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Displaying items by tag: Minimising Whale Strikes

The Nautical Institute is hosting a free webinar: Minimising Whale Strikes, Enhancing Mariners' Awareness of these Majestic Creatures which is to be held on Wednesday 15th February (9.00-10.30 GMT).

Seafarers have a love of the oceans and take great joy from sharing the environment with marine life. In fact mariners and shipping companies are often considered protectors of the oceans as can be seen by the huge efforts being made by individuals and the industry as a whole to prevent pollution at sea.

Sadly, despite our best efforts, strikes on marine mammals such as whales and dolphins continue to have an impact.

This Nautical Institute webinar seeks to explore the risk of whale strikes, help seafarers understand the nature of these mammals and identify how, with a bit of awareness, we can avoid striking them inadvertently and reduce harm against these magnificent animals which share our lives.

The following webinar Speakers are: MSC Vice President of Sustainability, MSC Mediterranean Shipping, Stefania Lallai; Dr Simon Berrow, Chief Science Officer and CEO of Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG); Sibéal Regan, IWDG Education and Outreach Officer; and National Geographic Explorer, Dr Rui Prieto, to discover the steps we can take to avoid whale strikes.

The free webinar from The Nautical Institute will be interactive, inviting feedback and questions from attendees and will provide a certificate of participation to all those who attend.

To register for this webinar click here

The Nautical Institute is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) with consultative status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Our aim is to promote professionalism, best practice and safety throughout the maritime industry and to represent the interests of our members.

Irish Whale & Dophin Group (Survey Weeks)

The IWDG was founded in 1990 to establish an All-Ireland sighting and stranding scheme and to campaign for the declaration of Irish territorial waters as a whale and dolphin sanctuary.

For further information visit the IWDG website, noting that dates for their survey weeks are now open for those to join them on board their research vessel, the RV Celtic Mist. 

By becoming a member, come on board to help us collect important data on whales, dolphins, and porpoises in our waters. For details visit this LINK: 

Published in Marine Wildlife

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

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.

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

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).

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.

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