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Displaying items by tag: cruiseship size opposed

#CruiseshipLimit - The Irish Times reports that Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown councillors move to limit the size of cruise ships allowed to berth in Dún Laoghaire harbour – effectively banning “supersized” cruise ships – has been opposed by council management.

Members of the local authority voted two-to-one last December to ban cruise ships in excess of 250m long in the local authority’s drafting of the county development plan.

However, in a management response to submissions on the plan the authority’s chief executive Philomena Poole said the ban should be deleted.

Ms Poole’s comments were circulated to councillors on Tuesday. Councillors will get a final vote on whether to include the ban when the development plan is adopted, expected to be in February.

While the management report on the councillors’ proposed prohibition notes a large number of submissions in favour of the proposal, Ms Poole said the harbour was already a protected structure and does not need the additional protection of the ban.

The chief executive’s opposition is significant as Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company has applied to An Bord Pleanála for permission for a cruise berth facility of almost 400m and significant dredging inside and outside the harbour walls.

To read more and about the transfer of the harbour to local authority control in accordance to the Harbours Bill, please click here.

Marine Wildlife Around Ireland One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with marine wildlife.  It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. As boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat.  Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!