News

Dealing with Department Officials

In an industry as compact as the Maritime one, it is not possible for situation is not arise where tension and confrontation replaced the ordinary day-to-day smooth running relationships. It is invariable that the individual rather than the public or civil servant will feel most aggrieved. The most important thing that anyone can do... Read More

The bad side of fishing

Fish worth £4m seized in EU crackdown on illegal fishing Catches of octopus, squid, sole, shrimp and grouper, allegedly caught using child labour, impounded in Canary Islands Robert Booth guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 19 April 2011 19.46 BST The fish were seized after a fleet of canoes were spotted fishing around the Marcia 707, which is... Read More

A real Appeal?

In 2003 the Fisheries (Amendment) Act was added to the ever increasing list of Statutes that have plagued fishermen. This one appeared, at the outset, to be a little different in that it sought to sign Ireland up to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, created an independent Licensing Authority for... Read More

Regulations to beat the Band

In September of 2010 Minister Sean Connick signed into law a Statutory Instrument that gave effect to a new regime in relation to the weighing of Pelagic Fish. This Statutory Instrument made it an offence to use a weighing system which has not been approved by the Legal Metrology Service of the National Standards... Read More

Icelandic President criticises Common Fisheries Policy

President of Iceland critics Common Fisheries Policy On the 15th of September the President of Iceland was talking on CNN’s world business programme and while he was ostensibly on to discuss the situation today as a result of the collapse of the Icelandic banking system, he ended up commenting on the European Union common... Read More

Chasing Debts in 2010

In the current climate, it is an unfortunate, but nonetheless real problem, that people find that debts due and owing have not been paid. This applies to the fishing industry just as much as any other sector or segment of the economy. The Contract The first thing which needs to be examined by anybody... Read More

Arresting a Ship in Ireland

Ireland is a party to the 1952 Arrest Convention (the 1952 convention). As such, while the mechanism within Ireland may be somewhat different, the manner and rights afforded under the convention equally apply in Ireland as they do in other convention states. This brought a more international mechanism of arresting vessels in Ireland which... Read More

Quotas for Cameras?

Big Brother arrives to Fishing Fleet? While this time of the year is dominated by the discussions in Brussels, the emphasis being on what is the outcome for each and every Fisherman next year. The headline usually focuses on what the cuts are in relation to species. While the big headlines this year related... Read More

Scallop Fishermen Not Guilty

In a trial that was heard before Waterford Circuit Criminal Court on the 17th and 18th of November, a Dunmore East fisherman was accused of fishing for scallops while not in the possession of an authorization to do so. Allegation The incident dated back to May 2006 when the authorization scheme for scallop fishing... Read More

The Omega Gauge Makes Waves

As of the 1st of September of this year the omega gauge has been rolled out for the purpose of measuring fishing nets to determine mesh size. This replaced the well established practice of measuring the nets using the wedge gauge that was pushed by Sea Fishery inspectors into the actual net. In the... Read More