Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Shane O'Driscoll

#Rowing: The men's pair of Mark O'Donovan and Shane O'Driscoll won their E Final at the World Rowing Championships in Linz-Ottensheim. The Skibbereen men led right through and saw off nearest challengers, Lithuania.

World Rowing Championships, Linz-Ottensheim, Austria - Day Five (Irish interest)

Men

Pair - E Final (Places 25 to 28): 1 Ireland (M O'Donovan, S O'Driscoll) 6:36.3

Lightweight Double Sculls - A/B Semi-Final Two (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Ireland (F McCarthy, P O'Donovan) 6:13.46, 2 Germany 6:13.59, 3 Norway 6:14.15.

Lightweight Single Sculls A/B Semi-Final One (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 6 Ireland (G O'Donovan) 7:34.01.

Women

Four A/B Semi-Final Two (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Australia 6:25.34, 2 Denmark 6:28.58, 3 Romania 6:30.96; 4 Ireland (T Hanlon, E Lambe, A Keogh, E Hegarty) 6:32.37.

Pair - A/B Semi-Final One (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 New Zealand 6:57.92, 2 United States 7:01.78, 3 Italy 7:01.80; 4 Ireland (A Crowley, M Dukarska) 7:03.05.

Lightweight Double Sculls - C/D Semi-Final One (First Three to C Final; rest to D Final): 3 Ireland (A Casey, D Walsh) 7:01.68.

Lightweight Single Sculls A/B Semi-Final One (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 6 Ireland (L Heaphy) 7:42.23.

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Ireland pair of Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll just missed out on a qualifying for the quarter-finals at the World Rowing Championships in Austria today.

 The Skibbereen men had to be in the top two in their repechage, but in a three-boat finish, Chile pipped Greece and Ireland were just .66 of a second off qualifying. They go to the E Final.

  The lightweight quadruple of Hugh Sutton, Miles Taylor, Ryan Ballantine and Jake McCarthy finished fourth in their heat and will compete in a repechage as they attempt to make the A Final. Italy were very strong and won well, staying clear of Denmark and Austria. Italy qualified for the A Final.

World Rowing Championships, Linz, Austria, Day Two (Irish interest)

Men

Pair - Repechage Two (First Two to Quarter-Finals; Third to Final E): 1 Chile 6:43.70, 2 Greece 6:43.71; 3 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:44.35.

Lightweight Quadruple – Heat One (Winner to A Final; rest to Repechage): 4 Ireland (H Sutton, M Taylor, R Ballantine, J McCarthy) 6:04.84

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Monika Dukarska and Aileen Crowley took an encouraging second place in their heat as they qualified for the quarter finals in the women’s pair at the World Rowing Championships in Linz, Austria. The United States looked to have the win wrapped up, but Ireland raced to the line and pushed them at the finish.

 Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll finished sixth in their heat of the men’s pair. They were not in the mix for the top-four placing which would have seen them directly into the quarter-finals, and must compete in a repechage.

World Rowing Championships, Linz, Austria, Day One (Irish interest)

Men

Pair – Heat One (First Four to Quarter-Finals; rest to Repechage):

6 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:50.51.

Women

Pair – Heat Four (First Four to Quarter-Finals; rest to Repechage):

2 Ireland (A Crowley, M Dukarska) 7:13.30

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll made their exit at the semi-final stage at Henley Royal Regatta today. The Skibbereen pair in the Silver Goblets moved off the start well and took a small lead, but they could not shake off Agustin Diaz and Axel Haack of Argentina.

 With each stroke through the middle of the course, the Argentina pair gained traction. The drew level and then passed O’Donovan and O’Driscoll. They opened a big lead and won well.

Henley Royal Regatta, Day Four (Selected Results; Irish interest)

Silver Goblets (Men’s Pairs, Open): A Diaz and A Haack bt M O’Donovan and S O’Driscoll (Skibbereen) 2¾ l

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Skibbereen men Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll won their first race at Henley Royal Regatta. The Skibbereen pair eased into Saturday’s draw in the Silver Goblets by beating Hugo Elworthy and Harry Hogan with little drama. O’Donovan and O’Driscoll used their very fast start to leave the Doncaster crew behind and then took advantage of the very good conditions to stay clear while easing their rate down.

Henley Royal Regatta, Day Three (Selected Results; Irish interest)

Hambleden Pairs (Women’s Pairs, Open): G Prendergast, K Gowler bt S O’Connor, N Long 2¼ l

Silver Goblets (Men’s Pairs, Open): Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll (Skibbereen) bt H Hogan and H Elworthy 2¼ l

Double Sculls (Men’s Double, Open): J Collins, G Thomas bt Nathan Hull and OJ Dix (Queen’s, Belfast and Leander) 1l

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The standout names in the Irish entry for Henley Royal Regatta are Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll. The world lightweight champions of 2017 have entered the Silver Goblets for open pairs.

 The Irish challenge features Commercial in the Thames Cup for club eights and UCD’s four in the Visitors. Both crews are Irish champions. Enniskillen have chosen to enter quadruples in the Fawley and the Diamond Jubilee.

 UCD, who compete at Henley Women’s Regatta this weekend, have entered the open event for women’s eights, the Remenham.  Orla Hayes of Skibbereen has entered the Princess Royal, the open event for women's single scullers.

Henley Royal Regatta, July 3rd to 7th (Selection of Entries, Irish interest)

Remenham Cup (Women’s Eights, Open): UCD

Thames (Men’s Eight, Club): Commercial

Visitors (Men’s Four, Club and University): UCD

Prince of Wales (Men’s Quadruple, Club and University): Lagan Scullers’

Fawley (Men’s Quadruple, Junior): Enniskillen Royal Boat Club

Diamond Jubilee Cup (Women’s Quadruple, Junior): Enniskillen Royal Boat Club

Britannia (Men’s Fours, coxed, Club): Belfast Rowing Club

Silver Goblets (Men’s Pairs, Open): Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll (Skibbereen)

Hambleden Pairs (Women’s Pairs, Open): Sadhbh O’Connor and Natalie Long (NUIG and Skibbereen)

Double Sculls (Men’s Double, Open): Nathan Hull and OJ Dix (Queen’s, Belfast and Leander)

Stonor Trophy (Women’s Double Sculls, Open): Fiona Chestnutt, CK Knight (Reading Univ and Newcastle Univ)

Diamond Sculls (Men’s Single, Open): Callum McCrae (Cambridge Univ Lightweight RC)

Princess Royal (Women’s Single, Open): Orla Hayes (Skibbereen)

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland’s Aoife Casey and Denise Walsh showed the Skibbereen skill for sprinting to good effect as they worn their C Final of the women’s lightweight double sculls at the World Championships in Plovdiv. They were fourth at 500 metres, but they sped up the rankings through the middle 1,000 and led with 500 metres to go. They took it home from there, with Austria second and Germany third. Ireland placed 13th in the World because of this result.

Shane O’Driscoll and Mark O’Donovan took fourth in their C Final, 16th overall, in the men’s pair. The race was won by Australia’s Andrew Judge and Joseph O’Brien, while O’Donovan and O’Driscoll produced a remarkable change of pace to challenge the leaders, but Poland and the United States had pushed in between them and the leaders on the line.

World Rowing Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Day Seven (Irish interest):

Men

Pair – C Final (places 13 to 18): 1 Australia 6:23.81; 4 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:29.19.

Lightweight Double Sculls – A Final: 1 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:06.81, 2 Italy 6:08.31, 3 Belgium 6:11.25.

Women

Pair – A Final: 1 Canada 6:50.67, 2 New Zealand 6:52.96, 3 Spain 7:04.60; 6 Ireland (A Keogh, E Hegarty) 7:15.70.

Lightweight Double Sculls – C Final (places 13 to 18): 1 Ireland (A Casey, D Walsh) 7:05.77, 2 Austria 7:08.29, 3 Germany 7:09.12.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll featured in the closest race of the day at the World Rowing Championships. The first three crews to finish in the C/D semi-final of the men’s pair would go through to the C Final. O’Donovan and O’Driscoll pushed hard to catch Australia and held second as the crews dashed for the line. But Italy and the Netherlands sped into the picture. The finish was so close that it was well into the next race before the judges ruled that Ireland and Italy had finished joint second (a very unusual decision). The Netherlands missed out by .04 of a second and go to the D Final.

World Rowing Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Day Five (Irish interest)

Men

Pair – Quarter-Final Four (Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to C/D Semi-Finals): 1 Canada 6:26.04, 2 New Zealand 6:30.36, 3 Czech Republic 6:35.01; 5 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:44.28. C/D Semi-Final One (Three to C Final; rest to D Final): 1 Australia 6:36.82, 2= Ireland 6:38.74, 2= Italy 6:38.74; 4 The Netherlands 6:38.78.

Double Sculls – Repechage Four (First Two to A/B Semi-Final): Ireland (P Doyle, R Byrne) 6:16.96, 2 Bulgaria 6:20.15.

Lightweight Double – Semi-Final Two (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Italy 6:21.94, 2 Belgium 6:22.83, 3 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:23.78.

Women

Pair – Semi-Final (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Ireland (A Keogh, E Hegarty) 7:14.67, 2 Italy 7:14.99, 3 Spain 7:15.30.

Lightweight Double Sculls – C/D Semi-Final (First Two to C Final; rest to D Final): 1 Ireland (A Casey, D Walsh) 7:20.51, 2 Spain 7:24.08.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Shane O’Driscoll and Mark O’Donovan took fifth in their quarter-final of the pair at the World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv. Canada won well, with New Zealand and the Czech Republic taking the other A/B semi-final places. The Ireland crew battled well to push ahead of Denmark, but third and qualification for the A/B Semi-Finals was beyond them. They will compete in the C/D Semi-Finals.

 Earlier, Philip Doyle and Ronan Byrne had won their repechage of the double sculls to secure their place in the A/B Semi-Finals.

World Rowing Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Day Five (Irish interest)

Men

Pair – Quarter-Final Four (Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to C/D Semi-Finals): 1 Canada 6:26.04, 2 New Zealand 6:30.36, 3 Czech Republic 6:35.01; 5 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:44.28.

Double Sculls – Repechage Four (First Two to A/B Semi-Final):

Ireland (P Doyle, R Byrne) 6:16.96, 2 Bulgaria 6:20.15.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll qualified for the quarter-finals of the men’s pair with a second-place finish in their repechage at the World Rowing Championships. Sander de Graaf and Vincent Klaassens of the Netherlands won, with the Ireland pair, their only rivals for the top spot, finishing well and closing on them at the finish, where they were just 1.61 seconds down. Four of the five crews took quarter-final places, with Brazil taking third and Argentina losing out in the final sprint to Bulgaria for the final spot.

World Rowing Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Day Two (Irish interest)

Men

Pair – Repechage (Four to Quarter-Finals): The Netherlands 6:34.68 2 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:36.29, 3 Brazil 6:41.66, 4 Bulgaria 6:42.81.

Lightweight Quadruple Sculls – Heat Two (First to A Final; rest to Repechage): 1 Italy 5:48.03; 3 Ireland (F McCarthy, R Ballantine, J McCarthy, A Goff) 5:53.43.

Women

Double Sculls – Heat One (First Two to A/B Semi-Final; rest to Repechage): 1 Canada 6:54.02, 2 Netherlands 6:55.57; 6 Ireland (M Dukarska, A Crowley) 7:08.79.

Single Sculls – Heat One (Winner to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage): 1 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:25.78; 2 Denmark 7:39.93.  

Published in Rowing
Page 1 of 6

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