Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

A West Cork-based whale-watching tour business has ended its 2023 season early, blaming overfishing of sprat for the absence of the usual whale visitors to the South Coast. In a social media post on Monday (27 November), Cork Whale Watch…

The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) sets out its strategic programme every three years and is currently preparing its Statement of Strategy for 2024–2026. This will focus on what the SFPA wants to achieve during this period to ensure effective regulation…

Kilkenny Live reports that Graiguenamanagh Canoe Club has lodged plans to construct an accessible floating pontoon and disabled kayak launch at The Quay on the River Barrow. The application can be viewed on the Kilkenny County Council website and a…

‘All In A Row Charity Liffey Challenge 2023’ is coming to the capital’s River Liffey on Saturday, 2nd December, with a challenge for rowing teams to smash a 1,000km target in eight hours. 22 rowing clubs will row the challenge…

Inshore fishermen say they are in “severe financial straits” because of a ‘crash’ in prices and processors closing. The National Inshore Fishermen’s Association has made a request to the Minister for the Marine for “immediate financial support” in order to…

Marine Minister Charlie McConalogue TD has announced that the Tier 1 and Tier 2 polyvalent vessels that had no authorisation to fish mackerel in December 2021, and who availed of aid under the Temporary Fleet Tie-up Scheme in that month,…

Scoping the creation of Ireland’s first underwater artificial reef in Mayo’s Killala Bay has received a grant of 50,000 euro as one of a number of outdoor projects approved for funding by Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys.…

The Irish arm of the world’s largest farmed salmon producer has applied for an Aquaculture/Foreshore Licence for a proposed facility at Deenish Island in Co Kerry. Silver King Seafoods Ltd, which is wholly owned by Mowi Ireland, is seeking to…

As Afloat reported earlier, Marine Minister Charlie McConalogue, T.D, today attended the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels. The agenda included an initial exchange of views on the proposal for fishing opportunities in the Atlantic and the North Sea…

Marine Minister Charlie McConalogue T.D, is today attending a meeting of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels where the Council is discussing Council Conclusion on the Long-term Vision for Rural Areas. The Council agreed that support for rural…

The National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) has announced its third annual Seafarers’ Conference, ‘Realising Ireland’s Maritime Ambition’, which will take place on 22 February 2024 in the Castletroy Park Hotel in Co. Limerick. The conference, sponsored by Simply Blue…

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is to provide more than €1 million in new grants to support fish and their habitats in rivers nationwide. IFI’s Habitats and Conservation Scheme funding call for 2024 is now live and expressions of interest can…

Sightings of rare marine species will increase Ireland’s “scientific and biological knowledge bank”, the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) has said in an appeal during Science Week. The SFPA says it is encouraging the public - and particularly those in the…

Angelwelt Berlin is the leading trade fair on the trendy topic of angling in Germany and has now established itself as the most popular meeting place for sport and leisure anglers at both national and international level in Germany. This…

Stormy weather means fuel for swelling seas off the surfing hot spot of Mullaghmore in Co Sligo. And Irish big wave surfer Conor Maguire was there this week to catch the mammoth walls of water, as RTÉ News reports. Three…

French and Corsican marine scientists have succeeded in rearing juveniles of the vulnerable European spiny lobster. A team from the University of Corsica and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) has achieved what it terms a “scientific and…