day conference has been established with…

#MARINE WILDLIFE - Dolphinwatch Carrigaholt, in collaboration with the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG), is offering a special midsummer night cruise in the Shannon Estuary as a fundraiser for the IWDG. The cruise will depart Castle Pier in Carrigaholt,…

#ISLAND NEWS - The Junior Minister for Tourism was on hand at the official opening of the Go Explore Hostel and Praeger Education Centre on Clare Island last weekend, as the Mayo News reports. “This new venture will spearhead Clare…

#MARINE WILDLIFE - Experts at the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) have been puzzled by a rare photo of a minke whale breaching in the Irish Sea, as the Larne Times reports. Minke whales are a regular visitor to…

#COASTAL NOTES - The Norwegian people have “no idea of what’s being done in their name” at the Corrib Gas Field, a Scandinavian economist has told The Irish Times. Bjørnar Nicolaisen was speaking on the role of Norwegian firm Statoil…

#ISLAND NEWS - Champion cliff diver Orlando Duque paid a visit to Cong in Co Mayo recently to give a taster of what we can expect when Red Bull Cliff Diving comes to the Aran Islands this August. As the…

#MARINE WILDLIFE - The recent horrific reports of seal killings are but part of a "swing in activity" over the past few months, as TheJournal.ie reports. Gardaí continue to investigate the shocking incident in Dingle two weeks ago, where the…

#MARINE WILDLIFE - There were some strange goings-on off Connemara last week as fishermen caught two very surprising marine wildlife finds, The Irish Times reports. On the Aran Islands prawn grounds, skipper Colin Reynolds of the Fragrant Cloud caught an…

#MARINE TOURISM - The Loughs Agency has announced the availability of funding of up to £7,500 (€9,200) to support angling development and/or marine tourism projects that benefit the Foyle or Carlingford areas. The limited budget comes by way of the cross-border…

#MARINE WILDLIFE - RTÉ News reports that a Fine Gael councillor for Co Galway has called for a seal cull along the West coast. Cllr Seosamh Ó Laoi told RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta that the increase in the seal population…

#weather – A deep area of low pressure off Southern Ireland with fronts pushing north threatens to disrupt a number of sailing events on the Irish Sea from this afternoon including tonight's regular Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) 200 boat…

#MARINE WILDLIFE - The video above shows the moment when an angling boat was surrounded by a pod of killer whales at the mouth of Lough Swilly in Co Donegal. Sea angler Kevin Doherty, whose boat was treated to the…

#MARINE WILDLIFE - Fishermen have condemned the appalling killing of two baby seals whose heads were nailed to signs outside a wildlife sanctuary in Dingle last week. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, staff at the Dingle Wildlife and Seal Sanctuary…

#TOURISM - BBC News reports that Ballycastle's only major hotel has found a potential buyer 18 months after closing its doors. The reopening of the Marine Hotel - the sale of which has recently been agreed - could be a…

#MARINE WILDLIFE - Conor McGuire and friends were taken by surprise when they came across a stranded minke whale in Clew Bay, Co Mayo - but thankfully this whale of a tale had a happy outcome. As the Irish Whale…