SEASCAPES AUDIO AND NEWS: 17 APRIL 2009

TOM MACSWEENEY'S SEASCAPES MARITIME LOG

From Donegal to South America to fish

Listen to the programme

Four Donegal trawlers are planning to sail to South America to catch fish, because they are not allowed to do so in Irish waters, while other EU fishing fleets can do so. Does that not seem a little ridiculous? Fishing has become over-regulated, controlled by a vast web of regulations, spawning increasing numbers of jobs for bureaucrats and fisheries protection officials, but with less and less for Irish fishermen.

So, to keep their boats and crews working, four Killybegs owners have applied for permission to fish south of the Equator. They have applied for fishing licences from the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation. Since 2006 this Organisation has regulated fishing in international waters south of the Equator and west of South America. If their applications are successful the boats will be the first Irish RSW (refrigerated sea water) tank boats to fish in these waters.

Martin Howley, a Director of the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation is one of the boat owners and told me on SEASCAPES that because the impact of restrictions was so severe, they had no choice but to try to get work for their crews to keep them together. There is still a lot of negotiating to be done, but the plan is to leave Donegal in June, taking about a month to reach the fishing waters and spend about three months fishing there.

"This will be an expensive operation but we have no choice. The restrictions have cut the days we could fish from 300 days which we used to be able to fish to 80 days a year and we cannot survive on that. We will have to arrange for crews to be flown out and changed over, so there are a lot of logistics to be dealt with and it will be costly but we have to do it."

Fish prices had been keeping pelagic boats going but they have now dropped and the situation is very difficult for many boats. These are not factory-boats which process fish onboard, such as the supertrawler, the then Atlantic Dawn, which fished the area three years ago. They are regular RSW fishing boats.

CLICK on this link to hear MARTIN HOWLEY on SEASCAPES.

It is a sign of how difficult the EU Common Fisheries Policy has made things for the Irish fishing industry and between 200 and 400 fishing jobs will be lost at the end of this month by decision of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, at a time when the Government is stressing the need to defend jobs. The Department, despite being told by T.D's. at the Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs that what it is doing is wrong and "a scandal," is proceeding with its plan to close the Irish eel fishery.

There is an acknowledged problem with European eel stocks and agreement that conservation is necessary, but Ireland only accounts for between 2 and 4 per cent of the European eel stock and no other EU country is entirely closing its entire fishery, but Ireland is, by the Department's decision. Minister of State at the Department, Sean Power and the Chairman of the Working Group which recommended the decision, Frank Sheridan, an official in the Department, declined to be interviewed on SEASCAPES, but there are many questions to be raised about what the Department is doing and why.

Eel fishermen claim that the Working Group was set up without their involvement as stakeholders and that it was only after intense opposition they were allowed to take part, but by then Fisheries Board Managers and other civil servants on the Group had already decided on the closure.

It is acknowledged officially that about 200 jobs will be lost, while the fishery organisations claim that the number will be double that. No compensation is being offered to those who are being put out of work.

CAN YOU HELP WITH INFORMATION ABOUT AN IRISH SHIPPING FLAG?

Captain Walter Phelan has been a seafarer all his life and is working with Gulf Offshore for Tullow Oil in Ghana. He Emails to say that when he visited the British Sailors' Society Club in Takoradi he came across, hanging amongst the flags of other countries and companies, an Irish Shipping house flag. Having served with Irish Shipping from 1978 to 1984 he was delighted to see it. "The flag is in good condition, a bit faded, but as the club is to be renovated, I took the opportunity to acquire the flag," he says and would love to know when it was given to the club and if there is any society or museum interested in preserving it for posterity. He has made some enquiries and thinks the flag may date from 1976, but no information on the ship or crew which presented it to the Society. So, can any listener please help with information?

Irish Shipping Flag in the British Sailors' Society Club in Takoradi

Captain Phelan also comments on the abandoning of ASGARD: "I would like to add my disapproval and dismay. The Minister and the Government do not have an iota about our Irish seafaring tradition or the value of vessels such as ASGARD II, nor do they have any idea of the value of our natural resources, such as the gas deposits that lie within our territorial waters. That's another bone of contention," Captain Phelan Emails.

ALSO ON SEASCAPES THIS WEEK

. A voyage to the deepwater canyons of the Porcupine Seabight and the Porcupine Bank where marine scientists from University College, Cork, are spending a week exploring coral reefs. At the College's Environmental and Research Institute, Dr. Boris Dorschel who will be leading the research, outlined what it is hoped to achieve.

CLICK on this link to hear Dr. Boris Dorschel.

. Next to Rathlin Island, where Yvonne Gordon has been to see a tradition of yacht racing that goes back 200 years on Rathlin Island. These are a special boat, a model of their kind.

CLICK on this link to hear Yvonne's report.

Noel and Conor McCurdy at Lough Ushet on Rathlin Island. Photo by Yvonne Gordon.

OTHER MARITIME NEWS THIS WEEK

. Increasing numbers of ships are being laid up around the world due to the economic problems and the fall in international trade. The downturn has come at a time when ships previously ordered, during better economic times, are entering the world fleet. There are too many ships for the available trade. In several countries, large numbers of vessels are being laid-up.

. Because of the fall in shipping operations, the Mission to Seafarers says it is concerned that more seafarers may be abandoned by owners who will decide not to operate ships at the bottom of the market which are not getting work.

. Scientists have reported that there are more than 150 lakes under the Antarctic Ice. The researchers, from the Louisiana State University, say that the sub glacial lakes were formed as geothermal heat melted the ice. The largest has been called Lake Vostok and is the sixth largest lake in the world. Despite the cold temperatures, there are indications of marine life in these cold lakes.

. Commercial salmon and sea trout fishermen are obeying the fisheries laws better than leisure anglers, according to the South Western Regional Fisheries Board. It issued over 300 on-the-spot fines to anglers in Cork and Kerry last year for failing to return their logbooks.

. The Federation of Salmon and Trout Anglers has called on the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries to oppose applications for fish farming developments that will, it says, "bring unbridled development and unsustainable jobs." The Federation says this would repeat previous mistakes in such development which caused environmental damage that practically wiped out angling tourism and downgraded water quality,

. BIMCO is the Baltic and International Maritime Council, the world's largest private shipping organisation with 2,720 members worldwide and we are pleased to note it is imitating SEASCAPES, using our name in developing an information system for the public about the shipping industry. It has launched a new service, called SEASCAPES to, as it says, "inform the public about the working of the shipping industry" and how important it is for the world .. What can we say, except: "Welcome Aboard.."

ANGLING

Paul Bourke presents the monthly angling report from the Central Fisheries Board.

. CLICK on this link to hear Paul Bourke
. CLICK on this link to read Paul Bourke's report.

January Catch of the Month Winner, Paul McLoone

Ian Mulligan and his specimen trout caught on Lough Corrib (15lb 6oz)

First Specimen Sea Trout of the year (8lbs)

SEASCAPES PICTURE GALLERY

Listeners are invited to send maritime photos to the Gallery. Please Email to seascapes@rte.ie

This week - Photographs from Tommy Dover of Wicklow Lifeboat exercises in Wicklow Bay. In order to be ready for emergencies, lifeboat crews must undertake regular exercises. The sea is a challenging place and the recent exercises were designed to test and prepare them in all aspects of giving first-aid to casualties at sea.

The photographs show the Medical Instructor, Sonia Bridges with lifeboat crew member Nick Keogh and crew member Lisa O Leary as a 'casualty, Brendan Copeland , Ciaran Doyle and Tommy McAulay and the Wicklow lifeboats, 'RNLB ANNIE BLAKER' and 'RNLB SHERINGHAM SHANTYMEN' returning to Wicklow after the exercises.

MARINE DIARY

April 22
'Travels to Antarctic," lecture by Jonathan Shackleton at RDS Library, Merrion Road, Dublin, at 6 p.m. Phone 01 2407254 or Email: lectures@rds.ie to book a place. Booking is essential for this lecture.

May 23
Volvo Ocean Race Fleet Begins to Arrive in Galway.

May 25
Dublin Bay - Kish Bank Lighthouse reduction in range of fog signal.

May 27
Irish National Sailing School Charity Sail-a-Thon, Dun Laoghaire, Co.Dublin.

May 30
Volvo Round-the-World Inshore Race Galway.

June 6
Volvo Ocean Race to start next leg from Galway.

June 11
Irish Cruiser Racing Association National Championships at Tralee Bay Sailing Club.

September 26 - 27
Foynes Yacht Club Cruiser Regatta.

SEASCAPES ON TELEVISION

There is also a SEASCAPES teletext service on AERTEL on RTE1 Television at Page 190.

YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME

Phone the SEASCAPES maritime call line on 1850 715 170; Email to: seascapes@rte.ie or write to RTE, Cork.