Displaying items by tag: SCUBA Diving
Water Users Speak Out Over UK Marine Conservation Proposals
#MARINE WILDLIFE - Sailors, fishermen and SCUBA divers in England's West Country could face "tough new restrictions" if plans for conservation zones in the Irish Sea and around the UK coast go ahead.
According to This Is Cornwall, groups representing water users argue that marine protection plans "would have severe knock-on effects on those who rely on the south west's coastline for employment and leisure".
Alana Murphy of the Royal Yachting Association said: "A lot of the small inshore areas proposed as conservation zones coincide with estuaries and bays that are used by sailors for mooring, or for laying buoys for racing. We are concerned we could lose important sailing areas."
Companies involved in offshore renewable energy have voiced their concerns on the impact of marine reserved on their development, while the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations added that the scale of proposed fishing reserves was too great, and could potentially push commercial fishermen "to other areas which will then get overfished".
As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the UK's Wildlife Trusts have expressed dismay that plans to establish Marine Conservation Zones in the Irish Sea and elsewhere have been shelved till at least next year after pressure from fishermen, boaters and other groups.
Fun On The Water You May Not Have Tried
This week The Irish Times highlights a host of water-based activities that you may not have tried.
From kitesurfing to paddle boarding, urban fishing to SCUBA diving and even moonlight kayaking, there's surely a new experience for everyone from the most veteran sea dog to the driest landlubber.
The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.
Body of Drowned Diver Returned to Family
The body of the Irish student backpacker who drowned while scuba diving in Australia recently was returned to her family yesterday.
As previously reported on Afloat.ie, 23-year-old Elaine Morrow from Ballintra, Co Donegal, had been on a beginner's diving course off the coast of Queensland on 18 April when she became separated from her group and failed to surface.
The Irish Independent reports that her funeral will take place tomorrow afternoon, after a service at Drumholm Parish Church of Ireland in Ballintra.
Irish Victim Named in Australia Drowning
An Irishwoman who drowned while scuba diving in the Whitsunday Islands in Australia has been named, the Irish Examiner reports.
Elaine Morrow, 23, from Ballintra in Co Donegal, had been on a three-day beginners diving course in the island chain, off the coast of Queensland, when she was separated from her group on Monday.
It is believed the woman had been in Australia for almost a year on a working holiday visa.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has contacted the family and offered consular assistance.
Brady Feels At Home in the Water
Irish musician Paul Brady has confessed to a second love - scuba diving.
The 'Nobody Knows' hitmaker explained to The Irish Times how he had "always felt at home in the water" since a young age, and did his first diving course in 1988.
But frustrated by diving's weather dependancy here, he started going abroad - beginning in the Red Sea in the late 1980s before taking in the world's top diving spots, from Hawaii to the Cayman Islands and Australia.
Brady says he prefers to dive in private groups "off the beaten track" as commercial operators don't often visit the best sites - citing the Great Barrier Reef as an example.
As an experienced diver, he's has his fair share of bumpy moments down below, such as getting caught in a down draght in the Red Sea near Ras Mohammad - but says his training made all the difference.
As for why he loves diving? "It's a bit like floating in air," he says.
Read more of the Irish Times' interview with Paul Brady HERE.
The Allure of the Deep, Is Diving for You?
Divers completing a decompression stop after a 40 meter dive to the wreck of the ssFoilia off the Waterford Coast
