Lorna Siggins
Lorna Siggins is a print and radio reporter, and a former Irish Times western correspondent. She is the author of Search and Rescue: True stories of Irish Air-Sea Rescues and the Loss of R116 (2022); Everest Callling (1994) on the first Irish Everest expedition; Mayday! Mayday! (2004); and Once Upon a Time in the West: the Corrib gas controversy (2010). She is also co-producer with Sarah Blake of the Doc on One "Miracle in Galway Bay" which recently won a Celtic Media Award
A white-tailed sea eagle which was brought to Ireland as a chick from Norway was poisoned, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has confirmed. The bird had been a healthy juvenile male but was found dead on lands between…
Capsize of Three Rowing Boats on Fast Flowing Corrib Prompts Call for Dedicated River Rescue Craft
21st January 2023 Rowing
The University of Galway says it is inquiring into a recent incident on the river Corrib where up to ten people were rescued after their rowing craft were swept towards the salmon weir. The university says no one was injured,…
Fishing industry representatives are seeking a meeting with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar amid widespread dismay over the details of offers made under the Government’s fleet decommissioning scheme. The meeting is being sought by the Irish South and West Fish Producers’ Organisation…
The European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) has chartered three new patrol vessels and an aircraft for monitoring and control in European waters. All three vessels will fly the Portuguese flag, and will be deployed primarily for fisheries patrols but will…
What do the Loch Ness monster, the El Nino effect and dead water at sea have in common? All may be associated with internal waves, a phenomenon of wave motion in which Dr David Henry of the School of Mathematical…
There has been a disappointed reaction from a number of fishing vessel owners to terms offered under the Government's latest whitefish decommissioning scheme. "We haven’t surveyed members yet as this is anecdotal, but we are hearing of dismay and disappointment,”…
The Naval Service recorded three detentions during 350 fisheries-related inspection boardings last year in the Irish exclusive economic zone. A review of 2022 released by the Defence Forces press office said that fishing vessels from Ireland, Britain, France, Spain, Netherlands,…
Codling Wind Park and Oriel Windfarm Run Further Public Consultation
13th January 2023 Power From the Sea
Several offshore windfarm companies which have secured maritime area consents from the Government are holding further public consultations on their plans. The maritime area consents (MACs) were recently awarded by Minister for Environment Eamon Ryan, and permit the projects to…
Offshore Wind Developers Must Pay Benefit to Coastal Communities - Ryan
13th January 2023 Power From the Sea
Minister for Environment Eamon Ryan says that offshore wind generators will be required to make “substantial annual contributions” to community benefit funds. He says that coastal and marine communities will “benefit significantly from offshore renewable electricity projects” as a result.…
Coast Guard Volunteers Association Seeks Legal Advice on New Whistleblowing Policy
13th January 2023 Coastguard
The Irish Coast Guard Volunteers Representative Association (ICGVRA) says it is taking legal advice on a new protective disclosure policy rolled out by the Department of Transport. Coast Guard volunteers around the coast have been informed that the department’s updated…
Recreational craft and swimmers were the largest focus of Irish Coast Guard coordinated responses in 2022, an analysis shows. As Afloat reported recently, figures released for 2022 show that the Irish Coast Guard co-ordinated responses to 2704 incidents last year. This…
Ireland Stagnates While Norway Grows - Irish Seafood Industry Calls for Debate
11th January 2023 Fishing
Irish fishing representatives have called for a wider debate on the potential growth of seafood exports. Three organisations have questioned why Ireland is not benefiting more from its own resource, and have appealed for “growth” in seafood to be “put…
A call for fresh inquests into the deaths of 50 people in the 1979 Betelgeuse tanker explosion on Cork’s Whiddy Island has been made by international maritime expert Michael Kingston. Kingston, whose father Tim died in the explosion, has written…
Minister for Marine Charlie McConalogue has said he is increasing the budget for scrapping whitefish fishing vessels from 60 million to 75 million euros. As Afloat reported earlier, offers will be made to 57 owners, he said, and tax reliefs…
The island folklore of Oileáin Árann has been collated on a new website by residents of Inis Mór, working with a number of academic partners. Bailiúchán Béaloidis Árann, the Árainn Folklore Project, has been “more than twenty years a-growing”, according…
Scientists Say Offshore Wind Turbines in North Sea Could Have Significant Impact on Ecosystem
8th January 2023 Power From the Sea
A team of German scientists has suggested that offshore wind farms in the North Sea could significantly impact the ecosystem. The scientists from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon Research Institute used numerical modelling to show how there could be physical disruptions to…
Independent Environmental Regulator Required To Mitigate Impacts of Deep Sea Mining - IWDG Report
8th January 2023 Marine Wildlife
Deep-sea mining for scarce minerals and trace elements may have a “catastrophic impact” on the ocean floor, a study by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group warns. The International Seabed Authority (ISA), which Ireland is a member of, “lacks transparency”,…
A new permit scheme giving non-EEA migrant fishers the same rights as EU crew members has been welcomed by the Irish Fish Producers Organisation (IFPO). The Department of Justice confirmed the new arrangements this week, which provide for a “more…
A fuel leak is believed to have caused a fire on board a passenger ferry linking Ballyhack, Co Wexford with Passage East in Waterford, last year. A Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) report says the crew of the Frazer Tintern…
An investigation into a close-quarter incident involving two passenger ferries in Rosslare Harbour, Co Wexford, is highly critical of port control and poor communication on the bridge of one of the ships. It also highlights failure by the Government to…
