Displaying items by tag: juvenile fish

28th February 2012

Fishing Industry Welcomes Selective Nets, Grant Aid at Irish Skipper Expo

#FISHING - Minister for the Marine Simon Coveney briefed the Irish Skipper Expo in Galway last weekend on a new initiative promoting the use of selective conservation fishing nets, which allow young fish to escape.

Under the initiative in the Celtic Sea, additional quotas of up to 25% will be made available by the minister to skippers of Irish fishing boats which use an escape panel in their nets, allowing young whiting and haddock to escape.

The escape panel, developed by the Irish industry, has been endorsed at EU level and is expected to be a mandatory requirement later in the year.

Minister Coveney said on Saturday: “The use of this panel will significantly reduce discards of juvenile whiting and haddock in the Celtic Sea, allowing juvenile fish to grow and mature and contribute to increased stock size and returns for fishermen in future years.

"I believe that this offers an example of a practical approach to dealing effectively with the discards problem and retention of a flexible quota allocation system that we should take forward in the context of the Common Fisheries Policy Review."

In other news, Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) announced €1.5 million in grant aid for the Irish fishing industry at the expo.

A spokesperson for BIM confirmed to the Galway Independent that the funding will be available to industry through a variety of schemes including fleet safety, seafood environmental management, lobster V-notching and coastal action groups.

Over 100 companies displayed their products and services to fishermen at the Irish Skipper Expo International 2012, held at the Galway Bay Hotel on 24-25 February.

Published in Fishing

Scottish Series Background

Although the format of the Scottish Series varies little from year to year, it is interesting to see some of the changes which the event has seen over the years:

CYCA handicap class added to IOR (1976)

IOR level rating classes to reflect the popular sizes and World Championships being held in the UK

Separate one design class for Sonatas (1980 to date)

Campbeltown dropped with offshore races direct to Tarbert (1982)

Unique light displacement CYCA class - the forerunner of today's sportboats (1982)

Computer results system introduced in 1982 and now recognised as the best in the UK

Separate one design class for Sigma 33 (1987 to date)

Separate one design classes in certain years for Impalas, Sigma 38, Melges 24 and Cork 1720

Inner triangle to shorten courses for smaller classes (1986)

Points loading for offshore race reduced from 2 to 1.5 to 1

First racing in Scotland under Channel Handicap (1988)

Second racecourse for smaller classes (1989)

Discard introduced

Windward leeward races - two per day (1993)

Sportboat classes with no overnight races (1994)

Marquee on quayside for main social events (1995-2008)

Restricted Sail Class (1998)

Third racecourse for sportboats with up to three races per day (1998)

Day feeder races (2002)

Overnight and day feeder races discontinued (2005)

Stand-alone Tarbert Inbound and Outbound passage races introduced (2005/6)

With all these changes, some things have stayed the same:

Huge support from Ireland every year since 1975

A magnificent effort ashore and afloat from the volunteer helpers of the Clyde Cruising Club, Royal Scottish Motor Yacht Club and Tarbert Loch Fyne Yacht Club

Results and communications service at the forefront of technology

The best competition and the best social scene in the country

An overall Series winner, the roll call including many of the top sailors in Scotland and beyond.