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#Lecture - "Mutiny & Murder on the Earl of Sandwich", a public lecture by Peter Brady marks the final lecture season organised by Baltimore Maritime Centre which is held in Dublin.

The illustrated talk is take place in Poolbeg Yacht & Boat Club in the heart of the working port on Thursday 16th April at 8pm. Entry is €5 and is aid of the RNLI.

The lecture is a tale of piracy and will relive the fateful voyage of The Earl of Sandwich" which sailed from Tenerife November 1765 with a valuable cargo of wine, silk and other goods. Also told will be how the story is closely linked with Cork, Carlow, Kildare, Wexford, and numerous Dublin locations, including Ringsend and the Muglins off Dalkey.

In the 18th century, conditions of pay and work were poor; injury and ill health were a constant risk; and life expectancy was no more than 45 years.

Such was the life of a merchant seaman as the Earl of Sandwich departed London for the Canary Islands on 10 August 1765.

At Tenerife, the ship was laden with wine, silk and other goods, including a rich cargo of coin, which ultimately proved too much of a temptation for some.

Peter has been a sports diver in 1980 and with links in his interest of maritime history to his early dives on the wreck of the Tayleur at Lambay Island.

His research into the 'Earl of Sandwich' began with the stories he heard of how pirates were once hung on the Muglins. The information he has gathered adds new insights into the tale of the ship, its crew and its passengers.

The winter lectures series will resume in the same venue of Poolbeg but not until the Autumn. 

Published in Boating Fixtures

#LectureDublinPilot – The Story of a Dublin Port Pilot, that's the title of the next lecture to be held in National Maritime Museum of Ireland in Dun Laoghaire next Thursday.

The two-hour lecture starts at 8:00 pm and will be presented by Captain Jim Kennedy, a retired Pilot from Dublin Port. Kennedy will talk about the interesting, exciting and amusing account of life guiding the great ships into Dublin Port in all weathers.

Over the years on Afloat.ie we have mentioned the port's current pair of Safehaven Marine built Interceptor 42 class pilot cutters as they head out into Dublin Bay to transfer pilots to and fro from ships.

The names given to the Youghal built cutters Liffey and Camac and others have over the years been named after the famous river and tributaries.

Camac and Liffey were launched into service as part of a new suite of port work related vessels that featured in Afloat magazine (May 2009) issue. In addition for a photo of Camac as she prepares to come alongside a container vessel departing Dublin Bay, click here.

Lecture Information: Admission is €10.00 (payable at door from 7.30pm) followed by the talk at 8.00pm. Bookings can also be made be email: [email protected] or Tel: (01) 2143 964

For further information in general about the Maritime Institute of Ireland's museum on Haigh Terrace, Dun Laoghaire which has also a gift shop and café visit: www.mariner.ie

Published in Boating Fixtures

#WSSlecture – The Cobh branch of the World Ship Society (WSS) continues its 2015 winter monthly meetings programme with the lecture:Shipping in Cork Harbour in the 1970’s

The lecture to be presented by Oliver Hawes (starting at 20.00) takes place as usual in the Commodore Hotel, Cobh.

Further presentations are held (on the third Tuesday of each month) until this May.

Presentations are made during the winter months while in the summer period is spiced with visits to ships in the port.

Cobh's WSS branch is the only branch of the society in the Republic of Ireland and this year they celebrate 10 years having been established in 2005.

Over that time Cobh WSS have also made port tour visits to the UK, Poland and Sweden. 

The WSS was founded in 1946 and for further details about this branch click HERE.

Published in Boating Fixtures

#Lecture: - Baltimore Maritime Centre's 2015 Winter Lecture Series presents 'Stay In the Boat: How Not to Lose the Run of Yourself Crossing the Atlantic'

The lecture to be presented by Theo Dorgan and held on Thursday 5 February starts at 20:00. The venue is the Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club, Ringsend, Dublin.

All are welcome. Admission of €5 in aid of the RNLI.

Theo Dorgan is a poet, novelist, translator, editor and broadcaster. A late vocation sailor, he has also written two non-fiction books recounting Atlantic crossings.

In 'Sailing for Home', he tells how he and three others sailed the 70ft schooner, Spirit of Oysterhaven', from Antigua to Kinsale.

Some years later, in a similar-sized boat but with, understandably, a bigger crew, he made the crossing from Chile to South Africa, telling that story in 'Time On The Ocean', a voyage from Cape Horn to Cape Town.

Dorgan is a Shoreline supporter of the RNLI, and always glad to help with fundraising and with publicising their much-admired work.

He will read extracts from both of his sailing books, from his novel which is set at sea in the Mediterranean. Also to be read from his new collection of poems, 'Mine Bright Shiners', in which the sea features prominently.

Published in Boating Fixtures

#TransportIreland – Transport Ireland 2015, the annual conference now in its eight year running represents the transport sector in this country and is to open a month from today, 25 March.

The conference is to be held in the Chartered Accountants House, 47-49 Pearse Street, Dublin and between the hours of 9am to 2pm.

The venue (located close to Pearse St Railway Station) is to bring together key players from throughout Ireland, north and south, to focus on important issues facing transport policy-makers and senior managers in the sector.

An expert speaker panel will look at key issues including:
• Transport policy priorities International outlook for transport sector
• Public transport investment The Dublin port masterplan
• Exploring travel behaviour
• Strategic framework for investment in land transport Understanding customer needs
• Compressed natural gas as a transport fuel

Conference speakers are: Paschal Donohoe, TD, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, José Viegas, Secretary General, International Transport Forum, Dr. Matthew Niblett, Secretary-General, Independent Transport Commission, Enda Treacy, Senior Manager, EY, Dan FitzPatrick, Strategic Planning Manager,CNG, Gas Networks Ireland Anne Graham, Chief Executive Officer, National Transport Authority, Eamonn O'Reilly, Chief Executive, Dublin Port and Jim Meade, Director, Railway Undertaking, Irish Rail

To view the full conference programme, contact details and to how to register, click HERE 

Published in Boating Fixtures

#LectureSailing - Sailing the World: The First Leg Ireland to New Zealand will be a fascinating fundraiser lecture held in aid of the National Maritime Museum of Ireland, Dun Laoghaire.

The talk presented by Pat & Olivia Murphy is next Wednesday 25 February.

The Murphy's will recount all the drama as the intrepid voyagers experienced many an adventure. The presentation will also be accompanied by a slide-show lavishly illustrated with high-quality photos.

The First Leg – Ireland to New Zealand starts with the voyage across the Atlantic, the transitting of the Panama Canal, turtle-watching and the crocodiles!

In addition to coveraing their adventures to the Galapagos Islands, Polynesia & The Cook Islands and encountering a storm on the Tasman Sea.

Lecture Information: Admission is €10.00 (payable at door from 7.30pm) followed by the talk at 8.00 pm

Bookings can also be made be email: [email protected] or Tel: 01 2143 964

Tea and Coffee will be served before and after the talk.

For further information in general about the Maritime Institute of Ireland's museum on Haigh Terrace, Dun Laoghaire which has also a gift shop and café visit: www.mariner.ie

Published in Boating Fixtures

#WSSlecture – The Cobh branch of the World Ship Society (WSS) continues its 2015 winter monthly meetings programme with the lecture: The Galway Hooker – History, Building and Sailing.

The lecture presented by Kevin Twomey.is next Tuesday 17 February (starting at 20.00) and takes place as usual in the Commodore Hotel, Cobh.

Further presentations are held (on the third Tuesday of each month) until this June.

Presentations are made during the winter months while in the summer period is spiced with visits to ships in the port.

Cobh's WSS branch is the only branch of the society in the Republic of Ireland and this year they celebrate 10 years having been established in 2005.

Over that time the branch have made tours to include visits to Poland, Sweden and the UK.

For further details about the WSS organisation founded in 1946, click HERE.

Published in Galway Hookers

#LectureAsgard - Baltimore Maritime Centre's 2014/2015 Winter Lecture Series presents 'Asgard' Ireland's most historic yacht 1905 to 2015

The lecture by Pat Murphy, boating historian and round-the-world yachtsman will be held on Thursday 5 February at 20:00 in Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club, Ringsend, Dublin.

All are welcome. Admission of €5 in aid of the RNL

Pat will take you on the voyage of Asgard from her launch in 1905, her 23 day voyage to collect guns and ammunition for the Irish Volunteers and the landing of them at Howth July 1914.

The illustrated talk will cover her conservation today in Collins Barracks in the National Museum of Ireland.

After an absence of 47 years she was bought by the Irish Government in 1961 and from then, until being de-commissioned in 1979.

She gave a variety of Irish sailors and would be sailors experiences that they most likely might otherwise never have had.

"We have to restore her and put her back in the water." "No! We should conserve her and put her on public display in the National Museum." This was the argument that was being played out by various groups.

The conservationists won the argument and the talk will cover the full conservation process that took almost six years to complete.

The part played by 6 local volunteers in putting the finishing touches to the project is also described in detail.

Published in Boating Fixtures

#Shippax2015 - Shippax Ferry Shipping Conference 2015 hosted in Rotterdam (April 21-23) will be held on board P&O Ferries Pride of Rotterdam and PDMS will be among the official exhibitors.

The Ferry Shipping Conference now in its 13th year, was founded and organised by Shippax and BOLT Consulting, one of the largest conferences in the ferry industry. Around 400 ferry shipping delegates are expected to attend from Europe and further afield.

The anticipated conference will cover commercial performance, industry insight and debates, and will feature exciting industry speakers and an exhibition with key industry players.

Glasgow based PDMS have recently expanded their ferry ticketing and reservations offering with their Compass ferry ticketing and reservations product, through their UK subsidiary, Professional Data Management Services (UK) Limited, who acquired certain parts of the business and assets of Maxima Information Group in September 2014.

The long-term client base of PDMS's ferry software is currently in use by Caledonian MacBrayne, Orkey Ferries, Pentland Ferries, Shetland Islands Council, Western Ferries and Ticket Hour.

Commenting on the news of PDMS' plans to promote Compass across the international ferry, David Stickland, Sales Director of PDMS said, "Having attended the 39th Annual Interferry Conference in Vancouver last year, we are particularly excited to be exploring further relationships at the 2015 Ferry Shipping Conference.

"Last year was an extremely positive year for us in terms of strategic growth and market positioning and this exhibition will provide us with the ideal platform from which to advance our Compass ferry ticketing and reservation software into the wider market".

For information on the conference visit: www.ferryshippingconference.com or David Stickland by emailing: [email protected]

Published in Boating Fixtures

#ShortSea15 – The annual ESN Short Sea Shipping Conference 2015 will be taking place in Copenhagen for two days in June.

The European ShortSea Network is a co-operation between all national shortsea promotion centres. ESN has no legal status, but is an agreement between the members.

The ENS’s ShortSea conference is to be held between Thursday, 18 - Friday 19 June, and takes place at the CBS (Copenhagen Business School) in the Danish capital.

The organisers have arranged a Welcome Reception on Wednesday 17 June at 17:00.

If you are interested in attending and to register for the conference, further details are available by clicking HERE.   

For further details to include a PDF download article about the conference, click this LINK.

Published in Boating Fixtures
Page 3 of 9

Irish Fishing industry 

The Irish Commercial Fishing Industry employs around 11,000 people in fishing, processing and ancillary services such as sales and marketing. The industry is worth about €1.22 billion annually to the Irish economy. Irish fisheries products are exported all over the world as far as Africa, Japan and China.

FAQs

Over 16,000 people are employed directly or indirectly around the coast, working on over 2,000 registered fishing vessels, in over 160 seafood processing businesses and in 278 aquaculture production units, according to the State's sea fisheries development body Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).

All activities that are concerned with growing, catching, processing or transporting fish are part of the commercial fishing industry, the development of which is overseen by BIM. Recreational fishing, as in angling at sea or inland, is the responsibility of Inland Fisheries Ireland.

The Irish fishing industry is valued at 1.22 billion euro in gross domestic product (GDP), according to 2019 figures issued by BIM. Only 179 of Ireland's 2,000 vessels are over 18 metres in length. Where does Irish commercially caught fish come from? Irish fish and shellfish is caught or cultivated within the 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but Irish fishing grounds are part of the common EU "blue" pond. Commercial fishing is regulated under the terms of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), initiated in 1983 and with ten-yearly reviews.

The total value of seafood landed into Irish ports was 424 million euro in 2019, according to BIM. High value landings identified in 2019 were haddock, hake, monkfish and megrim. Irish vessels also land into foreign ports, while non-Irish vessels land into Irish ports, principally Castletownbere, Co Cork, and Killybegs, Co Donegal.

There are a number of different methods for catching fish, with technological advances meaning skippers have detailed real time information at their disposal. Fisheries are classified as inshore, midwater, pelagic or deep water. Inshore targets species close to shore and in depths of up to 200 metres, and may include trawling and gillnetting and long-lining. Trawling is regarded as "active", while "passive" or less environmentally harmful fishing methods include use of gill nets, long lines, traps and pots. Pelagic fisheries focus on species which swim close to the surface and up to depths of 200 metres, including migratory mackerel, and tuna, and methods for catching include pair trawling, purse seining, trolling and longlining. Midwater fisheries target species at depths of around 200 metres, using trawling, longlining and jigging. Deepwater fisheries mainly use trawling for species which are found at depths of over 600 metres.

There are several segments for different catching methods in the registered Irish fleet – the largest segment being polyvalent or multi-purpose vessels using several types of gear which may be active and passive. The polyvalent segment ranges from small inshore vessels engaged in netting and potting to medium and larger vessels targeting whitefish, pelagic (herring, mackerel, horse mackerel and blue whiting) species and bivalve molluscs. The refrigerated seawater (RSW) pelagic segment is engaged mainly in fishing for herring, mackerel, horse mackerel and blue whiting only. The beam trawling segment focuses on flatfish such as sole and plaice. The aquaculture segment is exclusively for managing, developing and servicing fish farming areas and can collect spat from wild mussel stocks.

The top 20 species landed by value in 2019 were mackerel (78 million euro); Dublin Bay prawn (59 million euro); horse mackerel (17 million euro); monkfish (17 million euro); brown crab (16 million euro); hake (11 million euro); blue whiting (10 million euro); megrim (10 million euro); haddock (9 million euro); tuna (7 million euro); scallop (6 million euro); whelk (5 million euro); whiting (4 million euro); sprat (3 million euro); herring (3 million euro); lobster (2 million euro); turbot (2 million euro); cod (2 million euro); boarfish (2 million euro).

Ireland has approximately 220 million acres of marine territory, rich in marine biodiversity. A marine biodiversity scheme under Ireland's operational programme, which is co-funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and the Government, aims to reduce the impact of fisheries and aquaculture on the marine environment, including avoidance and reduction of unwanted catch.

EU fisheries ministers hold an annual pre-Christmas council in Brussels to decide on total allowable catches and quotas for the following year. This is based on advice from scientific bodies such as the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. In Ireland's case, the State's Marine Institute publishes an annual "stock book" which provides the most up to date stock status and scientific advice on over 60 fish stocks exploited by the Irish fleet. Total allowable catches are supplemented by various technical measures to control effort, such as the size of net mesh for various species.

The west Cork harbour of Castletownbere is Ireland's biggest whitefish port. Killybegs, Co Donegal is the most important port for pelagic (herring, mackerel, blue whiting) landings. Fish are also landed into Dingle, Co Kerry, Rossaveal, Co Galway, Howth, Co Dublin and Dunmore East, Co Waterford, Union Hall, Co Cork, Greencastle, Co Donegal, and Clogherhead, Co Louth. The busiest Northern Irish ports are Portavogie, Ardglass and Kilkeel, Co Down.

Yes, EU quotas are allocated to other fleets within the Irish EEZ, and Ireland has long been a transhipment point for fish caught by the Spanish whitefish fleet in particular. Dingle, Co Kerry has seen an increase in foreign landings, as has Castletownbere. The west Cork port recorded foreign landings of 36 million euro or 48 per cent in 2019, and has long been nicknamed the "peseta" port, due to the presence of Spanish-owned transhipment plant, Eiranova, on Dinish island.

Most fish and shellfish caught or cultivated in Irish waters is for the export market, and this was hit hard from the early stages of this year's Covid-19 pandemic. The EU, Asia and Britain are the main export markets, while the middle Eastern market is also developing and the African market has seen a fall in value and volume, according to figures for 2019 issued by BIM.

Fish was once a penitential food, eaten for religious reasons every Friday. BIM has worked hard over several decades to develop its appeal. Ireland is not like Spain – our land is too good to transform us into a nation of fish eaters, but the obvious health benefits are seeing a growth in demand. Seafood retail sales rose by one per cent in 2019 to 300 million euro. Salmon and cod remain the most popular species, while BIM reports an increase in sales of haddock, trout and the pangasius or freshwater catfish which is cultivated primarily in Vietnam and Cambodia and imported by supermarkets here.

The EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), initiated in 1983, pooled marine resources – with Ireland having some of the richest grounds and one of the largest sea areas at the time, but only receiving four per cent of allocated catch by a quota system. A system known as the "Hague Preferences" did recognise the need to safeguard the particular needs of regions where local populations are especially dependent on fisheries and related activities. The State's Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, based in Clonakilty, Co Cork, works with the Naval Service on administering the EU CFP. The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine and Department of Transport regulate licensing and training requirements, while the Marine Survey Office is responsible for the implementation of all national and international legislation in relation to safety of shipping and the prevention of pollution.

Yes, a range of certificates of competency are required for skippers and crew. Training is the remit of BIM, which runs two national fisheries colleges at Greencastle, Co Donegal and Castletownbere, Co Cork. There have been calls for the colleges to be incorporated into the third-level structure of education, with qualifications recognised as such.

Safety is always an issue, in spite of technological improvements, as fishing is a hazardous occupation and climate change is having its impact on the severity of storms at sea. Fishing skippers and crews are required to hold a number of certificates of competency, including safety and navigation, and wearing of personal flotation devices is a legal requirement. Accidents come under the remit of the Marine Casualty Investigation Board, and the Health and Safety Authority. The MCIB does not find fault or blame, but will make recommendations to the Minister for Transport to avoid a recurrence of incidents.

Fish are part of a marine ecosystem and an integral part of the marine food web. Changing climate is having a negative impact on the health of the oceans, and there have been more frequent reports of warmer water species being caught further and further north in Irish waters.

Brexit, Covid 19, EU policies and safety – Britain is a key market for Irish seafood, and 38 per cent of the Irish catch is taken from the waters around its coast. Ireland's top two species – mackerel and prawns - are 60 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively, dependent on British waters. Also, there are serious fears within the Irish industry about the impact of EU vessels, should they be expelled from British waters, opting to focus even more efforts on Ireland's rich marine resource. Covid-19 has forced closure of international seafood markets, with high value fish sold to restaurants taking a large hit. A temporary tie-up support scheme for whitefish vessels introduced for the summer of 2020 was condemned by industry organisations as "designed to fail".

Sources: Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Marine Institute, Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine, Department of Transport © Afloat 2020