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#bootdusseldorf – The World's biggest yacht and watersports show is well on course for another successful showing ealry next year with boot Düsseldorf proving to be a safe haven in turbulent economic times. The yacht and watersports industry is concentrating its trade fair activities increasingly on the sector's international marketplace and filling the exhibition halls there. 1,650 exhibitors from over 50 countries will be premiering boats and presenting new products at the world's biggest yacht and watersports show from 19 to 27 January 2013. boot 2013 looks all set to pick up where its successful predecessor left off.

"We're well on course. In view of the tense situation on the international markets and particularly in southern Europe, all eyes of the industry are now on boot," says Goetz-Ulf Jungmichel, Director of boot Düsseldorf. "Numerous exhibitors want to book extra space. We are confident that the 17 boot halls will be filled pretty well to capacity and expect plenty of innovations and boat premieres and even a number of new arrivals from the international yacht scene."

The German boat and watersports market is currently "standing firm", according to the German Marine Federation (BVWW) in Cologne. It is proving to be in a much stronger state than its European neighbours, which applies particularly to the Mediterranean region strongly affected by the European debt crisis. boot Düsseldorf is benefiting from this scenario and has become the industry's premier choice.

Exhibitors are pinning their hopes on a continuation of German consumers' buying mood and on the roughly 50,000 foreign visitors with money to spend who travel to boot Düsseldorf from all over the world every year to find out all about the latest innovations in the boat and yacht sector.

International brand diversity

Roughly 40 per cent of those participating in boot 2013 will be coming from outside Germany. Some 650 foreign exhibitors from well over 50 countries are contributing to the highly international quality of what's on show at the trade fair centre. The biggest foreign contingent is the Netherlands with 140 exhibiting boatyards, equippers and service providers, followed by France and Italy each with 50 exhibitors, the United Kingdom with 30 and Austria 26.

International brand diversity is being bolstered by joint participations of leading boatbuilding nations. The UK, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Poland and Hungary have registered with joint stands.

Magnificent selection of sailing vessels

According to the BVWW, customers are currently showing a preference for value-retaining upmarket motor and sailing yachts. But there is also demand for trailerable motor boats. At boot 2013, the customer has a huge choice. In 11 exhibition halls, 440 exhibitors will be showing some 1700 boats and yachts of all sizes, ranging from canoes to large luxury yachts.

There is a magnificent selection of sailing boats under the boot 2013 umbrella. Over 150 international exhibitors will be presenting their premieres and further-developed products in Halls 16 and 17. Devotees of multihull vessels should make a detour to neighbouring Hall 15 where 15 exhibitors will be showing catamarans and trimarans of all sizes. The small but select segment of multihulls has come along very well in the last two years and is being given its own food & drink area at boot 2013, which will also offer space for meetings with customers and exchanges of information. On the Multihull Forum stage, the German association of multihull sailing boats Multihull Deutschland e.V. will be presenting information on sailing with catamarans and trimarans.

World market for motorised leisure boating

In the motor boat and motor yacht sector, Düsseldorf is offering almost everything that's available on the market, ranging from inflatable boats with outboard motors via open sports boats, day cruisers and cabin cruisers to large yachts. In a total of six halls, more than 250 boatyards, brokers and importers will be providing a representative overview of motorised leisure boating. Hall 4 is responding to the trend towards environment-friendly drives. On an area of 1600 square metres, boats with electric and hybrid drives will be on show at boot 2013. Steel yacht building, a Dutch speciality, is being jointly presented by a total of 20 exhibitors in Hall 15.

Run on refits

Everything one needs for and on boats – marine electronics, engines, accessories, functional clothing and marina equipment – can be found in Halls 11 and 12. The equipment market is in excellent shape. "Refit" is the buzz word, and there is currently strong interest in maintaining the value of existing boats. 350 international exhibitors are offering everything that's necessary and possible for smartening up boats and furnishing them more luxuriously.

Curtain up for large yachts

Hall 6 is the dazzling showcase for large, luxury yachts. For the big names in the world of large yachts – the likes of Ferretti, San Lorenzo, Princess and Riva – there's no alternative to boot Düsseldorf even in difficult times. With some 40 large yachts coupled with high-end boats and tenders plus a number of first-time and returning exhibitors, the standard of offering in large yacht Hall 6 has clearly stabilised. The new and established participants include such boatyards as Montefino, Marquis Yachts and Prestige. In the extra-large yacht sector, Sunseeker, Princess, Acico and Ferretti will be entering the stage with a broad array of models and novelties. The biggest yacht at boot 2013 is roughly 30 metres long and comes from the UK-based Princess boatyard.

To enhance brand diversity, boot is offering its customers the chance to present themselves at image stands. Leading boatyard exhibitors like Mangusta and Dominator from Italy and Gulcraft from the United Arab Emirates are seizing the opportunity. Computer-aided applications like augmented reality, with the aid of which exhibited items such as yacht models or images can be supplemented with virtual yacht animations via smartphone cameras, can be used in this form of "yachtless" presentation to supplement the existing range of information.

The blue motion lounge in Hall 6 is available to high-calibre customers from the industry as a business and shopping zone. It comes with high-quality catering, comfortably furnished areas for meetings with customers and negotiations, and shopping opportunities in exclusive boutiques. Exhibitors from the luxury retail trade will be present with jewellery, watches and exclusive interior decoration.

Excellently booked, as always, is Düsseldorf's Superyacht Show in Hall 7a. 100 exhibitors will be demonstrating their skills in the realisation of exclusive yachtbuilding projects, showing current plans and models at information stands and reporting on sector-specific services. The joint exhibitors here include Deutsche Yachten, Superyacht France and the Holland Yachting Group.

High level of bookings for diving

The world's biggest scuba diving show under the boot umbrella in Hall 3 is recording lively interest. Overall, some 350 exhibitors will be presenting diving equipment and diving destinations worldwide. Big-name exhibitors from the equipment sector like Aqua Lung are extending their presentations, and Mares is coming with its international diving centres to Düsseldorf. Visitors can expect marked growth in the offering of the trade and an abundance of exciting scuba diving destinations. On large joint stands, the Philippines, Maldives, Indonesia and Italy will be publicising their qualities as diving destinations. Small diving bases from Egypt are presenting themselves under the taucher.net umbrella.

Underwater photography now supplemented by the Watersports Photo and Video Center

The theme of underwater and outdoor photography in Hall 4 has developed very well. The Underwater Pixel World will be known as the Water Pixel World at boot 2013. This successfully established forum for underwater photography is now being supplemented by the Watersports Photo and Video Center with its brand-new action and outdoor cameras and will thus become the point of convergence for the entire leisure and sport photography world.

Experience 360° of watersports: 16 theme and adventure worlds

Under the motto "Experience 360° watersports", 16 theme and adventure worlds will await boot visitors next January. Those who practise watersports – anglers, surfers, kiters, divers, sailors paddlers or charterers – or wish to get to know a watersport will find their own special "world" at boot Düsseldorf.

This concept has been very well received. The numerous opportunities for trying out watersports in the exhibition halls attracted more young people and families to boot in the last three years.

boot 2013 will be offering international visitors this and more from 19 to 27 January daily from 10 am to 6 pm. Visitors can save time and money by purchasing boat admission tickets online. As a one-day ticket, the eTicket for adults costs EUR 14, EUR 4 less than over the counter. The two-day ticket is available for EUR 23. The ticket for a quick stroll through the exhibition centre – Monday to Friday from 3 pm – costs EUR 9 in the online shop. The tickets can be printed straight after purchase and used for free travel to and from the fair via the public transport network VRR (Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr). Tickets are available at www.boot.de.

Published in Marine Trade

Irish Fishing industry 

The Irish Commercial Fishing Industry employs around 11,000 people in fishing, processing and ancillary services such as sales and marketing. The industry is worth about €1.22 billion annually to the Irish economy. Irish fisheries products are exported all over the world as far as Africa, Japan and China.

FAQs

Over 16,000 people are employed directly or indirectly around the coast, working on over 2,000 registered fishing vessels, in over 160 seafood processing businesses and in 278 aquaculture production units, according to the State's sea fisheries development body Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).

All activities that are concerned with growing, catching, processing or transporting fish are part of the commercial fishing industry, the development of which is overseen by BIM. Recreational fishing, as in angling at sea or inland, is the responsibility of Inland Fisheries Ireland.

The Irish fishing industry is valued at 1.22 billion euro in gross domestic product (GDP), according to 2019 figures issued by BIM. Only 179 of Ireland's 2,000 vessels are over 18 metres in length. Where does Irish commercially caught fish come from? Irish fish and shellfish is caught or cultivated within the 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but Irish fishing grounds are part of the common EU "blue" pond. Commercial fishing is regulated under the terms of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), initiated in 1983 and with ten-yearly reviews.

The total value of seafood landed into Irish ports was 424 million euro in 2019, according to BIM. High value landings identified in 2019 were haddock, hake, monkfish and megrim. Irish vessels also land into foreign ports, while non-Irish vessels land into Irish ports, principally Castletownbere, Co Cork, and Killybegs, Co Donegal.

There are a number of different methods for catching fish, with technological advances meaning skippers have detailed real time information at their disposal. Fisheries are classified as inshore, midwater, pelagic or deep water. Inshore targets species close to shore and in depths of up to 200 metres, and may include trawling and gillnetting and long-lining. Trawling is regarded as "active", while "passive" or less environmentally harmful fishing methods include use of gill nets, long lines, traps and pots. Pelagic fisheries focus on species which swim close to the surface and up to depths of 200 metres, including migratory mackerel, and tuna, and methods for catching include pair trawling, purse seining, trolling and longlining. Midwater fisheries target species at depths of around 200 metres, using trawling, longlining and jigging. Deepwater fisheries mainly use trawling for species which are found at depths of over 600 metres.

There are several segments for different catching methods in the registered Irish fleet – the largest segment being polyvalent or multi-purpose vessels using several types of gear which may be active and passive. The polyvalent segment ranges from small inshore vessels engaged in netting and potting to medium and larger vessels targeting whitefish, pelagic (herring, mackerel, horse mackerel and blue whiting) species and bivalve molluscs. The refrigerated seawater (RSW) pelagic segment is engaged mainly in fishing for herring, mackerel, horse mackerel and blue whiting only. The beam trawling segment focuses on flatfish such as sole and plaice. The aquaculture segment is exclusively for managing, developing and servicing fish farming areas and can collect spat from wild mussel stocks.

The top 20 species landed by value in 2019 were mackerel (78 million euro); Dublin Bay prawn (59 million euro); horse mackerel (17 million euro); monkfish (17 million euro); brown crab (16 million euro); hake (11 million euro); blue whiting (10 million euro); megrim (10 million euro); haddock (9 million euro); tuna (7 million euro); scallop (6 million euro); whelk (5 million euro); whiting (4 million euro); sprat (3 million euro); herring (3 million euro); lobster (2 million euro); turbot (2 million euro); cod (2 million euro); boarfish (2 million euro).

Ireland has approximately 220 million acres of marine territory, rich in marine biodiversity. A marine biodiversity scheme under Ireland's operational programme, which is co-funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and the Government, aims to reduce the impact of fisheries and aquaculture on the marine environment, including avoidance and reduction of unwanted catch.

EU fisheries ministers hold an annual pre-Christmas council in Brussels to decide on total allowable catches and quotas for the following year. This is based on advice from scientific bodies such as the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. In Ireland's case, the State's Marine Institute publishes an annual "stock book" which provides the most up to date stock status and scientific advice on over 60 fish stocks exploited by the Irish fleet. Total allowable catches are supplemented by various technical measures to control effort, such as the size of net mesh for various species.

The west Cork harbour of Castletownbere is Ireland's biggest whitefish port. Killybegs, Co Donegal is the most important port for pelagic (herring, mackerel, blue whiting) landings. Fish are also landed into Dingle, Co Kerry, Rossaveal, Co Galway, Howth, Co Dublin and Dunmore East, Co Waterford, Union Hall, Co Cork, Greencastle, Co Donegal, and Clogherhead, Co Louth. The busiest Northern Irish ports are Portavogie, Ardglass and Kilkeel, Co Down.

Yes, EU quotas are allocated to other fleets within the Irish EEZ, and Ireland has long been a transhipment point for fish caught by the Spanish whitefish fleet in particular. Dingle, Co Kerry has seen an increase in foreign landings, as has Castletownbere. The west Cork port recorded foreign landings of 36 million euro or 48 per cent in 2019, and has long been nicknamed the "peseta" port, due to the presence of Spanish-owned transhipment plant, Eiranova, on Dinish island.

Most fish and shellfish caught or cultivated in Irish waters is for the export market, and this was hit hard from the early stages of this year's Covid-19 pandemic. The EU, Asia and Britain are the main export markets, while the middle Eastern market is also developing and the African market has seen a fall in value and volume, according to figures for 2019 issued by BIM.

Fish was once a penitential food, eaten for religious reasons every Friday. BIM has worked hard over several decades to develop its appeal. Ireland is not like Spain – our land is too good to transform us into a nation of fish eaters, but the obvious health benefits are seeing a growth in demand. Seafood retail sales rose by one per cent in 2019 to 300 million euro. Salmon and cod remain the most popular species, while BIM reports an increase in sales of haddock, trout and the pangasius or freshwater catfish which is cultivated primarily in Vietnam and Cambodia and imported by supermarkets here.

The EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), initiated in 1983, pooled marine resources – with Ireland having some of the richest grounds and one of the largest sea areas at the time, but only receiving four per cent of allocated catch by a quota system. A system known as the "Hague Preferences" did recognise the need to safeguard the particular needs of regions where local populations are especially dependent on fisheries and related activities. The State's Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, based in Clonakilty, Co Cork, works with the Naval Service on administering the EU CFP. The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine and Department of Transport regulate licensing and training requirements, while the Marine Survey Office is responsible for the implementation of all national and international legislation in relation to safety of shipping and the prevention of pollution.

Yes, a range of certificates of competency are required for skippers and crew. Training is the remit of BIM, which runs two national fisheries colleges at Greencastle, Co Donegal and Castletownbere, Co Cork. There have been calls for the colleges to be incorporated into the third-level structure of education, with qualifications recognised as such.

Safety is always an issue, in spite of technological improvements, as fishing is a hazardous occupation and climate change is having its impact on the severity of storms at sea. Fishing skippers and crews are required to hold a number of certificates of competency, including safety and navigation, and wearing of personal flotation devices is a legal requirement. Accidents come under the remit of the Marine Casualty Investigation Board, and the Health and Safety Authority. The MCIB does not find fault or blame, but will make recommendations to the Minister for Transport to avoid a recurrence of incidents.

Fish are part of a marine ecosystem and an integral part of the marine food web. Changing climate is having a negative impact on the health of the oceans, and there have been more frequent reports of warmer water species being caught further and further north in Irish waters.

Brexit, Covid 19, EU policies and safety – Britain is a key market for Irish seafood, and 38 per cent of the Irish catch is taken from the waters around its coast. Ireland's top two species – mackerel and prawns - are 60 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively, dependent on British waters. Also, there are serious fears within the Irish industry about the impact of EU vessels, should they be expelled from British waters, opting to focus even more efforts on Ireland's rich marine resource. Covid-19 has forced closure of international seafood markets, with high value fish sold to restaurants taking a large hit. A temporary tie-up support scheme for whitefish vessels introduced for the summer of 2020 was condemned by industry organisations as "designed to fail".

Sources: Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Marine Institute, Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine, Department of Transport © Afloat 2020