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Drift-nets affecting Angling
Declining salmon stocks due to drift netting has become a huge problem for angling related tourism. Angling visitor numbers have halved from 54,000 to 27,000 since 1999. Commercial fisherman account for about 80% of the salmon catch at an estimated value of less than E5 million per annum to the economy while angling accounts for about 20% worth an estimated E55 million per annum to the economy.
The Irish Government has insisted on ignoring calls to buy out commercial fishing licences and now may face prosecution from the EU for breaches of conservation laws. Commercial fishermen themselves are claiming that their way of life has become unsustainable. Ireland is now the only North Atlantic country which allows drift net fishing and as a result is hampering neighbouring countries attempts at conservation.
The decline in angling related tourism is naturally most noticeable in rural areas which are already suffering from the trend towards shorter stays in urban centres and is likely to accelerate due to anglers voicing their disappointment at the scarcity of salmon in Irish rivers and more foreign anglers boycotting Ireland entirely for its refusal to act on an issue which affects salmon habitats throughout Europe.
A cross-party Oireachtas committee is to recommend in a report to be published next month that the government buy back licences to use the large nets at sea while allowing the practice to continue in estuaries where stocks are above conservation limits. Although the Government needs to act immediately on this issue the chairman of the committee, Fianna Fail TD Noel O'Flynn, said recently that the Government was under no obligation to act on its recommendations.
Travel and Tourism Statistics
The Central Statistics Office have released Travel and Tourism statistics for the first half of 2005. The following table shows where visitors came from and the type of accommodation they chose.
more... (.pdf)
,000 Bednights | Great Britain | Other Europe | USA & Canada | Other Areas | ||||||||
Jan - June 2004 |
Jan - June 2005 |
% +/- | Jan - June 2004 |
Jan - June 2005 |
% +/- | Jan - June 2004 |
Jan - June 2005 |
% +/- | Jan - June 2004 |
Jan - June 2005 |
% +/- | |
Hotel | 1,831 | 1,871 | +2.2 | 1,180 | 1,381 | +17.0 | 1,401 | 1,347 | -3.9 | 262 | 234 | -10.7 |
Guesthouse/B&B | 801 | 690 | -13.8 | 1,160 | 965 | -16.8 | 747 | 652 | -12.7 | 190 | 177 | -6.8 |
Rented House/Apartment | 1,176 | 1,049 | -10.8 | 1,851 | 2,161 | +16.7 | 531 | 597 | +12.4 | 413 | 322 | -22.0 |
Caravan/Camping | 98 | 92 | -6.1 | 154 | 235 | +52.6 | 4 | 3 | -25.0 | 2 | 9 | +350.0 |
Hostel | 164 | 110 | -32.9 | 344 | 306 | -11.0 | 189 | 133 | -29.6 | 136 | 65 | -52.2 |
Friends/Relatives | 2,795 | 2,878 | +2.9 | 1,183 | 1,752 | +48.1 | 760 | 792 | +4.2 | 646 | 669 | +3.6 |
Other | 361 | 427 | +18.2 | 798 | 819 | +2.6 | 251 | 129 | -48.6 | 159 | 187 | +17.6 |
Total | 7,226 | 7,117 | -1.5 | 6,670 | 7,619 | +14.2 | 3,883 | 3,653 | -5.9 | 1,808 | 1,663 | -8.0 |
Total Tourist Accommodation | 4,070 | 3,812 | -6.3 | 4,689 | 5,048 | +7.7 | 2,872 | 2,732 | -4.9 | 1,003 | 807 | -19.5 |
Hurling and Football Finals:
Congratulations to Cork and Tyrone who won the All Ireland Hurling and Football finals this year.
GAA website
Tidy Towns:
The Overall National Award Winner was the Large town of Ennis, Co. Clare.
More on Ennis
Irelands tidiest village is Moynalty, Co. Meath.
More on Moynalty
Tidiest small town is Lismore, Co. Waterford.
More on Lismore
The Tidy Towns Competition is run by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and has been sponsored by SuperValu since 1990.
Rose of Tralee:
Congratulations to Aoibhinn Ni Shuilleabhan, the Mayo Rose who was the winner of the 47th Rose of Tralee.
Rose of Tralee website
Irish Ferries
Irish Ferries threaten to discontinue service on the Irish Sea if there is resistance to their controversial decision to offer voluntary redundancy to 543 Irish workers and replace them with cheaper foreign labour. They claim that the move is necessary for the company to remain viable due to rising fuel costs and increased competition from low-cost airlines.
Enterprise Minister Micheal Martin is reportedly seeking legal advice in an effort to avoid footing some of the redundancy bill faced by Irish Ferries.
Aer Arann
Aer Arann, today announced that it will begin operating its first route to France from Cork on the 23rd July 2005 with the launch of a service to Lorient in South Brittany. The service will initially operate one day a week on Saturday and will be operated by an ATR72 aircraft.
Ryanair
Ryanair today (Tuesday, 20 Also, Ryanair have announces new flights from Nantes to Shannon, Derry to Liverpool and East Midlands, Cork to Dublin and Gatwick.
Once Upon An Autumn Day
Once Upon an autumn day,
Once upon an autumn day,
Once upon an autumn day,
Once upon an autumn day,
by Joseph T. Renaldi
We must plant the sea and herd its animals.
Jacques Cousteau
Travel News
Irish Ferries threaten to discontinue service on the Irish Sea
more...
more...
Aer Arann announces new route from Cork to France
more...
Ryanair Guarantees No Fuel Surcharges
more...
News from Us
We have updated our site to make it even easier for people to find what they are looking for. You can now navigate by towns. On our homepage, click on a County and you will be brought to a page with a list of towns in that County.
Poem
Colorful leaves began to fade
In the midst of a chilly, frosty air
As multitude of trees grew steadily bare.
The whispering breeze was here to stay
Moving aimlessly through the countless trees
Scattering leaves with the greatest of ease.
The leaves whirled freely in every way,
Until at last they came to rest
Finding a haven in which to nest.
The trees were dormant, and the leaves lay
Waiting for the winter snow to fall
To quickly obscure them one and all.
This and more poems available at Poem Hunter
Final Thought
Using the sea as farmers instead of hunters.
That is what civilization is all about
Farming replacing hunting.
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