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Displaying items by tag: Migration

Information has emerged as to how a young osprey tagged in the Scottish Borders hitched a ride on two ships during his first attempt at migration.

Conservationist Sacha Dench is part of a team tracking the bird to learn more about the species' behaviour.

She told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme how the osprey - called Glen - took his unusual route.

At one point it was feared he had died but he has now made it safely to Spain with the help of the two vessels.

Ms Dench - who was seriously injured in a crash which claimed the life of her cameraman in the Highlands last year - explained what happened to Glen after he left the Tweed Valley.

She said he had taken a "particularly unusual route" after his departure on 9 September.

For more including a map of the bird of prey's route across the Bay of Biscay, BBC News has the story.

Published in Marine Wildlife

#Shipping - Five people were found in a shipping container in Wexford at the weekend, as BreakingNews.ie reports.

The three men, a woman and a young girl, all believed to be Kurdish, were discovered at a haulage yard in New Ross on Sunday evening (16 October) in a container thought to have come in on a ferry from Cherbourg to Rosslare Europort.

Gardaí said the five, who were in good health, are being detained under immigration law — and are claiming asylum due to persecution in their home region.

According to TheJournal.ie, New Ross is also where nine Kurdish refugees were found in the back of a truck after stowing away on a ferry from France to Rosslare this past February.

Published in Ports & Shipping

#Angling - A kids' contest for 'best fish costume' is among the events for all the family to mark World Fish Migration Day 2014 this coming Saturday 24 May.

World Fish Migration Day is a one-day global initiative, with local events worldwide, to create awareness on the importance of open rivers and migratory fish.

The ability of fish to freely migrate is crucial to achieve healthy fish stocks. While most fish are migratory to some degree, some species like those found in the Lower Shannon - Atlantic salmon, trout, sea lamprey and eel - migrate thousands of kilometres to complete their life cycles.

If they can’t migrate, the population will die out. And this has already happened with many species in different places around the world where barriers such as weirs, dams and sluices - built for water management, hydropower and land drainage - prevent fish from completing their life cycle.

Here in Ireland, MulkearLIFE and Inland Fisheries Ireland will host two events highlight the importance of fish migration on the Lower Shannon, with an emphasis on the Mulkear River Catchment and migration of Atlantic salmon and sea lamprey through the Annacotty Weir.

Early in the morning from 6am-8am there will be a live demonstration of sea lamprey successfully traversing the dedicated passes at the Annacotty Weir. The meeting point is the car park at the Mill Bar in Annacotty, Co Limerick. (Please not that this event is dependant on river conditions and the presence of lamprey in the system.)

Later in the day, the Mill Bar car park will host a family fun afternoon from 12 noon - with the aforementioned 'best fish costume' contest plus face-painting, live fish demonstrations and an excursion to Ballyclogh Weir on the Lower Mulkear - all with a view to helping children learn more about the importance of fish migration and healthy river ecosystems.

The Mulkear River, and the wider catchment, forms part of the Lower Shannon Special Area of Conservation and is the focus of the EU-funded MulkearLIFE project.

The day out on the Mulkear River is just one of almost 250 events around the world on World Fish Migration Day, starting in New Zealand and following the sun around the world till it sets in Hawaii.

The day is hoped to bring global attention for the need for open rivers and free routes for fish migration.

Published in Angling
Tagged under

The 2024 Vendée Globe Race

A record-sized fleet of 44 skippers are aiming for the tenth edition of the Vendée Globe: the 24,296 nautical miles solo non-stop round-the-world race from Les Sables d’Olonne in France, on Sunday, November 10 2024 and will be expected back in mid-January 2025.

Vendée Globe Race FAQs

Six women (Alexia Barrier, Clarisse Cremer, Isabelle Joschke, Sam Davies, Miranda Merron, Pip Hare).

Nine nations (France, Germany, Japan, Finland, Spain, Switzerland, Australia, and Great Britain)

After much speculation following Galway man Enda O’Coineen’s 2016 race debut for Ireland, there were as many as four campaigns proposed at one point, but unfortunately, none have reached the start line.

The Vendée Globe is a sailing race round the world, solo, non-stop and without assistance. It takes place every four years and it is regarded as the Everest of sailing. The event followed in the wake of the Golden Globe which had initiated the first circumnavigation of this type via the three capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn) in 1968.

The record to beat is Armel Le Cléac’h 74 days 3h 35 minutes 46s set in 2017. Some pundits are saying the boats could beat a sub-60 day time.

The number of theoretical miles to cover is 24,296 miles (45,000 km).

The IMOCA 60 ("Open 60"), is a development class monohull sailing yacht run by the International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA). The class pinnacle events are single or two-person ocean races, such as the Route du Rhum and the Vendée Globe.

Zero past winners are competing but two podiums 2017: Alex Thomson second, Jérémie Beyou third. It is also the fifth participation for Jean Le Cam and Alex Thomson, fourth for Arnaud Boissières and Jérémie Beyou.

The youngest on this ninth edition of the race is Alan Roura, 27 years old.

The oldest on this ninth edition is Jean Le Cam, 61 years old.

Over half the fleet are debutantes, totalling 18 first-timers.

The start procedure begins 8 minutes before the gun fires with the warning signal. At 4 minutes before, for the preparatory signal, the skipper must be alone on board, follow the countdown and take the line at the start signal at 13:02hrs local time. If an IMOCA crosses the line too early, it incurs a penalty of 5 hours which they will have to complete on the course before the latitude 38 ° 40 N (just north of Lisbon latitude). For safety reasons, there is no opportunity to turn back and recross the line. A competitor who has not crossed the starting line 60 minutes after the signal will be considered as not starting. They will have to wait until a time indicated by the race committee to start again. No departure will be given after November 18, 2020, at 1:02 p.m when the line closes.

The first boat could be home in sixty days. Expect the leaders from January 7th 2021 but to beat the 2017 race record they need to finish by January 19 2021.

Today, building a brand new IMOCA generally costs between 4.2 and €4.7million, without the sails but second-hand boats that are in short supply can be got for around €1m.

©Afloat 2020

Vendee Globe 2024 Key Figures

  • 10th edition
  • Six women (vs six in 2020)
  • 16 international skippers (vs 12 in 2020)
  • 11 nationalities represented: France, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Hungary, Japan, China, USA, New Zealand (vs 9 in 2020)
  • 18 rookies (vs 20 in 2020)
  • 30 causes supported
  • 14 new IMOCAs (vs 9 in 2020)
  • Two 'handisport' skippers

At A Glance - Vendee Globe 2024

The 10th edition will leave from Les Sables d’Olonne on November 10, 2024

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