THE IRISH MARINE TALK SHOW BLOG

FROM THIS ISLAND NATION radio programme: The National Seafood Awards ceremony was an impressive occasion, showing the extensive, dedicated and positive attitude of the Irish fishing industry in the widest sense, despite the many challenges which it faces. Not least of these is the national public and Government failure to fully understand its importance, both as a source of food, an economic resource that should be given more extensive support and be fully regarded as a vital component of the coastal regions. Organised by Bord Iascaigh Mhara, the national seafood agency, it brought together all sections of the seafood industry - catching, processing, wholesale, retail - and revealed the positive aspects and the determination of those involved. A quote, given to me by West Cork woman Margaret Downey Harrington, who was given the Lifetime Achievement Award for spending a lifetime working for and in the industry and the wider maritime sector, comes to mind: “While we have our fishermen we will never go hungry.” She will be the subject of my monthly interview feature in the MARINE TIMES. You can also hear her in my PODCAST on the paper’s website: www.marinetimes.ie

SAILING SUCCESSFULLY FOR 25 YEARS – DUBLIN’S RINN VOYAGER: Dublin’s dockland communities have marked a quarter of a century of the sail training project which began through their own initiative for educational and training projects in their area and through which they built the Rinn Voyager. It began in 1993 when there was a community demand for more facilities and opportunities around Dublin Port. “The Rinn Voyager Sailing Project has been a vital initiative for thousands of people in our neighbouring communities over the last 25 years,” according to Dublin Port Harbour Master, Michael McKenna.

MYSTERIOUS DEATHS OF 145 WHALES IN NEW ZEALAND: An estimated 145 long-finned pilot whales mysteriously stranded on a remote beach in New Zealand and none survived. A hiker discovered the stranded whales at Mason Bay on Stewart Island/Rakiura, a rugged island 19 miles (30 kilometres) south of New Zealand's southern island. The hiker trekked to a nearby New Zealand Department of Conservation field office to report what he found.

RENAULT THE CAR MANUFACTURER TO BUILD SAILING CARGO SHIPS: The French car company, Renault, has announced that it will two wind-powered roll-on/roll-off vessels by 2020. The company has partnered with a French start-up company, Neoline, which was founded in 2015 with the stated intention of becoming the world’s first shipowner to specialise in sailing cargo ships. A joint statement said that Neoline will first develop a 136-metre vessel with 4,200 square metres of sail area to serve as a model. The ultimate aim is to build two sail-powered ships by 2020-2021 to service a route joining Saint-Nazaire in France with U.S. Eastern seaboard and the coast of Newfoundland.

UNITED STATES TO RESTART SEISMIC SEARCHES FOR OIL AND GAS: US President Donald Trump, has declared “energy dominance” one of his signature goals so his administration, it is reported, has instructed the National Marine Fisheries Service to issue “incidental harassment authorisations” allowing seismic surveys proposed by five companies which will permit them to disturb marine mammals that are otherwise protected by Federal law, according to a report nn gCaptain marine news website. The firms, including TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Co. Asa and Schlumberger Ltd. subsidiary WesternGeco Ltd., still must win individual permits from the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management before they can conduct the work The geological tests, involving loud air gun blasts will harm whales, dolphins and other animals, according to protests from marine scientists..

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