Displaying items by tag: Irish Farmers Association

Q: Give examples of marine leisure tourism?

Sports: sailing, surfing, diving and fishing Heritage: Unesco coastal villages, archaeological sites of interest, biospheres and historical points of interest Arts: coastal museums, art galleries, museums, wrecks Education: Eco-tourism, field courses, NGOs. Food: Seafood restaurants, Seafood festivals

11th January 2018

Animal Welfare Campaigners Slam IFA Calls to Increase Livestock Shipping Exports

Animal welfare groups raise concerns and have slammed the “disgraceful” calls from the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) to increase livestock exports in 2018. A ferry operator engaged in this trade on an Ireland-France route, Stena Line is due next month to refit a ferry. The IFA want to ensure a replacement ship is available for peak export weeks during February and March.

#FerryNews - Animal welfare groups internationally have slammed the “disgraceful” calls from the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) to increase the live export of Irish livestock in 2018.

As the Green News.ie writes, the comments come in response to calls from the IFA’s National Livestock Chairman, Angus Woods at a Bord Bia seminar on live exports in Tullamore, Co Offaly yesterday.

Mr Woods said that the Minister of Agriculture, Michael Creed must “put all the necessary resources in place” to facilitate an increase in exports.

The IFA also met with senior officials from the Department of Agriculture to discuss transport options for the export of livestock.

Stena Line is due to refit their existing vessel (as reported previously on Afloat) which is used to transport live exports and the IFA want to ensure that a replacement ship is available for peak export weeks in February and March.

“It must be of the highest priority to Minister Creed that the new arrangements can deal with our live exports and shipping requirements during this peak export period. Market access is absolutely critical,” Mr Woods said.

To read much more including what are claimed as 'horrendous journeys' according to Campaigns at Compassion in World Farming, click here.

Published in Ferry

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Livestock-Carrier to Restore Trade with Libya

#LivestocktoLibya – A livestock-carrier docked in Waterford Port yesterday, to restore the trade with Libya, which banned beef imports, following the BSE (mad cow) disease which broke out in Ireland, more than 17 years ago, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Al Mahmoud Express is believed to be operated by a Syrian shipping company. The 7,089 tonnes vessel berthed at Belview, the port's main terminal facility, downriver of the city on the Waterford Estuary. It was back in the 1990's, when the city quays last saw live-stock trading on a more regular basis.

Together the Department of Agriculture and the IFA have been working strenuously to have live cattle exported to North Africa.

IFA Livestock Director Kevin Kinsella said that cattle agents are now buying cattle for live export and are looking for coloured cattle, and continental breeds, Angus and Hereford. Mr Kinsella expressed the hope that the live trade will also resume shortly to Egypt and Lebanon.

Prior to the Panamanian flagged vessel setting sail to Ireland, officials from the Department of Agriculture carried out an inspection of the ship in Turkey, which led to some modifications.

In this first shipment to Libya, up to 2,900 live cattle are to be transported to Tripoli. It is estimated the passage time will take 10 days, with an en-route call to Ceuta, the Spanish enclave which neighbours Morocco.

The cattle kill is likely to be up by up to 150,000 this year, and with this additional outlet will help to keep upward pressure on prices.

Al Mahmoud Express, was previously a 700 capacity vehicle-carrier that regularly called to Irish ports. As the Autoline, the 1983 built vessel ran for United European Car Carriers (U.E.C.C.) and up to several years ago she included calling to Rosslare, before been sold.

Published in Ports & Shipping

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Marine Leisure & Aquatic Tourism

Domestic coastal tourism expenditure was approximately €698 million in 2018, while domestic marine tourism generated €381 million.

Activities such as walking/ running along the coast, swimming and beach visitations are among the most popular activities for domestic visitors on both day and overnight trips.

While participation rates in pursuits such as bird and wildlife watching in coastal areas and visiting nature reserves, etc. in coastal areas were lower, these activities did see the highest frequency of both day and overnight trips for those active in these activities.

According to the National University of Galway (NUIG) research the average expenditure per coastal day trip in 2018 was calculated at €95. The equivalent for coastal overnight trips was €310. The estimated water-based activity expenditure per person per trip across the sample was €56 rising to €73 for the subsample that actually undertake waterbased activities on their coastal visits. The results also indicate that domestic tourists undertake the majority of their marine activities on the West and South coasts of Ireland and that there are notable differences in participation rates across age groupings, social classes and by family makeup.

A domestic tourist is defined in this report as a person who spends at least one night away from home on their trip. Total expenditure by domestic tourists in coastal areas was estimated to be €698 million in 2018, which represents 35% of the total expenditure by domestic tourists (using the broader Fáilte Ireland measure for domestic tourists that includes business trips equating to 10.92 million in total trips and €2,006 million in total revenue).

The marine-related activity expenditure, or what might truly be referred to as domestic marine tourism, is estimated to generate revenue of €381 million with €172 million being spent on water-based activities. Marine tourism makes up an estimated 19% of total domestic tourism expenditure.

Marine Leisure Tourism - FAQ

What is marine leisure tourism?

Coastal tourism refers to land-based and water-based tourism activities taking place on the coast for which the proximity to the sea is a condition including also their respective services. Coastal and Marine Tourism & Leisure are seen as one of the Blue Economy (BE) sectors that can help unlock the potential of multi-use of space at sea by engaging with Blue Growth (BG) sectors such as Aquaculture and Marine Renewable Energy among others.

Give examples of marine leisure tourism?

Sports: sailing, surfing, diving and fishing Heritage: Unesco coastal villages, archaeological sites of interest, biospheres and historical points of interest Arts: coastal museums, art galleries, museums, wrecks Education: Eco-tourism, field courses, NGOs. Food: Seafood restaurants, Seafood festivals

What marine leisure tourism studies have been conducted in Ireland?

NUI Galway carried out a survey of domestic residents in Ireland in 2019 as part of a survey entitled "Valuing and understanding the dynamics of Ireland's Ocean Economy". The purpose of the household survey was to profile the domestic market for single-day trips (leisure) and overnight trips (tourism) for coastal and marine-related activities in Ireland. The results of the survey are also used to estimate what proportion of an Irish resident's total domestic tourism expenditure is in coastal areas (coastal tourism) and what proportion is spent on undertaking marine-related activities (marine tourism).

What were the results of the NUI marine leisure tourism study?

The NUI results highlight the important contribution that Ireland's marine and coastal resources make to the leisure experiences of the general population and the importance of the domestic tourism market to local coastal economies. The analysis indicates that domestic coastal tourism expenditure was approximately €698 million in 2018, while domestic marine tourism generated €381 million. Activities such as walking/ running along the coast, swimming and beach visitations are among the most popular activities for domestic visitors on both day and overnight trips. While participation rates in pursuits such as bird and wildlife watching in coastal areas and visiting nature reserves, etc. in coastal areas were lower, these activities did see the highest frequency of both day and overnight trips for those active in these activities. Satisfaction with the available marine-related leisure facilities was also found to be very high across all activities.