#Angling - The World Youth Fly Fishing Championship is coming to Ireland's border region next month.

And as the Carrick Times reports, Carrickfergus in Co Antrim is looking forward to hosting part of the event at the Woodford Fly Fishery.

What's more, local lad and Woodford member Darren Crawford will be among the all-Ireland fly fishing squad vying for the international title at the event, co-sponsored by the Loughs Agency and Inland Fisheries Ireland.

Rivers and lakes hosting the competition are spread over the counties of Antrim, Louth, Monaghan, Meath and Tyrone.

In other inland fisheries news, Galway Bay FM reports that testing carried out after a fish kill in Loughrea Lake last month found no evidence of any bacterial or viral outbreak.

The cause of the incident that killed 100 perch in the lake are still unclear, though stresses connected with the spawning season are a distinct possibility.

#Shannon - Passages on the River Shannon in 2013 so far have fallen more than 50% compared to numbers for the same period a decade ago, according to the Irish Waterways History blog written by Afloat's inland correspondent, Brian Goggin.

Using statistics supplied by Waterways Ireland, the site plotted a graph that shows an overall decline in lock and bridge passages on the Shannon in the months from January to May each year since 2003, with a slight spike in 2007 the only buck in the downward trend.

Though the figures do not record all uses of the waterway (such as sailing, angling and other watersports) and do not account for variables such as the weather, they are indicative - the site claims - of "the Shannon's most significant tourism activity, the cruiser hire business".

Indeed, the figures apparently show that boat hire passage numbers have fallen from 11,440 in January-May 2003 to just 4,781 in the same months this year.

Even private boat passages have been falling from a peak in 2009 to just below their 2003 numbers, if the site's interpretation of the stats is anything to go by.

However, a source close to Afloat.ie says that the falling numbers may be skewed by a growing emphasis on larger-capacity vessels on Ireland's inland waterways, with eight- and 12-berth boats supplanting older four-berth vessels, and families and groups consolidating their recreational boating.

It will be interesting to see how the rest of the year turns out, and whether the overall numbers from January to December will tell a different story of the state of the Shannon and other waterways.

#inland – Sailing will be centre stage when teams from around Ireland battle it out in the Grand Canal Dock, Dublin over two days for the second edition of the Inter-Counties Sailing Championship to see which county has the best sailing team. 

Notice of Race is downloadable below as a PDF.

Sailors are invited to submit a team comprising a crew of up to 5 people capable of handling a 27ft keel boat, to include at least 1 female, to represent counties in what will be the battle of the sailing tribes & colours of Ireland. Which county is the best?
Racing will comprise a series of sprint flights (heats) of approximately 20 minutes duration leading to a final to decide the winner.

With boats constantly in close quarters and potential crash situations both with each other and the immovable solid quay walls, this event promises to be a testing and thrilling experience for the sailors crewing onboard and a highly entertaining spectacle with viewing areas for spectators on the quay walls and the Grand Canal Square.

The championship will run over the weekend of 7th & 8th September 2013 from 1000hrs - 1600hrs each day.

A fleet of one design boats 27ft in length is being provided so teams can compete on a level playing field. Ownership of a boat is not necessary, and sailors and clubs wishing to enter a team to represent their county should contact Waterways Racing for more details.

The Grand Canal Dock is part of Ireland's inland waterways system and comprises 44 acres of non-tidal freshwater in Dublin's Docklands. It has its own marina, Waterways Interpretive Centre, watersports centre and is surround by a multitude of bars and restaurants and is overlooked by the majestic Bord Gáis Energy Theatre.

The event is being supported by Waterways Ireland, an all island body set up to manage & promote all of Ireland's waterways. Commenting on their support of the event "We are delighted to be involved in this sailing championship which invites participation from the whole island of Ireland in keeping with our own remit as an inter-governmental agency. We are looking forward to welcoming teams, supporters and the general public to this historic dock in Dublin for the inaugural Waterways Ireland Inter-Counties Sailing Championship" Éanna Rowe, Marketing Manager, Waterways Ireland.

#Tourism - The world-class surfing hotspot of Sligo has failed to make the grade in Fáilte Ireland's long list of leading tourism towns for 2013, according to the Irish Independent.

The north-east county was among a surprise selection of areas known for their maritime and waterways attractions - such as Westmeath on the Shannon and Galway, host of last year's Volvo Ocean Race finale - that were not featured in the Irish tourism board's list of 45 towns and villages put forward for the Highly Commended Tourism Towns award, part of the National Tidy Towns Awards to be announced later in the year.

Counties on the water that did make the cut include Clare and Mayo, with five towns each on the list, Kerry with four - including last year's winner Portmagee - and Donegal and Waterford, represented three times each.

The top prize winner, to be announced by Fáilte Ireland in November, will receive €10,000 in supports for tourism marketing and development.

Though Sligo is conspicuous by its absence, Donegal's triple placing shows the north-east region is a big tourism attraction - and the Tripclocker blog says surfing is at the forefront of that.

With Ireland's exposure to the open Atlantic giving is "better waves more often", according to Killian O'Kelly of Bundoran's Turn n' Surf, there is a wide variety of surf beaches stretching from Donegal to Clare in particular with swells for all levels of experience.

MARINE NOTICE

No 59 of 2013

SHANNON NAVIGATION

Lanesborough

Aquathon Swimming Event

Waterways Ireland wishes to advise masters and users of the Shannon Navigation that the above event will take place in Lanesborough on Wed 26 th Jun between 1830 hrs and 2000hrs.

Masters are requested to proceed at slow speed and with minimum wash when in this area of the navigation and to note any advice given by race marshals when approaching the course.

Waterways Ireland thanks masters for their co-operation in this matter.

C.J.Lawn

Lt Cdr (rtd)

Inspector of Navigation

12 Jun 2013

Tel: 353 90 6494232

Fax: 353 90 6494147

MARINE NOTICE

No. 57 of 2013

SHANNON NAVIGATION

Aids to Navigation South of Athlone and North of Clonmacnoise

Marine Notices Nos 48, 50 and 54 refer.

These aids to navigation have been attended to and the marine notices are now withdrawn.

C.Lawn

Inspector of Navigation

12 Jun 2013

Tel: 00 353 (0)90 6494232

Fax : 00 353 (0) 6494147

#Oil&Gas - The public consultation on the first stage of environmental assessment for developing an oil and gas licensing framework in Northern Ireland's inland waters continues till next Friday 14 June.

The 'Scoping Report' was issued on 24 April last by Northern Ireland's Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) and marks the first step of the EU-mandated Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) process.

The current consultation seeks comments on the appropriateness of the proposed scope of the SEA and the proposed assessment methodology.

Anti-fracking campaigners Good Energies Alliance Ireland (GEAI) argue that any future oil and gas exploration or extraction in Belfast Lough or Larne Lough would include horizontal drilling and franking.

With one week left to go, GEAI is among those urging the public to have their say in the consultation, citing the 1,300 submissions received by the EPA that the group claims it encouraged on a proposed franking research study.

Northern Ireland has four existing petroleum licences across three main areas of exploration in Antrim, Fermanagh and Derry.

#Angling - From today 1 June, Northern Ireland's anglers are banned from selling salmon caught in rivers under new measures from the Legislative Assembly.

As BBC News reports, Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure Carál Ní Chuilín said that the new rules are "the first step in a series of conservation measures aimed at protecting stocks of the iconic Atlantic salmon".

The rod and line catch sale ban is intended to encourage the practice of 'catch and release' which is set to become mandatory next year, and also brings NI legislation into line with the rest of Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

It comes months after the shocking news that just three out of every 100 wild salmon returned to Northern Ireland's rivers in 2011, prompting concerns that the species has declined to "Dodo levels".

Moves have already been made to control the commercial offshore netting of salmon in order to boost their numbers in the North's waterways.

Another threat to salmon numbers is the rise of invasive species in Northern Ireland's waterways, which as the News Letter reports have cost the economy more than £46 million a year, according to Environment Minister Alex Attwood.

Highlighting the risk to NI's marine wildlife and plantlife, as well as fisheries and agriculture, the minister said "increasing awareness of the threat of invasive species and the need to tackle them is key to achieving success".

A new strategy by the Legislative Assembly will involve partnerships between government, the community and environment groups "working in tandem" to deal with the problems caused by invasive species such as the Japanese sea squirt, detected in Strangford Lough last year.

#InlandWaterways - Waterways Ireland advises masters and owners that a green starboardhand navigation mark is reported missing just south of Athlone Lock on the eastern side of the Shannon Navigation opposite the old Athlone Canal entrance.

Masters should proceed with caution when navigating this section of the river.

Elsewhere on the Shannon, a triathlon swimming training course is now set out in Lough Key between Castle Island and the mainland to the west, in an area off the navigable channel.

This will be in place until the end of September and is marked by four yellow buoys. When swimmers are on the course they will be accompanied by a safety boat and will be wearing high visibility swim hats.

Training will take place Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7am till 8am and Tuesday and Thursday from 6pm till 8pm. Masters are requested to navigate at slow speed and with a low wash when passing the area.

Further information may be had from Donal Kennedy of Lough Key Triathlon Club at 086 109 2626 or [email protected].

Meanwhile, a swimming event will take place on Sunday 9 June from Shannon Harbour to Banagher Harbour.

Masters are requested to navigate at slow speed and with a low wash when passing the area during the event, which will take place between 1pm and 3.30pm.

For more details contact Jerry O’Meara of Shannonside Sub Aqua Club at 087 776 4252 or [email protected].