questions to the sea.

Monday February 10, 2003 14:37

by an ainrialai asarlai ag iascaracht.

ireland is labelled with other European fishing states 'neo-colonialist'. WHY?

Web Update Latest: Monday 3rd February 2003 Apologies for the unavailability of Marine Times Online over the past few days. Unfortunately this was out of our hands but normal service is now resumed.

Irish fishermen were threatened with violence if they attempted to land their catches at Spanish ports according to Dingle fish processor Eoin Keane.
when?
"Our fishermen were told they would be gutted if they landed their fish in Spain in 2002 and some boats had to land in La Rochelle where they were screwed on the price of their fish" Mr. Keane told the monthly meeting of the harbour board. He would not elaborate on the source of the threats or on the identities of those against whom the alledged threats were made because of the presence of the press at the meeting. The meeting took palce in the last weeks. It is typical of Irish fishermens reaction to the current EU fishing debacle.But not they are remembering 2002
before THE PRESTIGE. so people in Ireland are upset about fish are they? or are they upset about Economics? or are they upset about Ecology?

I thought to play some...
http://www.marine.ie
go to the Rnd+faclities.
now there you see the Irish fishing research vessel called The Celtic Explorer.
The Celtic Explorer has a multifunctional capability and is already committed to carrying out the National Seabed Survey, following its commissioning. In particular, she will play a vital role in informing national authorities and fishermen on fish stocks and their sustainable management in the Common Fisheries Policy. The Celtic Explorer will also be a platform for oceanographic work, environmental and geological sampling, acoustic research operations and buoy laying and recovery.
The main users of the vessel will be the Marine Institute (Marine Fisheries Services Division, Marine Environmental Health Services Division and Science Technology and Innovation Division), Geological Survey of Ireland, other state institutions and Universities. It will also be available for charter by other international research institutions and available for strategic research by any interested parties, including the private sector.

It is receiving its shakedown at the moment and will be launched in April. It has already been much associated with seabed and stock surveying which is one of Irelands specialities. You may see very colourful pictures of the Donegal coastal seabed at its website. But!! a tip to the wise do not google for "explorer" you will only find Microsoft.

So are there still fish in the Sea?
Yes there appear to be enough fish to encourage the European fishing states to invest milions of research and development euros into mapping the seabed, finding stock and converting it in knock down time into fishsticks and catfood.
Thats reasurring is it not?
Well not for ordinary fishermen no.
So as not to lose the thread, which of the private sector are "locating the stock"? go to http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov
then type /mgg/gebco/swathsystems021026.pdf.
that is a pdf for the global operation od seabed mapping.
You will take note of the role being played by the various types of royal navy.
[the easy newspaper question and answer format bit]
Q. So once the stock has been located who gets it I heard it is the crazed and violent Spanish is it?
A. no. The largest fishing vessels in the world are registered in the Irish neutral state.
but i will not bore you with your description. No let us wreturn to the celtic explorer, because most of you wont find it.
Q. tell me more about the pride of Irelands marine.
A. The "Celtic Explorer" was ordered last December by An Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern, at a ceremony attended by Dr. Peter Heffernan, chief executive of the Marine Institute, and Mr. Frank Fahey, Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources. The new research ship, which will represent the single largest capital investment in the marine research sector in the history of the Irish State, will be funded through the Productive Sector Operational Programme of the National Development Plan 2000 - 2006.
Q. Ah!! the productive sector operational prog.....[bit of a rhetorical question that]
not the marine.
not the fishermen of Ireland from Valencia to Killybegs.
remember they just lost their website and are worried about....
A. yes I read the article....
"These are very serious allegations. Can you provide any proof that they were made" chairman Tom Fitzgerald asked Mr. Keane.
Mr. Keane replied that he could provide the board with written allegations but refused to comment further.

"Then we'll write to the Departments of the Marine in Spain and France and ask them to investigate these allegations. But I must warn you that these letters could cause a lot of trouble. It's not long since we wrote to both countries offering them harbour facilities here" the chairman said.

Q. Quite right too.
will you tell me more about the Celtic Explorer please.

A. Barry Electronics Ltd. clinched the £1.5m order for R.V. "Celtic Explorer" Barry Electronics Ltd., Ireland's leading marine electronics company, secured the contract to provide all the electronic equipment to Ireland's new marine research vessel, "Celtic Explorer", which was constructed in Holland. The Killybegs company also provides the steering package to the new vessel, including automatic pilot and gyrocompass and a number of televisions, video recorders and hi-fi equipment. Hydrographic survey equipment was supplied to the ship by Barry Electronics Ltd in conjunction with Simrad Kongsberg UK. The total order was worth £1.5m (1.9m Euros). The magnificent 65-metre ship, cost £23m. to complete, was built at the Damen Shipyard in Gorinchem and was due for delivery to the Irish Marine Institute in September 2002. The Damen Shipyard also built the first Irish research vessel, the 31-metre "Celtic Voyager" and the Irish Lights vessel, "Graineuaile".

Now ····look you here...

Referring to the fact that Ireland has one of the largest offshore areas in Europe, amounting to approximately 220 million acres, Minister Fahey said the new vessel would "finally allow Ireland to explore its national territory and beyond." Ireland, he said, was in a unique position in European terms at the edge of the Atlantic Shelf. "We must grasp the opportunity that this new vessel provides to demonstrate Ireland's marine research capability and our ability to facilitate European and International policy on marine research, technology, development and innovation (RTDI)", he added.

i like the "-he added." bits.
Dr. Heffernan of the Marine Institute, said: "Ireland is progressively enhancing its world-class reputation for marine research, technological development and innovation." He added that the arrival of the "Celtic Explorer" in 2002 would significantly extend the Marine Institute's capability to meet the increasing demand from scientists and commercial interests for a platform for deep sea research, as envisaged by the increase in oil and gas exploration work off the west coast in recent years, which will benefit west coast ports, including Fenit, Foynes, Galway and Killybegs.

The new vessel will be only the third of its kind in Europe, capable of adapting to various requirements such as fisheries surveys, oceanographic work, environmental monitoring, acoustic research, oil recovery support work and instrument deployment.

Hmmmm. Remember the first ainrialai ag iascaracht post?
Yes Ireland has in its above mentioned "national territory and beyond" just discovered significant hydrocarbon deposits.[that means Oil for the laiety].

The "Celtic Explorer" is six times the size of the other Marine Institute research vessel, "Celtic Voyager". The two vessels work together on the Irish Government £21m seabed survey and in sustainable fish stock management programmes.

ok 21m poundsIR + 23millionIR + 1.9million€
this is big money no?
now go back to the Directory of the Firectorate general for fisheries of Europe. [the big bad bruxelles lot for the laiety]
look who has the job of looking after Irish concerns. His name is Pedro Tarno, he is a Finn. he heads the unit which decides policy for Finland, France, Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
Now you my wonder no nasty spanish fishermen there in Mr Tarno´s intray. No Christopher Nordmann does that, along with Austria,Belgium, Denmark, Germany,Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain Sweden and the UK.
So the UK lurks with Spain and Austria (the famous fishing nation austria).

Now European fishing policy is very unpopular.
But we do have problem with the Sea. The Prestige is the most visible part of that Problem. It is easy to understand the damage done by Man to the Sea when for three months all that lived in the sea arrives in a crude covered mess on the beach.
And the strnge thing is that The Prestige is not a European declared disaster. It is a problem without an intray. Mr Constantin Vamvakas of the Greece well employed graduate EU jobs for the boys club is responsible for "Aquaculture".

I think Aquaculture just like Agriculture is in a mess. It is dominated by the same if not worse levels of excess that have shaped the attitude of Europe (be it Ireland, Spain or Austria) to the rest of the world.
Am i missing something?
No Ireland is deeply implicated in ongiong flags of convenience. Irish fishing policy has been guided by concerns for Capitalist expansion which have always been placed far above the concerns for a working life of fishermen. Be they fishermen of "Spain" or "Ireland". Fishermen are workers, that is the job they do. Give them other jobs and maybe they wont need to go on depleting the fish stocks. Maybe they could make depleted uranium instead as part of a THORP BNFL rescue plan. Do you remember the "Atlantic Dawn"? another "big" irish ship. the Irish Fishermen's Organisation (IFO) on Tuesday, 25 September 2001. issued this statement following several national and international enquiries and expressions of concern it had received about the legality of the Irish-owned 144-metre Atlantic Dawn.

"As the required capacity has not been removed in the case of the Atlantic Dawn, the IFO said it is very difficult to see how the vessel can be legally accommodated as a sea fishing vessel under the Irish flag. The IFO cautioned against Ireland being labelled as neo-colonialist and greedy, and supporting a form of fishing activity which is likely to create the same problems of stock depletion in third counties that already exist in Europe. The Organisation questioned the value to Ireland of vessels of this type as they rarely, if ever, land into Irish ports and offer no value to the State. The only State to benefit is that where the vessel was built. Finally, the Organisation said that there is a strong perception that different treatment is given to different people and that this situation must be rectified".

i would like you to ponder
"Ireland being labelled as neo-colonialist and greedy, and supporting a form of fishing activity which is likely to create the same problems of stock depletion in third counties that already exist in Europe".

Ireland is labelled exactly that.
and so too is Spain.

sorry for the internet problems ;-)
http://www.marinetimes.ie/news1.html

"These are very serious allegations. Can you provide any proof that they were made" chairman Tom Fitzgerald asked Mr. Keane.
Mr. Keane replied that he could provide the board with written allegations but refused to comment further.

nasty spanish fishermen whose stocks are covered in oil and those who cant realise Dublin has sold them out in the same deal that madrid signed.
http://www.marinetimes.ie/news1.html
atlantic dawn.
http://www.irishseafood.com/news/sept30_2001.html
europe fishing directorate.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/fisheries/
worldwide sea swathe mapping
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov

the link is to the last oil find in Irish waters.