SHERKIN COMMENTShark Attack in Irish Waters? At least 39 species of shark have been recorded in Irish waters. Declan Quigley tell us which ones pose a potential danger. 18 Issue No

SHERKIN COMMENT

Stream Water-crowfoot (Ranunculus penicillatus)Photograph by Robbie Murphy

Memories of SummerWater-loving Wild Flowers

Environmental Quarterly of Sherkin Island Marine Station 2007

The Skerries IslandsOscar Merne talks about the state of thebreeding bird populations on these islands,which are off the north Co. Dublin coast. 3

Looking Back into the Future of Climate ChangeHow will this period in our climate’s history beviewed in the future? Barrie Dale looks at it fromvarious perspectives. 8

2008 International Year of Planet EarthLearn more about the importance of celebratingthis United Nations designated year and whatevents are planned for Ireland. 11

Shark Attack in Irish Waters?At least 39 species of shark have beenrecorded in Irish waters. Declan Quigley tell uswhich ones pose a potential danger. 18

Issue No. 44

2 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ SHERKIN COMMENT 2007 Issue No 44

ContentsEDITORIAL: The Need for Cawley II ........................................2

Matt Murphy calls for a follow-up to the SeafoodIndustry Strategy Review.

The Skerries Islands ................................................3Oscar Merne on the islands’ breeding birdpopulations.

A Spotlight on World Environmental Matters ..................4News from Alex Kirby on worldwide events.

Celtic Copper Heritage Project............................................5Josie Mahon tells us about efforts to restore theAvoca River after the negative impacts of mining.

Join the Hunt for Mermaids’ Purses! ..................................6Help Sarah Varian to track down these eggcases.

Still Too Much Waste Going to Landfill..................7Jackie Keaney on how landfill is not sustainable inthe long term.

Looking Back into the Future of Climate Change ....8Barrie Dale looks at climate change from variousperspectives.

The Golden Years of Fish Farming ............................10A look at the 40-year career of Donal Golden –Ireland’s longest serving fish farmer.

2008 International Year of Planet Earth......................11Read more about what’s planned for the year ahead.

The Last Voyage North ..................................................12John Gore-Grimes’ last trip to the Arctic Circle.

The Great Stone Castles by the Anglo-Normans ......14Another informative leaflet from Enfo.

Ireland’s Precious Wetland Flowers ..............................15John Akeroyd on the beautiful flora found in our oftenthreatened freshwater habitats.

Memories of Summer ..............................................16/17The wetland flowers are brought to life throughthe lens of Robbie Murphy.

Shark Attack in Irish Waters? ........................................18Those that pose a potential danger to us are describedby Declan Quigley.

The Cork Coat of Arms ................................................19Fr James Good on the origin of the City’s emblem.

Polonium ..............................................................19Anthony Toole tells us some of the history behindthis lethal metal.

Rehab – Recycling for the Future................................20The vital service provided by Rehab Recycle isexplained by Dara Duffy.

The Wildlife Trust in the UK ......................................21Jane Clark gives us an insight into the great workcarried out by these Trusts.

Is there a place for our natural heritage in 21stCentury Ireland ....................................................22Jim Wilson tells us about the importance of ournatural heritage & why it needs more recognition.

Publications of Interest ..........................................24The man who thanked God for the furze ..................25

Daphne Pochin Mould talks about the life of thebrilliant Swedish scientist, Carl Linnaeus.

Captain Cockle’s Log ............................................26John Joyce on the Secret Life of Limpets

Winter Visitors ......................................................27Information on the Whooper and Bewick’s Swans,who are regular visitors to Ireland.

Sherkin Island Marine Station Competition ................28Mermaid’s Purse Puzzle Page..................................29Gaisce Gold Volunteers Work in Kenya ................30

Sile Kelleher & Therese Geoghegan’s adventures inAfrica during the Gaisce Award challenge.

BIM Fish Recipe ......................................................31The Gulf of Mexico/Mississippi River Dead Zone ....32

Mike Ludwig describes one of the largest manmadeannual water pollution events in the world.

Editorial

The Need for Cawley IIBy Matt Murphy

IN the previous issue of SherkinComment I summarised the main issues ofthe Cawley Report on the SeafoodIndustry. I noted that marine research wasnot part of its brief. I believe it is nowimperative that the Minister of Fisheries,Mr. John Browne, T.D. commissions anin-depth report on the research needs ofthe fishing industry – both commercialand aquaculture. At present we lackcomprehensive data on most fish stocks inIrish waters. In many cases there is greatdifference between scientists andfishermen as to what the true stocksituation is. Trust is the major problemand this issue must be solved. This is notan Irish problem, it is the norm world-wide between fishermen and scientists.The Canadians and Australians havebegun to address this issue and fishermenand scientists now work as equals, withvery positive results on fish stock data.

The Cawley report has emphasisedthroughout that BIM and Udaras musttake the lead role in the development ofthe Seafood industry. It is therefore essen-tial that there be detailed discussions withthe Fishermen’s Federation about whatthey believe are the major failings in ourfishery research programmes, and theninvolve the Marine Institute.

The Marine Institute have excellent fishscientists but one must question havethese been getting a fair share of the fund-ing within the Institute? Unfortunatelythere is widespread belief that theyhaven’t – so one must question whetherthe Marine Institute has a commitment tothe fishing industry.

In their two volume “Sea Change”(2007-13) publications it is obvious thatthe Institute sees itself being the majorplayer in many fields associated with themarine sector such as:• Marine and freshwater environmental

monitoring• National energy needs and building an

expert-orientated • Exploring the unique ocean environ-

ments of the Irish seabed to identifyorganisms that have specific applica-tion in the pharmaceutical and chemi-cal industry.

• Developing new tourism offerings inangling, boating and water sports.

• Playing a lead role in developing a bet-ter scientific understanding of climatechange.

• Strengthening the research and innova-tion intensity of the indigenous marineindustry.

There is no doubt that the role of theMarine Institute has been changed fromits statutory obligations as when it wasat Abbotstown. Then most of itsresearch and monitoring roles were cen-tred on fisheries.

Anyone reading “Sea Change” can seethat fisheries will be a small part of the pro-grammes to be undertaken by the Institute.

Therefore it is obvious that an in-depthexamination by BIM of fisheries researchmust be undertaken so that we can have asustainable fisheries for the future. It seemsfrom the two volumes “Sea Changes” thatthe Marine Institute wants to have a fingerin every aspect of the marine. It would bemuch more sensible if priorities wereestablished and certain programmes trans-ferred to other agencies.

One of the most important aspects offisheries research in Ireland that has beenignored, in the main, is inshore fisheries.According to the Cawley Report we haveover 1,360 vessels giving employment tofishermen and which are the mainstay ofemployment in many areas of coastal Ire-land. There is a vital necessity toestablish the maximum annual take in thebays around our coast for such species asshrimp, crab, lobster. BIM must priori-tise these fisheries. They have hugepotential for development and the easiestof stocks to control.

The Central Fisheries Board (CFB) andthe seven Regional boards have overseenour inland waters. Their responsibility hasbeen freshwater fish stocks, includingsalmon. Yet the issue of salmon manage-ment and research has been divide. Theformer Salmon Research Station in Co.Mayo, for many years an independentresearch facility funded by Guinness, isnow under the control of the MarineInstitute. This is a peculiar situation –surely this research should be transferredto the Central Fisheries Board whoalready have responsibility for the man-agement of rivers and estuaries? Also,sea angling, which at present is the remitof the Central Fisheries Board, shouldcontinue to be developed by them andnot the Marine Institute.

Marine research in Ireland is too dis-jointed. Over 20 institutes in the State areinvolved in some way or another. Thus Isuggest that the three Messers Cawley,Murrin and O’Bric , who produced Caw-ley I, should be invited to produce CawleyII on marine research. They have deliv-ered a superb document “Steering a NewCourse – Strategy for a Restructured, Sus-tainable and Profitable Irish SeafoodIndustry 2007-2013”, which the govern-ment endorse. They now have anexcellent understanding of the marineenvironment. There are many questionsthat need to be answered about the MarineInstitute programmes (2007-2013). Anumber of these programmes belong else-where with either BIM, the EPA, Udarasna Gaeltachta, Central Fisheries Boardand the Martin Ryan Institute.

The Marine Institute seems to want toundertake a huge programme of research.It seems to have a desire to play on theworld scene on a grand scale. We arenow entering the post Celtic Tigerperiod, when there will be cuts in fund-ing on all fronts from CentralGovernment. The Marine Instituteshould realise therefore that fundingcould be less forthcoming in the future.

Consolidation is necessary and a prioritylist of their programmes is needed.

It must not be forgotten that in the1970s and 1980s a small band of wonder-ful scientists at Abbotstown the formerhome of the Marine Institute sufferedgreatly from cutbacks in their annualbudget. So much so they were not allowedtravel to various parts of the country to doresearch. Maybe we will not see thesedays again (we hope!) but yes, there willbe cutbacks even with a soft landing inour economy. So a little caution on ourmarine research projects is necessary. Letthere be consolidation first on the currentresearch programmes.

One of the major recommendations ofthe Culliton review of Industrial Strategyin the late 80’s / early 90’s was to removeindustrial policy from the IDA and place itin a new organisation i.e. Forfás.

It appeared that the IDA, as well asattracting foreign investment (which it didvery successfully), had become involvedin industrial policy formulation.

The Culliton Review saw the need forthe separation of policy formulation fromimplementation and recommended astructural change to insure that separation.He also recommended that the new inde-pendent structure should also overseepolicy implementation, monitor agencyperformance and armed with its policyresearch knowledge and agency perform-ance information, have a co-ordinatingrole as regards all industrial developmentactivities in the state. Nearly all the rec-ommendations of Culliton have beenimplemented and the major structuraladministrative and organisational defi-ciencies, which existed up to that point inindustrial development strategy, havebeen put right. It is necessary, I believe,that Culliton be applied to the marine sec-tor and policy be taken out of the hands ofthe Marine Institute.

Cawley I has delivered a strategy forthe seafood industry. We now need Caw-ley II to deliver a strategy for marineresearch. As a whole it would seem thatCawley I Strategy Report on Seafood andthe Marine Institute's "Sea Change" pro-gramme differ on who should have theresponsibility for certain developments.The Marine Institute has an essential roleto play in the marine sector but it must berealistic and realise that some agencieshave far greater expertise and knowledgethan it. All that is missing from theirmammoth two volume "Sea Change" is anexpedition to find the mythical Hi Brazil,somewhere out in the Atlantic. A marineresearch institute is vital for the develop-ment of a country's marine sector.Image-making may succeed in the short-term but in the end reputations are madeby the quality of the work.

Matt Murphy, Director, Sherkin Island Marine Station, Sherkin Island, Co. Cork, Ireland.

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By Oscar MerneIN many English-speaking

parts of the world small, low,rocky islands are oftenreferred to as “skerries”. TheSkerries Islands of my title arethree such islands off the townof Skerries in north Co.Dublin on the Irish east coast.Indeed, the town possiblyderives its name from the factthat these three skerries arelocated nearby, and a fourthskerry, linked to the mainlandand the town by a sandytombola or peninsula, andnamed locally as Red Island,is clearly part of these geolog-ical outcrops. However, it isthe three true islands, and theirbreeding seabirds, that I amwriting about in this article.

The largest of the three, andthe closest to the shore, isShenick’s Island, which liesoff the South Beach at Sker-ries. A fairly flat plateau ofdeep glacial drift lies over anextensive area of bedrockshales and boulders, withsome gravel beaches, and atlow spring tide it is possible towalk out to the island via anarrow gravel ridge. One hasto be careful about being cutoff by the rising tide. There isa Martello tower from theNapoleonic Wars era situatednear the northern end ofShenick’s Island, but other-wise not much sign of pasthuman habitation. The mainbreeding seabird interest onShenick’s Island nowadays isthe presence of a small Fulmarcolony. This is situated on along earthen ledge a couple ofmetres below the rim of thelow cliff near the Martellotower. This colony appears tohave been established in themid-1980s, when six occupiednesting sites were recorded.By 2006 numbers had grownto about 40 pairs, but in 2007,possibly due to the exception-ally wet summer conditions,numbers had almost halved.Hopefully this is just a tempo-rary setback.

There was a reasonablylarge gull colony on Shenick’sIsland in 1969 (when the firstcensus of breeding seabirds onthe Skerries Islands was car-ried out), with about 150 pairsof Herring Gulls, two pairs ofGreat Black-backed and twopairs of Lesser Black-backedGulls nesting in the roughvegetation on top of theisland, and above the tidelineon the low rocks and shingle.Numbers had halved by themid-1980s, probably due toavian botulism killing adultsand chicks annually from themid-1970s. Now there arehardly any gulls breeding onthis island.

To the north of Shenick’sIsland, and separated from themainland at Red Island by a700 m wide channel with

strong currents, is the smallColt Island. In 1969 thisisland had a large gull colony– about 420 pairs of HerringGulls and 3-5 pairs of GreatBlack-backed Gulls. Thesenumbers too had halved by themid-1980s, and in 2007 therewas a small handful (10-15pairs) of breeding HerringGulls and possibly 3-4 pairsof Lesser Black-backedGulls. No other breedingseabirds have been recordedon Colt Island.

All the above suggests thatthe Skerries Islands havedeclined greatly in impor-tance for breeding seabirdsover the last three or fourdecades, but the situation atthe third island – St. Patrick’sor Church Island – consider-ably changes the picture to amuch rosier one.

The island list about 1.5km from the mainland, is 12m high at the highest point,has the ruins of an ancientChristian church, and is hometo Ireland’s largest Cor-morant colony.

No Cormorants were nest-ing there in 1969, nor in themid-1980s, but in 1992 acolony of at least 35 pairs wasdiscovered, which produced atleast 70 well-grown young by

mid-July. The colony appearsto have been largely neglectedby ornithologists for manyyears after its discovery,although it was known to havegrown considerably based onannual long-distance inspec-tions by telescope fromRockabill, 5 km to the ENE.The Seabird 2000 survey andcensus of all breeding seabirdsin Ireland and Britain between1998 and 2002 prompted acloser inspection. This wasfirst attempted from a boatpassing close to the island,and about 560 Cormorantnests were counted. While thiswas a very large number, itwas thought that some nestswere concealed by long vege-tation, especially by stands ofimpenetrable tree mallow. InMay 2004 I landed on theisland with a couple of col-leagues and we censused thecolony very accurately: Thegrand total was an amazing957 nests, making the colonythe largest in Ireland andBritain. Since then we havemade annual visits and theCormorant numbers haveremained very high, with>819 pairs in 2005, 1,157 in2006 and 965 in 2007. Here Iwish to thank Dr. CiaranO’Keeffe of the National

Parks & Wildlife Serviceand Julie Roe for assistancewith these surveys and cen-suses, and also Sean Pierce,who first discovered thecolony. Together with theCormorant colonies on Lam-bay and Ireland’s Eye, thereare about 2,000 pairs breed-ing on the Dublin coast –over 40% of the entire Irishbreeding population.

While Cormorants are byfar the most numerousseabirds on St. Patrick’sIsland, there are several otherseabirds breeding there.Shags, their smaller relatives,were already nesting in 1969(five pairs) and had increasedto 116 pairs by 1986. They are

still nesting there, but insmaller numbers (up to 88pairs), perhaps due to dis-placement by the expandingCormorants. Herring Gullsincreased from about 190pairs in 1969 to 250-300 pairsin the mid-1980, but havesince declined almost toextinction, like the HerringGulls on Shenick’s and ColtIslands. The Great Black-backed Gulls have faredbetter, with about 55 pairs in1969, about 200 pairs in themid-1980s, and close to 100pairs now. A few LesserBlack-backed Gulls nested onthe island with the other largegulls in the mid-1980s, buthave abandoned it in recent

years. The latest newcomer toSt. Patrick’s Island is the Ful-mar: in 2006 eight pairs wereoccupying nesting ledges.

The assemblage of breed-ing seabirds on the SkerriesIslands, along with theislands’ use in winter byfeeding Light-bellied BrentGeese and roosting waders,qualified the island groupfor designation as a SpecialProtection Area for birds,under the European Union’sBirds Directive.

Oscar Merne retired fromIreland’s National Parks &Wildlife Service in January2004

SHERKIN COMMENT 2007 Issue No 44 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3

THESKERRIESISLANDS

Top: Cormorants on thenest.

Far left: The Great Black-backed Gull.

Left: Cormorant with chicks.

Below: St. Patrick’s Island,home to Ireland’s largestCormorant colony.

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4 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ SHERKIN COMMENT 2007 Issue No 44

A Spotlight on World Environmental Mattersby Alex Kirby

Arsenic found in Drinking Water of70 Countries

Scientists think about 140 million peo-ple, mainly in developing countries, arebeing poisoned by arsenic in drinkingwater. South and East Asia have morethan half the known cases globally,though there is also contamination inChina, Cambodia and Vietnam, and inparts of South America and Africa.Peter Ravenscroft, a geographer, told aLondon conference arsenic was a prob-lem in 70 countries, and probably more.The poison increases rates of some can-cers, including lung, bladder and skintumours, and other lung conditions. Someeffects show up decades after expo-sure, and scientists say one in every 10people with high concentrations ofarsenic in their water will die from it.

World’s needs to grow more foodTo nourish a growing human popula-

tion, the world will have to produce morefood over the next 50 years than it hasgrown during the whole of the last10,000 years, researchers told a UN-backed sustainable development forumin Iceland. But poor farming practicesand deforestation will be worsened byclimate change so that soil fertility con-tinues to deteriorate, leaving vast areasunsuitable for crops or grazing. TheUN’s Millennium Ecosystem Assessmentclassed land degradation as one of theworld’s greatest environmental chal-lenges. Up to 40% of the world’sagricultural land is seriously degraded,mainly by water, from flooding or poorirrigation, or by wind. The UN Food andAgriculture Organisation says 854 mil-lion people lack sufficient food for ahealthy life. Between 1980 and 2000the human population rose from 4.4bn to6.1bn, and by 2050 it is expected toreach 9bn. Many countries are nowplanting biofuel crops in place of food.

Ecuador hope to be paid not toexploit oil reserves

Ecuador has offered not to exploitthe oil reserves under part of the Ama-zonian rainforest – on condition thatwealthy nations pay it $350m a year,half the estimated revenue from pump-ing the oil. Backers of the plan say it isa logical development of the trendtowards carbon offsetting. The Germanand Norwegian governments are said tohave expressed interest in the Ecuado-rian plan. Donors would be able to pay incash, debt relief or other indirect ways.Some conservationists support the idea,seeing it as a way to protect biodiver-sity, tackle climate change and also payfor development, though others remainunconvinced.

Cat faeces killing marine mammalsin California

Pet owners who flush cat faeces downthe toilet may be killing whales, dolphinsand porpoises around the UK coast, pub-lic health experts say. A commonparasite, Toxoplasma gondii, found indead marine mammals, could have comefrom family cats, they believe. Cats area vital link in the life cycle of the para-site, which can infect many species aspart of the food chain. In Californiaworries that cat faeces may have con-tributed to sea otter deaths haveprompted warnings on cat litter bags.Blood samples from dead strandedcetaceans in British waters showed onein 70 harbour porpoises was infected,six of 21 common dolphins and the onlyhump-backed whale tested.

Antarctic ice melting faster thanpredicted

Antarctic ice is melting faster thanpredicted by the IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change, scientists say.

Chris Rapley, the outgoing head of theBritish Antarctic Survey, told journal-ists during a climate seminar in theNorwegian Arctic territory of Svalbardthere were worrying signs that ice inboth both Antarctica and Greenland wasflowing faster towards the sea than theIPCC had predicted. He said there waslittle sign of more snow falling inland tocompensate. Professor Rapley said itwas realistic to expect a sea level riseby 2100 of closer to a meter than theIPCC’s suggested 18-59 cm range. Mil-lions of people live less than a metreabove sea level, and many of the world’smajor cities are on the coasts.

Hole in ozone hole over Antarcticaarrives early

The hole in the ozone layer overAntarctica which develops annually hasappeared earlier than usual this year,the World Meteorological Organisationsays. The ozone layer shields all life onEarth from ultra-violet solar rays whichcan cause skin cancer and cataracts, andcan damage the immune system. The useof ozone-depleting chemicals hasdeclined, but the WMO says there is nosign that the Antarctic hole is gettingany smaller yet. One WMO official saidit might reach the southern tip of SouthAmerica this year.

Major pollution in two of China’smain rivers

Pollution in two of China’s main riversis so bad that much of the water is arisk to the one in six Chinese whodepend on it, state officials and mediahave revealed. They said the water wasin many cases unfit to touch, let alonedrink. Half the check points along theHuai river and its tributaries in centraland eastern China showed water so pol-luted it was unfit for human contact andmight not be fit even for irrigation.

Despite years of efforts to clean up theHuai and Liao rivers, large volumes ofuntreated domestic effluent and indus-trial waste-water are still dumpeddirectly into the water. The state ofthe Huai threatens the huge South-North Water Transfer Project,designed to take water from theYangtze river to China’s arid north.

Study suggests more male thanfemale birds

A review of hundreds of scientificpapers indicates that for the vastmajority of bird species, there are moremales than females. The study, pub-lished in the ornithological journal Ibis,goes on to suggest that populations ofmany of the world’s birds at risk ofextinction could be overestimated,because scientists often base popula-tion estimates on the number of males.Males are usually easier to detect, withbrighter plumage than females andattractive songs. Researchers then takethis as an estimate of the number ofbreeding pairs, assuming an equal num-ber of males and females in thepopulation. Dr Paul Donald of the RSPB,who carried out the review, said: “Mostspecies have ‘male-skewed’ sex ratios,but a wholly unexpected finding wasthat the rarer the species, the morehighly skewed towards males the popula-tion becomes. Therefore many of theworld’s rarest species may be muchcloser to extinction than we previouslythought... One possible explanation isthat many threatened species areendangered because of introducedpredators, which have been shown to killfemales when they are incubating eggsin the nest.”

Alex Kirby is a former BBC environmentcorrespondent.

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By Josie MahonAVOCA village in County

Wicklow is located in one ofthe most scenic valleys of Ire-land. Wicklow, the Garden ofIreland boasts famous touristattractions such as Glen-dalough, Glendasan and theMeetings of the Waters. Theold copper mining works atAvoca are located along theAvoca river and they operatedfrom 1720 to 1982. This oper-ation was an important featureof the local economy andbrought employment andprosperity to the Avoca areafor many years.

Today the legacy of themining history is visible withold chimneys and enginehouses in place and aban-doned spoil heaps. It has alsoleft us with a rich and diversi-fied culture, in thedifferences in the landscape,in the character of the peopleand its incredible narrative. Anegative impact of this legacyhas been on the Avoca riveras water flows though theshafts, adits and undergroundworkings resulting in serioustoxic contamination of theriver which is known as acidmine drainage. The lowerreaches of the Avoca Riverhave been classified as the

most polluted river in Irelanddue to discharges from thecopper mines.

The Avoca River was once agreat salmon river as recordsprior to mining activity show.Today almost 12km the river isseriously polluted from the cop-per mines. It is almost devoid offish life and the visual orangestaining on the river bed is obvi-ous for all to see.

In 2001 the EasternRegional Fisheries Boardembarked on a process toascertain whether it would bepossible to restore this fineriver to its former glory as itwould bring environmental,social and economic benefits

for all in the community. TheBoard consulted with stake-holders in the area such asWicklow County Council,Geological Survey of Ireland,Central Fisheries Board,Avoca Mining Heritage Trustand the Mining HeritageTrust of Ireland, landownersand other community groupsto ascertain objectives andplans for the area. In 2002the Board commissioned theUniversity of Newcastle tocarry out a desktop study toidentify solutions for thetreatment of the acid minedrainage pollution.

In October 2003, the Uni-versity of Newcastle publisheda report which suggested thatwith assistance from interna-tional experts and financialinvestment, the Avoca Rivercould be restored to one of themost prolific salmon rivers inthe country. The solution pro-posed was to construct anactive treatment plant whichwould treat the acid minedrainage discharges.

Having seen a possiblesolution and light at the end ofthe tunnel, stakeholders rein-vigorated their campaign andsubmitted an application forfunding under an EU IrelandWales Interreg Project. In2005, €296,820 was grantedto a project known as ‘CelticCopper Heritage’.

The purpose of this projectis to harness the historicalcopper mining heritage inAvoca in Wicklow and Aml-wch in Wales as a means ofgenerating positive economic,social, cultural and environ-mental benefits in both ofthese rural communities.More specifically it examinesthe positive aspects of work-

ing with the important miningheritage in Avoca, Co. Wick-low and in Amlwch, Waleswhere there are many similar-ities of the legacy of miningheritage on our environment.

Within this EU project anactive pilot treatment plantwas commissioned in 2006.Unipure Europe Ltd, wereappointed to install and run aseries of trials at Avoca toestablish whether it would bepossible to treat acid minedrainage from the formermines into the river on asmall scale and what theparameters of a full scaleactive treatment plant wouldbe for the Avoca river.

This report, entitled ‘CelticCopper Heritage Project,Avoca Mines Pilot PlantTreatment Trials’, waslaunched in by the then Minis-ter for the Environment, Mr.Dick Roche TD in May 2007.Its findings indicated that thepilot treatment plant trialswere successful in demon-strating that active treatmentwill reduce average totalmetal concentrations in theAvoca River downstream ofthe mines by 66% to 72%.This reduction would result insignificant improvement inriver water quality and the tri-als demonstrated that activetreatment will enable theAvoca River to achieve asalmon fishery standard for allmetals except zinc. One of the

findings of the report is thatone year’s continuous datasetis required.

The estimated capital costto build a full scale treatmentplant is €3.6m (ex VAT) withan annual operational cost of€0.5m (ex VAT). Of theannual operational cost,€300,000 is required forsludge disposal.

In conclusion, restoration ofthe Avoca River is possible asthe results of these pilot planttreatment trials have sug-gested. Regeneration of thisrural area will ultimately raisethe profile of Avoca as a touristdestination. There are manyelements to the rehabilitationand long-term sustainable man-agement of mines sites and thisproject is an important compo-nent of this.

For further informationplease contact: Ms. Josie Mahon, EasternRegional Fisheries Board, Tel: 01 278 7022 / email:[email protected]

Celtic Copper Heritage ProjectRESTORING THE AVOCA RIVER

Discharge coming from the mining site at Avoca.

An overview of the geology at Avoca.

Dead salmon/sea trout – aregular occurrence during thesmolt run at Avoca.

The pilot treatment plant which was in place in Avoca for threemonths in 2006.

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By Sarah VarianPURSE Search Ireland is

a new marine environmentaloutreach project that isseeking input from the Irishbeach going public. The aimof the project is to encour-age people to report theirobservations of mermaids’purses, which are actuallythe eggcases of sharks,skates and rays. Thesepurses are laid by the adultfemale fish in a suitablehabitat on the seafloor, withthe young embryo develop-ing within the eggcase forup to 15 months. The babyshark or skate then hatchesout of the purse and swimsaway, leaving the discardedeggcase behind it. Eggcasescan often be seen washed upon the seashore, frequentlytangled up in seaweed alongthe upper shoreline. Scien-tists are hoping thatobservations of mermaids’purses on the seashore (andunderwater) may providevaluable information on thelocation of nursery areas for

Ireland’s skates and rays,some of which are endan-gered or rare.

The search for purses waslaunched at the Dublin ZooNative Species Weekend inApril this year, with anextremely enthusiasticresponse from visitors attend-ing the workshops associatedwith the event. The event wasmade all the more interestingby the attendance of somebaby sharks and rays, kindlydonated to the project by TheNational Sea Life Centre inBray. The tiny shark and rayembryos could also be seeninside their protectiveeggcases, giving people aunique opportunity to seemermaids’ purses with the liv-ing occupants still inside!Since April, the Purse SearchRoadshow has visited manyschools around the country,including numerous biodiver-sity events, in an effort to raiseawareness for the project. As aresult of these efforts, theproject has been slowly gath-ering a troupe of dedicatedobservers. Associated press

and media coverage have alsocontributed towards increas-ing numbers of reportscoming in from beach-combers, divers and fishersfrom around the country,including confirmed sightingsof purses for Thornback Rays,Spotted Rays, Cuckoo Rays,Lesser Spotted Dogfish andGreater Spotted Dogfish (akaBull Huss or Nursehound).

Improving our knowledgeof nursery areas for fishspecies is crucial for effectivefisheries management. This isparticularly true for sharks,skates and rays as they areknown to be a vulnerablegroup of fishes, their slowgrowth and late reproductivematurity reducing their ability

to recover from intensive fish-ing. For example, the maleCommon Skate, Raja batis,does not mature until it is over10 years old. In Ireland, sev-eral of our inshore skate andray species are classified asbeing rare or endangered, withthe Common Skate being ofparticular concern as it is cur-rently classified as criticallyendangered by the IUCN. Apreviously common fishspecies (hence the name) inthe North East Atlantic, theCommon Skate is now, ratherironically, absent from theSouthern and Central NorthSea, the Irish Sea and most ofthe British coastline. Onlysmall localised populationsremain in Ireland and Scotland.

The Common Skate’s largesize (up to 2.9m in length)makes it particularly vulnera-ble to fishing and it is highlyprized by recreational fisher-men. In an effort to protect theanimals in Ireland, the IrishSpecimen Fish Committee hasremoved the species from list-ings, encouraging recreationalfishers to return specimens tosea. Agreements betweencommercial fishers and char-tered recreational fishing boatoperators have also increasedprotection in some areas, withthe return of commercialcatches benefiting sea anglingtourism. Indeed, long termtagging studies conducted bythe Central Fisheries Boardsuggest that the CommonSkate may be recovering insome areas, with individualsbeing extremely localised,returning to the same areasyear after year. The coopera-tion of commercial fishermenwith recreational fishing oper-ators is encouraging and maywell have contributed towardsthis positive result. With nolegal protection measures inplace, voluntary agreementsset up by the fishing industryare obviously vital for therecovery and sustainability ofthis species. However, effec-tive management of skate andray species is still very muchhampered by lack of adequateinformation on commercialcatch returns, as skates andrays are generally onlyrecorded as a single group bysize, without any records for

individual species. Therefore,improved monitoring of vul-nerable species in catches isnow essential in order to clar-ify the threat to variouspopulations around our coasts.Enhanced protection meas-ures could then be consideredon the basis of adequate infor-mation.

Purse Search Ireland iskeen to hear from anybodywho may have knowledge ofskate or ray nursery areas. Ifyou would like to report asighting, please fill out anonline recording form atwww.marinedimensions.ie.Eggcase samples should alsobe sent on to Marine Dimen-sions, the project organisers,so that the scientists can iden-tify the purses to species level.The project website includesinformation on eggcase identi-fication, with prizes andcompetitions for kids. A copyof the Seashore Code on thewebsite emphasises theimportance of safety and envi-ronmental care for beachexcursions. To get in touchwith a project scientist, call(01) 2828876 or [email protected] Search Ireland is fundedby Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Dis-cover Science andEngineering, Forfas and theNational Parks and WildlifeService, with support fromThe Shark Trust. MarineDimensions is extremelygrateful to all Purse Searchvolunteer recorders for theirtime and dedicated support.

Join the Hunt for Mermaids’ Purses!

Rohan Chretien who found a Nursehound purse on Greystones Beachthis year.

A Spotted Ray purse, Raja montagui, washed up on Carratigue Beachin north Mayo.

A Lesser Spotted Dogfish eggcase, Scyliorhinus canalicula, washed upin Naylor’s Cove, Bray, Co. Wicklow.

Purse Search IrelandA New Public Sightings Scheme forShark, Skate and Ray Eggcases

Dr Sarah Varian, Zoologist, Marine Dimensions, PO Box9696, Dublin 18, Ireland. Tel: (01) 2828876 or Mobile: 0860866003 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.marinedimensions.ie

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By JackieKeaney

IRELAND’S tide of wasteis turning. Figures reportedin the EPA National WasteReport 2005 for recyclingand recovery have exceededexpectations, as well as EUand national recycling tar-gets. Municipal wastegeneration per capitadecreased by 0.7%, and alower proportion of thiswaste is going to landfill.However, now is not the timeto rest on our laurels. A morecareful analysis of the reportwill find that the actual ton-nage of municipal wastegoing to landfill increased in2005, putting an end to theotherwise encouragingdownward trend since 2001.

Landfill does have a role

to play in Ireland’s wastemanagement system. How-ever, it is not sustainable inthe long term and is the low-est option on theinternational waste hierarchyof preferred waste manage-ment solutions. Europeanand Irish waste policies aimto dramatically reducereliance on landfill and assuch have set ambitious tar-gets for landfill diversion foras soon as 2010. To achievethis, many Member Stateshave imposed legislation thatstrongly discourages the useof landfill, and are leaguesahead in achieving long-termlandfill diversion targets. Bycontrast, municipal waste tolandfill in Ireland increasedin 2005 and further landfillcapacity is being sought.

The Department of Environ-ment’s policy documentChanging Our Ways issued in

1998 found that a reliance onlandfill had limited the develop-ment of integrated wastemanagement approaches andinhibited waste recovery andrecycling options. Ireland needsto develop alternatives to landfillif it is to realise the environmentalbenefits of an integrated wastemanagement system and meetdiversion targets.

The elephant in the closetis the huge surplus of landfillcapacity in Ireland. The Con-federation of Waste to EnergyPlants (CEWEP) has foundthat current approved landfillcapacity amounts to nearly 4million tonnes per annumeven though less than 2 mil-lion tonnes per annum ofwaste is actually sent to land-fill. With landfill capacity atmore than double what isrequired, there is little incen-tive to develop alternatives.

This surplus has seen land-

fill gate fees drop signifi-cantly since 2005. Reducedwaste charges are certainlygood for competitiveness andcan be met with some reliefgiven that prices were as highas €240/tonne in 2004-5.However, landfill chargesthat are too low make it verydifficult for alternatives suchas recycling, composting andwaste to energy to compete,effectively removing anyincentive for landfill diver-sion. If this continues, Irelandwill miss its diversion targets;be required to pay fines to theEU and will be stuck with anembarrassing legacy of poorwaste infrastructure in thelong term.

It may not come as a sur-prise that this overcapacitywas not planned. Ireland’swaste policy is implementedthrough Regional WasteManagement Plans, which setout a strategy to meet policyobjectives whilst being sym-pathetic to local conditions.However, CEWEP has foundthat local authorities have notalways adhered to theseplans. This seriously under-mines the authority andstrategy of the plans, threat-ening the viability ofalternatives to landfill thatwere included in the plans tohelp achieve policy objec-tives. However, as thereappears to be no State Agencymonitoring landfill capacitydevelopments, landfill capac-ity has been allowed tocontinue to expand.

Measures are needed toreverse this trend. Ireland

should refer to the wealth ofexperience in other high per-forming Member States,many of whom have experi-enced similar problems, foreffective strategies to achievelandfill diversion.

CEWEP has been involvedin waste policy across the EUsince 2001. From experience,landfill levies provide the bestincentive for landfill diversionin a competitive waste market.This is because they providethe necessary market condi-tions for the development ofalternative, capital-intensivewaste infrastructure withoutimmediately impacting onavailable disposal capacity.

Landfill levies in Irelandare currently at €15/tonnewaste, which is far lower thanin those Member Statesimplementing best environ-mental practice. Legislationprovides for a €5/tonne priceincrease per year, but this hasnot been applied since thelevy was first introduced in2002. Increasing the landfilllevy would ensure that alter-native waste infrastructure iscompetitive with landfill.Furthermore, funds raised bythe levy are channelled intowaste prevention and recy-cling in Ireland through theEnvironment Fund, ensuringthat the overall cost of wastemanagement to the consumer

is minimised. Landfill levies can be

effectively supported by aban on certain waste streamsto landfill, in line with EUwaste policy. A ban is mosteffectively implemented afterthe necessary infrastructurehas been developed, and pro-vides developers with thecertainty to effectively planfor the future.

This matter needs to beaddressed. Ireland has only 3years to meet its first EUlandfill diversion commit-ment, yet the amount of wastegoing to landfill is back onthe increase. Developers thatare looking to invest in alter-native waste infrastructureneed reassurance that dump-ing in landfills will notcontinue to be the cheapest,most preferred option. Thelegislation is there to providethis reassurance, in the formof a €5/tonne increase in thelandfill levy. Ireland needs totake this opportunity to act onits over reliance on landfillbefore it is too late.

Jackie Keaney is Irish VicePresident of CEWEP(Confederation of EuropeanWaste to Energy Plants)

Still Too Much WasteGoing to Landfill

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By Barrie DaleSO you thought it was an awful summer this

year, and did you worry about it being yetanother example of global warming? Well, likeeverything else to do with climate it all dependsupon your perspective.

The one thing we are certain of regarding cli-mate is that it is changing – and it always has.This basic truth tends to be lost, or at best dis-torted, in the enormous daily media blitz, andunfortunately as a result, public opinion isbecoming more and more polarized. On the onehand, there are a growing number of peopleinterpreting every “unusual” turn in theweather as evidence of climate change due tohuman impact on the environment (as if therewas no unusual weather before the industrialrevolution). At the other end of the spectrumwe have people who somehow find comfort in

the fact that the Earth has witnessed drasticallydifferent climate before, with thousands ofyears of ice ages etc., so the relatively modestchanges now should not be too bad!

There are several reasons why the public atlarge find themselves caught up in this climaticturmoil, but basically it has to do with “scien-tific issues”. Life used to be simpler in the olddays – researchers discovered things, discussedthem largely with other researchers, and resultsdribbled out to the public to the extent therewas real public interest. There were serious sci-entific issues that engaged the public inprevious times, too, for example Darwin´s the-ory of evolution, but these were few and farbetween. Today, by contrast, the public are con-stantly bombarded by “issues” of all sorts,including regular doses of heavy scientificissues. These range from external threats suchas meteorite impacts on Earth to internal epi-demics such as bird flu, and they all share two

common factors: they are life-threatening topeople and they require science to understandand solve the problem. There is now a well-established triad of pressures driving theseissues. The politicians, the media, and scien-tists are all under similar pressures – to gain,and if necessary produce public awareness con-cerning the issues of the day. Issues such asclimate change, combining human threat andhuman negligence, understandably have mostimpact in what has become a hectic scramblefor attention.

The issue of climatechange has huge poten-tial for generating publicfear, sometimes border-ing on hysteria, fueled byimages of disappearingspecies and drowningcoastal cities. This pro-vides good stuff for thetabloid press and Holly-wood film-makers, butunderlying all this aretwo serious scientificfacts that set climate change apart from all otherissues, and guarantee that it will be the para-mount issue for at least a generation to come.The most important fact is that it is surroundedby so much real uncertainty that no one is in aposition to explain just what will happen; theperceived threat comes from computer-gener-ated models that suggest a range of possiblefuture developments, from catastrophic meltingof polar ice masses to warming only on theorder of that enjoyed by our ancestors aroundone thousand years ago in the so-calledMedieval Warm period. The other distinguish-ing fact concerning climate change is that it will

take many years (a generation?) before we/theyfind out what actually happened. It must betempting for some politicians to hop on to sucha popular bandwagon, knowing that whateverthey say or do cannot be seriously challenged,not only until after the next election – but wellinto the next generation. Scientists, on the otherhand, may feel they have little choice – largeamounts of national research funds are ear-marked for climate change, and universities andresearch institutions are reliant on such funding.

To my knowledge, no respectable scientisthas predicted that all thelarge ice masses on earthwill melt within the fore-seeable future, with thecatastrophic results thatwould cause – they sim-ply do not know.However, when this pos-sible threat is raised theydo not necessarily focuson the uncertainties, andthere may be good orpossibly not so good rea-

sons for this. The planet would benefitenormously from taking the very threat of cli-mate change seriously – reduced pollution,more efficient use of limited resources, etc.,and this poses a dilemma for science. A scien-tist questioning the doomsday prophets risksbeing typed as anything from a “capitalist”(e.g. supporter of G.W. Bush politics favouringthe oil industry) to a poor scientist (everybody“knows” that a high percentage of scientistsagree “there will be catastrophe!”). Sciencetoday is largely run by economists and politi-cians under pressure to produce quick answersto the urgent questions of society – they have

Looking Backinto the Future ofClimate Change

“If you really thought thissummer was bad, pity the poorpeople of northern Europe whenit rained almost withoutstopping from spring in 1315until well into the autumn of1322; and that was only thebeginning of the Little Ice Age.”

The melting of the glaciers – how far will it go?

Wave power as alternative energy?

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little sympathy or understanding for scientistswho say they don’t know, and quickly find oth-ers who claim they do know.

We may have to reach back hundreds ofyears into history to find an equivalent exampleof such mass fear for the well-being or evensurvival of our species. During the dreadfulwaves of bubonic plague (black death) thatswept over Europe in the 1340s, killing any-where from one third to a half of thepopulation, people reacted with mass hysteriaand processions of penitents beating theirbacks with weighted scourges in attempts tohalt the mortal threat they did not understand.That was before the emergence of modern sci-ence with its offer of a more rational approachthan mass hysteria, and it took over four hun-dred years before rational quarantine,disinfection, and isolation came into wide-spread use to combat the disease. In order todeal rationally with the present-day threat ofclimate change, we still need science that holdssteadfast to its rational principles and a popula-tion that avoids any urge towards hysteria.

So what is a body to do, faced with all thethreats and uncertainties of climate change?As a scientist working in geology, marine biol-ogy, and environmental sciences, while livingin Norway at the same latitude as the southerntip of Greenland, I strongly recommendexpanding your perspective beyond the dailynews blitz. Not necessarily way back into geo-logical time, though there is a certain comfortin the general understanding that this beautifulplanet has seen it all before (even fossil fuelwas burned off before humans). For a goodstart you can read a book, The Little Ice Age,How Climate Made History 1300-1850, byBrian Fagan, dealing with climate during thepast one thousand years. Never mind the IceAges and timescales of hundreds of thousandsof years – here you will realise that extreme,life-threatening variations of climate are notjust a present-day result of the industrial revo-lution – we humans have survived themthroughout historical times.

If you really thought this summer was bad,pity the poor people of northern Europe whenit rained almost without stopping from springin 1315 until well into the autumn of 1322; andthat was only the beginning of the Little IceAge. In fact the Little Ice Age was not just aperiod of cooling, but more of extremely con-trasting shorter periods of cooling andwarming (sometimes warmer than today) –and the worst effects on people must havebeen the very uncertainty of it all. Often, theadverse weather resulted in mass hunger andstarvation, and the enormous death toll in theblack death plagues are thought to have beenat least partly due to the poor nutritional stateof the population. This was in brutal contrastto the previous five hundred years, theMedieval Warm Period (around 800–1312),with generally stable weather, on average a bitwarmer than the 20th Century, though withsome cold years interspersed. This favourableclimate allowed the Vikings to colonizeGreenland, Norwegian farmers grew corn 100-200m above the present limit in the mountains,and England competed with France in wineproduction. Ironically, the years immediatelyprior to the Little Ice Age (1284-1311) hadunusually warm and dry summers, only addingto the sense of despair when the climatechanged so dramatically for the worst.

The list of climate-induced tragedies duringthe Little Ice Age is long, including massivestorms and floods, in January 1362 when tensof thousands drowned in The Nederlands andDenmark, and in 1421 and 1446 when over100,000 drowned (enormous losses, given thepopulation size at that time). In 1588, stormsdid more damage to the Spanish armada thanthe British navy did, while a huge storm in1694 buried 16 farms (20-30 square kilome-

ters) under 30m of loose sand in the Culbin dis-aster in Scotland. The worst of the cold weathercame between the 1500s and 1800s, when gla-ciers in many parts of the world grew for over250 years, in some cases destroying towns. Theworst human crisis in Norway happened in1742-1743, when the glaciers reached theirmaximum, and extremely heavy, cold raincaused starvation and sickness killing 30,000people. Ireland’s worst disaster came in the1840s, when a series of especially cold winterscombined with diseased potato crops causedmassive starvation, and two and a half millionpeople died or emigrated from their homeland.In China and India, extremely cold and dryweather killed an estimated 14-18 million peo-ple in the 1870s. As late as the winter of1894-95, there was thick ice on the Thames,but temperatures gradually rose on averagesince then, probably marking the end of TheLittle Ice Age (although a colleague of minestudying the details of climate change is nottotally convinced it has finished – he points outthat there always were periods of warmerweather between the extremes of cold).

All this raises the question that everyoneneeds answering, but nobody can: to whatextent is the global warming of the 20th Cen-tury to present-day the natural upturn of thatever-varying climatic curve (it had to startwarming up again sometime), or is it the resultof increased amounts of “greenhouse gasses”such as CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels(there should be some effect)? The shift in per-spective advocated here will not answer thisquestion either, but it may help you evaluatesome of the so-called “expert” information weare bombarded with. Next time you hear claimsthat what we are experiencing now is ” theworst/biggest/most rapid”, etc. change in thepast X millions/thousands/hundreds of years,reflect on the complex variations seen in thisalbeit sketchy historic record we have of cli-mate in just the past 1000 years. Seriousmeasurements of climatic parameters such astemperature only cover the period of warmingfrom the end of the Little Ice Age, and ofcourse they do increase, and they do corre-spond to the burning of most of the fossil fuels– but it would be fascinating to see detailedtemperature measurements, storm velocitiesand frequencies, rainfall, etc. covering the lastthousand years.

If one could choose between a crystal ballthat would see details back over in time or onethat showed the future, it would be a difficultchoice. On the one hand it would be illuminat-ing to really understand in detail the climatethat shaped human societies leading to wherewe are today – it would probably show theextent to which there was a telling effect ofburning fossil fuels. But just think how fasci-nating it would be to see ahead to the timewhen the reality of today’s predictions isrevealed. Will future generations look back onus as we do on those who faced the BlackDeath in the 1300s? Will they see that we irra-tionally “burned away” the future climatewith our fossil fuels, or will we be seen irra-tionally scourging ourselves with meaninglesstreaties that impoverished our societies withno beneficial effect on climate, because likeour fellow humans in the 1300s we just didnot understand. I sincerely hope they will seeinstead that people in the 21st Century, evenwithout understanding all the complexities ofclimate change, had the common sense to usethe threat of climate change as an incentivefor developing a better transition to alterna-tive forms of energy.

Prof. Barrie Dale, Dept. of Geosciences,University of Oslo, PB 1047 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo, Norway.

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By Matt MurphyONE of the great pioneers

of Inland Fisheries in Irelandreached retirement agerecently after 46 years of pub-lic service.

A native of Macroom, Co.Cork and introduced to inlandfisheries by the late, greatNoel Hackett. Donal Goldenbegan his career in the InlandFisheries Trust on 8th Decem-ber 1961.

In 1962 he joined theTrust's mobile unit, as it wascalled. This unit travelled thecountry doing stock assess-ments in rivers and lakes,mainly through electro fish-ing. Donal has always saidthat this was a great way to getto know the fisheries aroundthe country and recommendsit for inclusion in any induc-tion programmes for new staffof the Fisheries Boards.

In 1963 he was assigned ona temporary basis to the Trust'sFish Farm in Mullingar andspoke with pride on the factthat he produced the, never tobe forgotten, figure of 506,267trout fingerlings that year. Thisdid not go unnoticed and by1965 Donal was placed incharge of the Trust's main fishfarm in Roscrea. In the inter-vening period he has increasedproduction from 70,000 rain-bows of 0.5lb and 60,000 ½ozbrowns in 1965 to 1.5m browntrout fry, 100,000 brown troutof 2+lbs and 300,000 rainbowtrout, in 2007.

These fish are distributed tothe Fisheries Boards, anglingclubs and fishery ownersaround the country. This yearin excess of 300 deliverieswere made to 80 customersthroughout the 32 counties.Donal's delivery trucks couldbe seen on the roads of Irelandsix days of the week fromMarch to September.

Of course there is no com-parison between the quantityof fish required for the tableand for the angler. The anglerdemands good quality fishwith a brave, big head, anexpansive tail and a well filledbody. The quality of the headand tail are of little conse-quence to the fish farmerproducing for the table.

But Donal wasn't just a fishfarm manager. He was also aninventor, developing new fishfarm systems and processes, avet, he was renowned for notalone diagnosing fish healthissues but for advising, ormore correctly in his case,instructing vets on what medi-cines would or wouldn't work.

Some of Donal's skillswere best illustrated throughthe manner with which he ranthe fish farms with minimumfunding within the con-straints of the Public Service.Unfortunately, he could notmake decisions on their meritalone, as he always had tolook over his shoulder to

Glasnevin and later Swords(HQ) to ensure that he wasmeeting all the requirementsof the Civil and Public Ser-vice. There is no doubt,though, that when the historyof inland fisheries is written,it will show that, more oftenthan not, Donal made theright decisions with just asquint over his shoulder.Numerous stories and anec-dotes are told and retoldabout how Donal ensured thatall decisions taken were forthe benefit of the fish farmsand for the greater good ofinland fisheries.

While Donal could be seenin the farm every weekendand even on Christmas Day,he had that great ability ofwork-life balance. Nothing

was more important to Donalthan his wife Noreen and fam-ily. He still claims thatNoreen is a Cork woman,although there appears to bestrong evidence that she waslucky enough to be born onthe Kerry side of the "countybounds"! Donal was no meanfootballer, having played sen-ior football. However, hedevoted a large portion of hislimited free time to managingthe local soccer team withwhom his sons, Tim, Donaland Andrew excelled. Hetook particular pride in hisdaughter, Paula and her suc-cesses and now greatly enjoysthe next generation.

The CEO of the CentralFisheries Board, John O'Con-nor, is reported to have beenonce asked how one couldmanage a man like Donal whoalways appeared to buck thesystem and do his own thing,and, to have responded thatDonal was a man apart, agreat Public Servant and if hehad listened and toed the linehe wouldn't have been thesuccessful manager he wasand the angling fraternitywouldn't have had the consis-tent quality fish that they hadfor over 40 years.

His likes won’t come again.

Matt Murphy, Sherkin IslandMarine Station, SherkinIsland, Co. Cork.

The Golden Yearsof Fish Farming

Donal Golden hard at work on one of the Fish Farms.

Donal Golden – one of Ireland’s longest serving fish farmers.

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SHERKIN COMMENT 2007 Issue No 44 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 11

By EndaGallagher

THE United Nationshas decided that 2008should be InternationalYear of Planet Earth(IYPE). Ireland fully sup-ported the decision andthe Geological Survey ofIreland (GSI) and variouspartners are now plan-ning a series of events tomake IYPE a success inthis country.

Planet Earth and issuesthat relate to it such asclimate change, the envi-ronment, sustainabilityetc are now receivingsubstantial press cover-age and are of interest togrowing numbers of peo-ple. GSI has seen thistrend evolve and believesthat IYPE is a uniqueopportunity to promotethe contribution thatGeoscience makes tosociety. Geoscience is allabout understanding ourearth and how it wasformed. Such knowl-edge is now essential inhelping us deal withsome of the environmen-tal and sustainabilitychallenges facing ourplanet as a result ofongoing human activityand development.

GSI believes that IYPEwill achieve widespreadsupport from the generalpublic as we begin topublicise and promoteour plans. GSI has beenplanning Ireland’s pro-gramme of events forseveral months now withan enthusiastic NationalCommittee and a squadof Regional Co-ordina-tors across the island,north and south. Indeeda special pre-launchinformation event aimedprimarily at the geo-science community willtake place in GSI officeson November 1st of thisyear to inspire interest inIYPE and encourage thedevelopment of addi-tional activities.

Why is IYPEimportant?

The National Commit-tee for IYPE is optimisticthat successful manage-ment of the IYPEprogramme in Irelandwill have the followingbenefits:• Ireland will play a

leading role in an im-portant UN initiative,in keeping with ourlong tradition ofachievement and in-novation;

• An improved publicunderstanding of geo-science will ensure thatgeoscience issues willbe properly debated;

• Research centres ofexcellence will de-velop in order tohouse increasingnumbers of geo-science researchersattracted by this moreinformed knowledgeof geoscience;

• This increasing numberof geoscience studentsand researchers willcontribute to Ireland’splans for a “knowledgeeconomy”;

• GSI expects increaseduse of its data, prod-ucts and services, asthe public becomemore aware of the po-tential contributionsof geoscience.

Programme of Events

The National Commit-tee is devising a series ofattractive events, includ-ing a series of publiclectures, Planet EarthWalks & Talks, a PlanetEarth TV series, schoolscompetitions, conferenceexhibits and much, muchmore, all underpinned bythe publication of attrac-tive brochures and awebsite (see detailsbelow). You will hearabout events throughpublicity and mediaactivity. The website willhost a continually updat-ing Calendar of Eventsand a newsletter will alsobe published as appropri-ate (the first issue hasalready been published).

The formal launch ofthe IYPE year-long pro-gramme by Mr. EamonRyan, TD, Minister forCommunications, Energyand Natural Resourceswill take place in DublinCastle on January 18th2008. It will coincidewith the first of thePlanet Earth Public Lec-tures. This is to bedelivered by the famousEnglish zoologist andbroadcaster, ProfessorAubrey Manning, fromthe University of Edin-burgh. His researchinterests cover animalbehaviour, developmentand evolution and he haslong been involved inenvironmental issues.His television series haveincluded “Seven Won-ders of the Earth” and“Earth Story.” His talk,provisionally entitled“Nurturing the future ofour Planet,” will dealwith the expected courseof climate change andenvironmental evolu-tion, and how ourbehaviour (and that ofgeoscience) can impacton both of them.

IYPE is being devel-oped on an all-islandbasis. The island of Ire-land is home to a widerange of spectacularlandscapes from the

incredible basalt columnsof the Giant’s Causewayto the magnificent lime-stone pavements of theBurren, both locationswell known throughoutthe world. IYPE activi-ties will be spread rightacross the island withlocal groups everywhereplanning events right onyour own doorstep.

IYPE WebsiteThe IYPE website for

Ireland www.plan-etearth.ie is currently livewith introductory con-

tent. As we approach2008 additional contentwill be added includingnews, photographs, pro-gramme of eventsupdates, educationalmaterials etc. The web-site will become theleading resource forthose interested in regu-larly finding out moreabout IYPE. In particularthe site will focus onreaching out to the gen-eral public and theeducation sector. Pleasevisit the site often, but fornow please do not expecttoo much!

For any further detailson IYPE or if you wouldlike to be invited to eitherthe launch or the infor-mation event mentionedin the article, please con-tact Enda Gallagher atGSI – 01 6782834 [email protected].

Enda Gallagher,Geological Survey ofIreland, Beggars Bush,Haddington Road,Dublin 4. www.gsi.iewww.planetearth.ie

International Yearof Planet Earth

2008

Children attend Groundwater Festival in GSI office, Dublin.

Discovering rocks in north Mayo geology field trip.

Dunluce Castle, Co. Antrim.

Field trip at Ceigh fields, Co Mayo.

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GSI


By John Gore GrimesAFTER eleven voyages

north of the Arctic Circle andone south of the AntarcticCircle, the time has come tohang up the sea boots and tolive off memories rather thanexperiences. In 2006 wesailed the Arctic Fern, a 44ftsloop, from Howth to theFaeroes for a final visit toBrendansvik and to revisit theplace where Brendan theNavigator called in about 580AD". Brendan and the broth-ers had dropped in to see PaulThe Hermit on Rockall asthey passed that way. Paulwas 150 years old when Bren-dan met him. Sailing on fromRockall to the Faeroes thebrothers came upon a smallrock island. They were hun-gry and the brotherssuggested to the Abbot thatthey should light a fire thereand cook the porridge. AbbotBrendan agreed. They landedon the rock island, lit the fireand put the pot upon it.Before the porridge wascooked Abbot Brendan said:“Brothers I think its time toleave this island”.

The brothers were stillhungry and asked AbbotBrendan to wait at least untilthe porridge was done.Abbot Brendan said: “Weshould leave this island now,without putting out the firebecause the island is startingto submerge”

With that Abbot Brendanand the brothers leapt from theisland and settled into theirCurragh just as the firebeneath the porridge pot wasextinguished by the sea. Theyhad landed on the back of awhale and the brothers namedthe whale Jasconius.

We sailed north from theFaeroes to Svalbard. At theseventieth parallel I lookedinto my old '1980' logbook tosee how we were doing at thattime. In the summer of 1980we were on the Svalbard inShardana II, a Nicholson 31.There were six crew aboardand we had stocked up in Ler-wick. No provisions wereavailable in Spitsbergen andour next provisioning portwould be Howth. We wouldnot need any stores by thetime we got back to Howth. Itwas much colder then. Ourfeet and hands were cold and,without furling gear, theheadsails were frequentlychanged. We carried fiveheadsails. Work at the mastwas cold and sometimespainful. There was morecounting then. Counting thepips of Radio Colorado’s timechecks. Counting and notingthe figures from the sextantand then delving into a sea ofnumbers in the almanac.Checking the mileage on theWalker log and crossing the

morning fix with the after-noon fix. Calculating theobserved position and movingfrom one observed position tothe next. Waiting again for thesun to come out and countingthe time when one couldfinally get into the bunk.

In 2006, the boat is alwaysdry and warm. We sleep underduvets. The guess work isgone out of navigation andthere is a well stocked super-market in Longyearbyen withtrolleys and all. Most signifi-cantly, it is not cold in 2006.

A fulmar flew straight intothe mainsail. He fell down onthe deck and jumped over theside. Pilot Roche cookedmonkfish and pineapple fordinner and it rained andrained. Oliver was a littlegrumpy when he came onwatch. After the rain the fogrolled in and we kept an eyeon the radar. We were in a

very empty ocean but there isan impressive statistic whichrecords that in 1898 therewere two cars registered in theState of Ohio. They collided.

We left Longyearbyen at13.08 on Sunday. It was adamp afternoon and werounded some nasty rocks offDaudmannsodden whichpeered at us through the thickdrifting fog with a ‘comehither’ look. Perhaps somehapless bluejackets came togrief when they passed tooclose, thus giving that ‘odden’its mournful name. Then wewere into Forlandsundet withnothing to see but driftingmist. The dramatic Prins KarlsForland was to port and theremarkable glaciers of OscarII Land were to starboard butall were well wrapped up andquite invisible. Ahead werethe narrows of Forlandsrevetwhich we cleared just after

midnight with no more than ameter under our keel.

The ice in the glaciers ofIsfjord has retreated notice-ably but as we passed theglaciers of James I Land andAlbert Land the fog clearedand there appeared to bemany glaciers with spectacu-lar amounts of solid icerunning down to the watersedge. We turned into Mag-dalenafjord which I had notseen since 1980. The changethere is startling. The Hang-ing glacier no longer hangsand it does not come close tothe water. The Waggonwayglacier is hugely diminishedand the entire mountain land-scape is left with just smallpatches of snow and ice on it.The splendour of Magdale-nafjord is curtailed.

We were soon north of80°N. In 2003 our GPS hadfailed as we approached

Ostrov Viktoriya at 80° 09’N.The satellites have improvedand, on this occasion, the GPSwas in good order at our far-thest north at 81°15’49’’N.We came into open drift ice at81°N and although it closed init was quite navigable all theway. The wind was the prob-lem. It blew from thenorthwest and loose icedrifted away from the polarice cap to the southeast. Thearctic winds are fickle and ifthe direction changed to any-thing between east or west ofsouth, the open ice wouldcompact and come right backon top of us. That is what hap-pened in 1998 and it took fivedays to break free.

Mark, Oliver and I swamat our furthest north. Theswim, as usual, was a cold,shrivelling affair. We couldhave pressed on to the polarice front which, according to

our ice chart of three daysbefore, was at 81°42’N, butthe chance of a wind shiftdissuaded us.

The ice in the Arctic Oceanis shrinking and, at least, one-seventh of the average icecover has melted since 1986.Nevertheless, the remainingice is much thinner. Whenseen from satellite it looks asif it is filled with holes. Infact these are just pools ofwater lying on the surface.Nuclear submarines now findmany more places to surfacefrom under the arctic ice andthat is a direct result of themelt. All in all the melt isexpected to proceed at anaccelerating pace. The eastGreenland ice is a menacingchallenge. As the permafrostretreats deeper into the earthand running water flowsbeneath the glaciers, whatwas once unshakeablebecomes quaggy. The processhastens the inevitable andunstoppable march of theland ice towards the ocean.

We sailed back toLongyearbyen and provi-sioned there. We left on the23rd July bound for CapeTobin and the barren Green-landic settlement which isIttoqqortoormiit- “A placewhere there are manyhouses”.

Very little happened as wedropped down the first fivelatitudes from 78°N to 73°N.We passed quickly acrossthe spider-web longitudes,moving from 15°36’E,through Greenwich and onto 12°27’W.

The ice looked solid to thewest and southwest as wetried to skirt around it withplenty of east and southeastheading. As we rounded a cor-ner with high ice to starboardwe suddenly saw a polar bearstanding on a flow. We did notapproach him but rather wedrifted slowly and quietly by.The bear was not alarmed. Hestamped about on the ice forawhile and then sniffed thewater before jumping in. Heswam disdainfully with hisblack toffee-nose held proudlyabove the water. It was a realprivilege to see this astonish-ing animal in the arctic. Thisbear was 150 miles off shore.

Pressing or pushing throughice is laborious and disheart-ening. The unimaginativetriumph in ice because theycannot see or feel the peril.For many years I ploughed onmerrily with about as littlecare as a tightrope walker onthe wire one foot above theground. We were bold andcarefree trespassers. Today,the words horror, panic anddread would come close todescribing my involuntaryfeelings in ice. I have not sud-denly become imaginative butI have become more familiarwith this erratic and perilous

The Last Voyage North

Arctic glacial ice is retreating fast in Svalbard and in Greenland.

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environment. I am seduced byits beauty. I am intimidated byits energy and its potential todo serious damage at veryshort notice.

As we round Cape Tobinthe fog lifts and we are inScoresby Sund. We anchor atIttoqqortoormiit on Saturday24th July at 12.46.

The Greenlanders had firedat us with rifle shots in 1985on our arrival but, on thisoccasion, two narwhals hadbeen driven in to the shorefrom the bay by a fleet of adozen or so big-enginedspeed boats. The narwhals areeventually killed by rifle shotbut it seemed to take a longtime. Adrienne, Mark andOliver row ashore to get acloser look. A lot of bulletsare needed to dispatch thenarwhal but the Greenlandhunters are clearly doingtheir best not to prolong thewhales’ agony. The dead nar-whals are towed to a large icefloe nearby. They are hauledup on the ice with ropes andflensed with razor-sharpuluks. The entire process offinding the narwhals inScoresby Sund and drivingthem back inshore where theyare shot, together with theprocess of flensing and care-fully dividing the shares inaccordance with longstandingrules of village tradition,takes between seven andeight hours.

We heaved up at midday onMonday 31st July with sevenbells of wind racing downfrom the hills above Ittoqqor-toormiit

Our fortunes were mixedover the next three days.There was fog for a time but,

for the main part, visibilitywas clear as we passed by ableak and desolate shoreline.The ice troubled us and PilotRoche spent long hoursperched on the second cross-trees. Then the whales cameby. They stayed with us forjust over an hour. Therewere about ten to fifteenwhales swimming, blowingand diving close to the boat.These were Sei whales or asyou and I would know them,they were the Balaenofteraborealis.

The wind picked up andwhen we re-crossed the arcticcircle, we had been north of itfor 23 days. We were backinto some hours of darknesswith heavy dark cloud coverwhich emptied its cold waterycontents on us. A fresh windblew from the south. Therewas plenty of high-sided,jagged ice about and all of ithad recently been dumpedinto the ocean from Green-land’s shore.

If the Greenland ice capmelts completely, the conse-quent worldwide rise in tidallevels will be forty feet. If thesame thing happens in Antarc-tica, high water will beanother forty feet higher.

It may be coming close tothe time when you shouldmeasure how high your homeis above high water. If it isninety feet or less you mustadvise your grandchildren tobuild their homes further upthe hill.

These large, jagged icefloes moved at about 2.5knots with the wind. Wepeered into the gloomtowards the southwest andthere was a lead. We headed

for it listening to the growlersthumping along the underwa-ter hull. Then the lead closedas pieces of ice crashed toform an impassable barrier.We looked astern but the wayout had suddenly beenblocked by another ice pile-up. The ice did an ugly danceon the ocean surface. Its pon-derous rhythm wasunpredictable. A new leadopened to the west. We tookit. The important thing, inthese conditions, is to keepmoving for as long as youcan. If you are forced to stopyou will receive a hammer-ing. This ice was no longerwhispering caveats. It was in

full battle-cry. West was not agood course and there was nosign of a water corridor thatway. We used the bow-thruster to turn the boatquickly towards the south. Wewere head to wind and theseice mounds, which may haveenjoyed thousands of years ofrelative ataraxia in the slowmoving glaciers, were makingthe best of their recent deliv-

erance from the monotony oftheir former lodgings. Theycame straight at us.

It took five hours to clearthat ice. We hoisted the main-sail and unfurled the genoa.We started beating our waytowards Reykjavik in a windyrainstorm. Later the conditionsimproved. The wind veered togive us a fast reach to themarina in Reykjavik harbour.

We sailed home from Ice-land stopping in the WestmanIslands, the Faeroes, the Shet-lands and in various portsbetween Cape Wrath andAilsa Craig and tied up inHowth on 29th August. Wehad travelled 5,055 nauticalmiles in 59 days.

John Gore-Grimes, CavendishHouse, Smithfield, Dublin 7.

Clockwise from above:

The 'Hanging Glacier' at Magdalenafjord.

A 100 metre high west Greenland berg.

The Chapel at Brendansvik.

Arctic Fern in Isafjord Spitsbergin.

The 2006 Arctic Fern voyage.

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Did castles exist in Irelandbefore the arrival of the

Normans? When we think of the word castle,

what image immediately springs tomind? For most people the imagewould consist of different elements:turrets, towers, battlements, draw-bridge, moat etc. But the one elementof a castle that everyone would agreeon is, in fact, the most obvious –STONE!! In Ireland stone castlesare associated solely with the arrivalof the Anglo-Normans. But this doesnot mean that there were no castles inIreland before the Norman Invasionof 1169. Referred to in contemporarysources like the Irish Annals as Dúnor Rath , early Irish ‘castles’ wereprobably constructed from wood andwe know that at least seven existed:at Ballinasloe, Galway, Collooney,Athlone, Cuileanntrach, Tuam andFerns. These native Irish ‘castles’were mainly built in the twelfth cen-tury between c.1124 and 1166.However, it was only after 1169 thatthe term Caíslen is regularly used incontemporary sources and it wasapplied specifically to a new type ofconstruction: the castles being builtby the Anglo-Normans.

The invaders arrive! The arrival of the Normans

wrought a distinct change to the Irishlandscape. Almost immediately theinvaders began to busy themselvesencastellating those parts of Irelandthat they conquered. First came themotte and bailey castles, (ProfessorTerry Barry from Trinity College,Dublin, states that a motte can bestbe described as a mound of earth,usually artificially raised, with afosse or ditch at its base), which tothis day dot the country, like Dun-silly in County Antrim. But theinvaders also left a more enduringsymbol of the Norman overlordshipof Ireland – the great stone castles,which today still dominate the areasin which they were built.

The purpose of a castle The castle in the medieval period

had a dual purpose: it acted as bothresidence and fortress. This idea of aconstruction that acted as a seriouslyfortified residence of a lord wenthand and hand with feudalism andwas an integral part of the Normanpenetration into Ireland. The castlefulfilled many functions: it allowedfor the defeat of local opposition andthe securing of the conqueredregion; this in turn would helpensure the settlement would be per-manent; the castle also reflected theimportance of the lord and was proofof both his military and political

power. Thus, the castle fulfilled amilitary, social, economic and polit-ical role: however its main purposewas to maintain a lordship in timesof both war and peace.

Three great Norman castlesbuilt in Ireland

Trim Castle Throughout Ireland there are

numerous examples of Norman stonecastles. One of the earliest (andlargest) of the Anglo-Norman stonefortresses is Trim Castle, locatedabout twenty-eight miles northwestof Dublin in County Meath. It beganas a ringwork castle, built by Hughde Lacy to protect his lordship. TheSong of Dermot and the Earl, ananonymous medieval poem written

about the Anglo-Norman Invasion ofIreland, refers to Trim as the firstcastle built in Ireland, constructedfrom earth and timber. The originalring-work castle was destroyed byfire in 1174 and the construction ofthe magnificent stone keep (which

was built in three phases) began in1175 and was continued after Hugh’sdeath in 1186 by his son Walter. Thefinal phase was begun c.1202. Fromthe mid- thirteenth century onwards,alterations were made and structureswere added to the outside of the keepand the curtain walls. As time wenton the nature of Trim Castle changedfrom a heavily defended stonefortress to a spacious residentialbuilding – in fact, in the fifteenth and

sixteenth centuries, the great hall inTrim was actually used for meetingsof parliament!

Roscommon Castle There were three great castles built

in Connacht: Roscommon, Athloneand Rinndown and they were allstrategically sited to defend the west-ern perimeter of Anglo-Normanlordship from the native Irish. Thesettlement of Connacht was the lastpart of Ireland settled by the Nor-mans and this colony was not assuccessful as those in Leinster or thesoutheast. Roscommon was built todefend an important urban centrebeside a medieval lake. It is a rectan-gular castle with large round towersat each corner – it has the largestgatehouse in Ireland, which encom-

passes two D shaped towers and wassituated in the middle of the eastwall. The gatehouse also encom-passed the keep – it was three storieshigh and contained the principleroom. Roscommon was the greatestmilitary castle of the high middleages in Ireland – it was started 1269by Robert de Ufford, the Justiciar,who was looking for a strong defen-sive site to build a castle whichwould overawe Connacht and thepresence of lake (called ‘Lochanen’)was an ideal defensive barrier to thewest. Like so many castles built inIreland in this period, it was built onchurch land, in this case land belong-ing to the priory of Coman atRoscommon. In 1280 the Justiciar ofIreland spent £3000 on repairingRoscommon, Athlone and Rinndown– a lot of material used to rebuild thecastles came from Dublin and had totravel over land. All construction tookplace in a period when the lordshipwas under extreme threat from nativeIrish.

Roche CastleRoche Castle is known in the old

records as ‘Castellum de Rupe ’or dela Roche – the Castle of the Rocks.Few buildings so vividly evoke theestablishment of Anglo-Norman mil-

itary power in Ireland as CastleRoche. It stands on the Louth-Armagh border and is accessiblefrom the road south of the Drumbillacrossroads. This little known castle isamong the most spectacular in Ire-land, crowning a rocky outcrop in thehills north of Dundalk. An early con-temporary reference to the castlestates ‘Rohesia de Verdun, havingfortified a castle in her own landagainst the Irish, which none of herpredecessors had been able to do.’From this entry we can gather thatRohesia was an able and determinedcharacter – after all she is the onlyfemale in medieval Ireland to beattributed with the building of a cas-tle. A story about the building ofRoche Castle survives to this day andreinforces the idea of Rohesia as alady to be reckoned with. Traditionhas it that when the castle was com-plete, Rohesia had the architectthrown from one of its windows inthe northern tower to preserve thesecrets of the design of the castle.Although there is no historical recordof this event, it served its purpose incementing Rohesia’s reputation as aformidable woman. The castle isalmost cliff-like on three of its sides.It was built in a strong defensiveposition, sited on a large rock out-crop, which drops dramatically on allsides but the east. On this side a ditchhas been cut through the bedrock andthe entrance to the castle is acrossthis ditch and through an imposingentrance, flanked by half-round tow-ers, which are the remains of whatwas originally a massive gate-build-ing. A battlement curtain wall, withtwo massive circular bastions, flanksthe entrance to the eastside. RocheCastle is essentially one great walledenclosure, roughly triangular inshape, as dictated by the irregularform of the hill and bounded by highcurtain walls with battlemented wall-walks. Roche Castle was obviouslybuilt on sites chosen for strategic rea-sons, mainly for their defensivecapabilities. The fact that Louth wasa frontier territory meant that it wasripe for frequent attack by Irish lordssuch as O’Reilly, MacMahon,O’Donnell and O’Neill. As such itrequired strong defensive castles toallow the Anglo-Normans to protecttheir lordship. Roche Castle wasobviously built with this in mind.

The ingenuity of the Normans From the above it is fairly obvious

that the Norman invaders left Irelandan amazing legacy: magnificent

stone castles that still overawe thelandscape. Remember these castleswere built long before the arrival ofany modern technology. There wereno cranes for lifting the huge amountof stone required to build these cas-tles, no lorries to bring the stone tothe site of the castle, no scaffolding,no bulldozers, and no diggers. Whatwas available in large supply weredetermination, ingenuity and tremen-dous manual labour. These castleswere built to the highest standard andthis is confirmed by the fact that theyremain on the landscape, albeit invarious states of repair, hundreds ofyears later. All our stone castles standas testaments to the great archaeo-logical achievements imposed on theIrish landscape by the Norman con-querors. They also stand asconfirmation of the ingenuity of theNorman architects who took advan-tage of the natural landscape to buildstrong imposing castles in naturallydefensive positions. There is oneway that we can repay the debt weowe to the Normans for the gift ofthese wonderful castles: by visiting,exploring and learning more aboutthem – after all, they are an integralpart of our history!

Further reading Barry,T,B, The Archaeology of Medieval

Ireland, Routledge, (London,1999).

Casey, Christine and Rowan, Alistair, TheBuildings of Ireland – North Leinster,Penguin Books, (London,1993).

Frame, Robin, ‘War and Peace in the MedievalLordship of Ireland’, in The English inMedieval Ireland , James Lydon, (ed),Royal Irish Academy, (Dublin,1984).

Leask, Harold,G, Irish Castles and CastellatedHouses, Dundealgan Press,(Dundalk,1973).

McNeill, Tom, Castles in Ireland – FeudalPower in the Gaelic World, Routledge,(London & New York, 1997). Ryan,Michael (ed), The IllustratedArchaeology of Ireland, CountryHouse, (Dublin,1991).

Smith, Brendan, Colonisation and Conquest inMedieval Ireland: The English inLouth, 1170-1330, CambridgeUniversity Press, (Cambridge,1999).

Words and Images courtesy of AlisonLennon, Department of MedievalHistory, Trinity College, Dublin From the ENFO leaflet “The GreatStone Castles by the Anglo-Normans”. ENFO – TheEnvironmental InformationService,17 St Andrew Street, Dublin2, Ireland. Tel: (01) 8883911 (01)8883933Fax: (01) 888 3946 e-mail: [email protected] web site:http://www.enfo.ie.

The GreatStone Castles by the

Anglo-Normans

Trim Castle, Co Meath

Roche Castle, Co Louth

The keep at Trim Castle

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By JohnAkeroyd

WATER is a defining imageof Ireland, with its moistAtlantic climate and famouslakes and rivers. Nevertheless,freshwater habitats are underthreat in here, as they areeverywhere in the modernworld. All are susceptible todrainage and pollution, orinvasion by alien species.Over-enrichment by nutrientsis as much a problem as dam-age by industrial effluent.These habitats include a widerange of water-bodies, still orflowing: lakes, ponds, rivers,streams, bogs, fens, marshesand damp fields.

Lakes and ponds are almostalways good places to look forinteresting wild flowers. Theplants that live in them aremay be free-floating, rooted inthe mud but with floatingleaves, or growing on or nearthe edge. The most familiarfree-floaters are the duck-weeds (Lemna), each tiny,oval green individual not aleaf but a complete plant, yetforming huge masses that cancover still waters. Anotherfree-floater is the little water-fern Azolla, an introducedplant fast becoming a pest inIreland, with small featheryfronds that turn an attractivepink, especially in autumn,and can smother a pond sur-face, excluding light fromother plants and animals.

Of the plants that root inthe mud and have floating

leaves, the most familiar isWhite Water-lily (Nymphaeaalba), Ireland’s largest wildflower and especially a fea-

ture of little mountain lakes inthe west. The blades of all thelong-stalked leaves, an attrac-tive bronze colour whenyoung, float on the surface,whereas those of the relatedYellow Water-lily (Nupharlutea) either float or remainsubmerged and rather cab-bage-like. This species ismore a plant of the margins ofrivers, although it also occursin lakes. Water-lilies do nottolerate pollution but they canbe remarkably persistent ifundisturbed. On SherkinIsland, a study of the pollengrains preserved in mud at the

bottom of Lake Ordreerevealed that White Water-lilyhad grown there continuallysince the ice-cap in the Cork-Kerry highlands retreated andmelted 10,000 years ago. Theplants still flourish.

Plants of rivers and streamstoo show similar variation ingrowth habit from floating torooting in mud, althoughstrong water movement rarelyfavours floating plants. Anexception is Stream Water-crowfoot (Ranunculuspenicillatus), one of a groupof white-flowered water but-tercups that are a feature ofIrish rivers and streams inearly summer, their longstems and finely dissectedleaves flowing and wavinglike fine green tresses in thecurrent. A few floating leavesand air-filled spongy stemskeep the plant afloat and allowhundreds of flowers to emergeand attract pollinating insects.Another plant that lives inflowing water, but alwaysshallow and slow-moving, isWater-cress (Rorippa nastur-tium-aquaticum), which formspatches along streams andditches.

Marshes can be anythingfrom a poorly drained pastureto a river-margin or wet val-ley. Where there is standingwater, peat accumulates andfen develops. Dominated bygrasses, sedges and rushes,marshes are home to numer-ous water-loving wildflowers. Three of them areamong the handsomest Irishplants: Yellow Flag (Irispseudacorus), which formsyellow-flowered, sword-leaved thickets inmid-summer, Marsh Bird’s-foot Trefoil (Lotusuliginosus), with orange-yel-low pea-flowers, and PurpleLoosestrife (Lythrum sali-caria) which colours thelandscape in late summer.Water Mint (Mentha aquat-ica), richly scents wet placeswhen trampled. With theseone frequently finds BranchedBur-reed (Sparganium erec-tum) its candelabra-like stemsbearing pom-pom flowers andfruits. Another attractivemarsh plant is palest lilac-flowered Lady’s Smock(Cardamine pratensis), whichcan grow anywhere fromreed-beds to damp lawns,flowering from April to June.It often grows alongsideRagged Robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi), a more robust plantwith deeply cut purplish-pink

petals. In wetter places WaterForget-me-not (Myosotisscorpioides) makes brightsplashes of blue. In andaround shallow pools, wherefen or marsh grades into bog,grows Marsh Cinquefoil(Potentilla palustris), an oftenoverlooked but distinctiveplant with compound leaves,erect branched stems andwine-coloured flowers.

Bogs are perhaps Ireland’sbest-known habitat. Highrainfall makes them grow, asthe dead remains of moss(species of bog-moss orSphagnum) and other spe-cialized plants accumulate aswaterlogged peaty hum-mocks. Unlike in fens, thepeat becomes increasinglyacid or lime-free, and soilmicro-organisms such asbacteria and fungi cannotdecompose and recycle theplant remains, so the mass ofmaterial slowly builds up.Raised bogs form on more orless level ground as wetplant material builds into adome; valley bogs are keptwet by flowing water instream valleys or aroundsprings; and blanket bogspreads across whole land-scapes, even up slopes andover hills, in western Ire-land. Fluffy, white CommonCotton-grass (Eriophorumangustifolium) is one of themost distinctive bog plants.

Perhaps the most colourful isBog Asphodel (Nartheciumossifragum), a miniature yel-low-flowered lily with small,iris-like leaves. Farmersused to fear this plant as the“Bone Breaker”, thinkingthat feeding on it wouldweaken the bones of theirstock – in fact the bog itself,so poor in plant nutrients,

was to blame for any cal-cium deficiency and weakbones in grazing animals.

Dr John Akeroyd is abotanist, conservationist andwriter, and Editor of ‘TheWild plants of Sherkin, CapeClear and adjacent islands ofWest Cork’ (1996).


Ireland’s preciouswetland flowers

Marsh Bird's-foot Trefoil (Lotus uliginosus)

Common Cotton-grass (Eriophorum angustifolium)

Water Mint (Mentha aquatica)

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SHERKIN COMMENT 2007 Issue No 44 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 17 16 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ SHERKIN COMMENT 2007 Issue No 44

Memories of SummerWater-loving Wild Flowers

Photography by Robbie Murphy

Bog Asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum), a miniature yellow-floweredlily, is one of the most characteristic and colourful plants of Irish bogs.

Water Forget-me-not (Myosotis scorpioides) is one of the mostattractive wild flowers of the wetter parts of marshy fields.

Branched Bur-reed (Sparganium erectum), a plant of marshesand pool margins, has candelabra-like stems and pom-pomflowers (the larger ones female) and fruits.

White Water-lily (Nymphaea alba) is Ireland’s largest wild flowerand a feature of mountain lakes and peaty pools in the west.

Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi), with its distinctive, deep-cut purplish petals, colours dampmeadows and stream-sides in early summer.

Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), which forms great patches in dampplaces and beside streams and rivers, can colour the landscape in late summer.

Marsh Cinquefoil (Potentilla palustris), often overlooked but distinctive for itswine-coloured flowers, grows in and around shallow pools.

Water-cress (Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum), forms extensive patches inshallow, slow-flowing water of streams, roadside runnels and ditches.

Lady’s Smock (Cardamine pratensis), another wild cress, produces its clusters of fragile, elegantflowers from Easter to early summer.

Stream Water-crowfoot (Ranunculus penicillatus), a white-flowered buttercup with long, finely divided leaves,adorns Irish rivers and streams in early summer.

Read John Akeroyd’s article on“Ireland’s precious wetland flowers”

page 15 to learn more about thesewater-loving wildflowers

Yellow Flag (Iris pseudacorus),bearing its stately yellowflowers in mid-summer, is oneof the best-known of all Irishwild flowers.

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By Declan T.G. QuigleySHARK attack is a potential hazard that must

be acknowledged by anyone that frequentsmarine waters (including some freshwater habi-tats in certain parts of the world), but it shouldbe kept in perspective. In the USA, the Interna-tional Shark Attack File (ISAF) compared theannual average number of human fatalities (dur-ing the 1990s) resulting from shark attacks (0.4)to vehicular collisions with deer (130), attacksby dogs (18), snakes (15) and mountain lions(0.6). Indeed, in 2000, there were only 23 ‘sharkattacks’ (with no fatalities) on the estimated 264million people who entered the water at 68beaches monitored by the US Lifesaving Associ-ation (~1/11.5 million chance of being attackedby a shark; ~0/264 million chance of fatalityfrom shark attack). In contrast, over the sameperiod, there were 132 fatalities at the samebeaches due to drowning or other beach-relatedaccidents (i.e. ~1/3.5 million chance of fatalityfrom drowning and other beach-related acci-dents). Worldwide, it is estimated that onaverage 75-100 shark attacks occur annually, ofwhich 10-15 may be fatal.

Although at least 500 species of shark haveso far been described, <10% of them have beenimplicated in attacks on man. Indeed, between1580 and 2006, the vast majority of attacks(55.3%) and associated fatalities (84.4%) havebeen attributed to only three species of shark:White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) – 34.7(46.7) %, Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) –11.7 (20.7) % and Bull Shark (Carcharhinusleucas) – 8.9 (17.0) %.

At least 39 species of shark have beenrecorded from Irish waters to date. However,most (21) of these species appear to be confinedto relatively deep (>200m) offshore waters withonly 7 species found exclusively in shallow(<200m) inshore waters (11 species are found inboth inshore and offshore waters). Some off-shore species are known to frequent upper andmeso-pelagic depths, particularly during night-time feeding forays (e.g. Little Sleeper SharkSomniosus rostratus), while others appear toundertake seasonal inshore migrations forbreeding purposes (e.g. Sixgill Shark Hexa-nchus griseus).

The vast majority of shark species found inIrish waters are relatively small (<1.5m T.L.)and harmless unless provoked or handled care-lessly. For example, an otherwise sluggish andinoffensive Lesser Spotted Dogfish (Scyliorhi-nus canicula), measuring <0.8m, was reportedto have bitten an angler on the nose while fish-ing off Folkestone (Kent, UK) during May 2007and another specimen, measuring <1.0m, wasreported to have attacked a diver in Olso Fjord(Norway) during July 2007 !! Nevertheless, asignificant number of relatively large andpotentially dangerous sharks have beenrecorded from Irish (9) and other EuropeanAtlantic waters (24) – Table 1.

White Shark (Carcharodon carcharius)Over the years, there have been numerous

claims about the possible occurrence of WhiteSharks in British inshore waters, none of whichhave been verified by the examination of thebody by a competent authority. Those whichhave been examined carefully were usuallyrevealed to be Porbeagle Shark (Lamna nasus),a closely related species. White Sharks canweigh up to 3400 kg and measure 6.4m andhave been responsible for 430 attacks onhumans (including 63 fatalities), albeit none inEuropean Atlantic waters.

The White Shark is a highly migratory andvery wide-ranging species throughout most ofthe world’s oceans, and since it exhibits one ofthe greatest geographic ranges of any knownspecies of fish, occurring in very shallow inshorewaters to the open ocean, and from cool temper-ate to tropical regions, it would not be surprising

if the species turned up in Irish or other NorthernEuropean waters (with or without the potentialinfluence of so called “Global Warming”).Indeed, there are four authenticated records of itsoccurrence from the Bay of Biscay:Saintonge 1554 La Rochelle 1872 4.21m, 1700kgCharente-Inferieure March, 1880400 03’N, 010 17’W 24.05.1977 2.10m, 110kg, 15m depth

The White Shark does not appear to beadverse to the colder waters of the NW Atlantic.For example, there is an anecdotal reference toa fatal attack on the occupants of a skin boat offGreenland during 1776 and three authenticatednon-fatal attacks on boats off Canada (Halifax,N.S., August 1891; Bay of Fundy, July 1932;and Cape Breton Island, N.S., July 1953).

Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo cuvier)It is interesting to note that the Tiger Shark,

which is also a wide-ranging species, (weighingup to 807kg and measuring up to 7.4m), and issecond only to the White Shark in terms ofrecorded attacks (145 including 28 fatalities) onhumans, has been recorded from as far north asIcelandic waters. Indeed, the possibility of thisspecies’ occurrence in UK waters was acknowl-edged following a reliable report of anaggressive encounter with a shark fitting itsdescription by a diver off the north coast ofCornwall during July 1968.

Shortfin Mako Shark (Isurus oxyrinchus)Although the Shortfin Mako Shark is rarely

recorded from Northern European waters (thereare only 3 authenticated records from Irishwaters, most recently in August 1988), it is rel-atively common in the Bay of Biscay and iscommercially exploited off the Spanish coast. Itis a relatively large shark, weighing up to 554kgand measuring up to 4.3m, and has been impli-cated in several (45) attacks on humans(including 2 fatalities), albeit none in EuropeanAtlantic waters where the species has previ-ously been misidentified as Porbeagle Shark.

Blue Shark (Prionace glauca)Blue Sharks migrate into Irish inshore waters

during the summer months where they are fre-

quently targeted by anglers and to a lesserextent, by commercial fishermen. However, thesharks which occur in Northern Europeanwaters are predominantly immature femalesand therefore relatively small. The current rod& line caught records for Ireland and the UKare 96.6kg (Achill, October 1959) and 99.1kg(Looe, Cornwall, 1959) respectively, comparedwith the World Record of 239.45kg (MontaukPoint, NY, USA, September 2001). Neverthe-less, Blue Sharks have accounted for 38 attackson humans, including 4 fatalities, albeit none inNorthern European waters.

Porbeagle Shark (Lamna nasus)The Porbeagle Shark occurs around the Irish

coast throughout the year and is fairly commonin some areas. It is a relatively large species,attaining a weight of up to 230kg and a T.L. of3.5m. Porbeagles have accounted for a total of5 non-fatal attacks on humans. At least two, andpossibly three, non-fatal attacks have beenattributed to Porbeagles in UK waters: the firstin 1876, between Hastings & Fairlight, Sussex;the second on 27 July 1969 (no locality); andthe third on 1 June 1971 off Beesands, SouthDevon. Porbeagles have also been filmed mak-ing fast passes at divers on oil platforms in theNorth Sea without attacking. This is probablyagonistic (defensive) or exploratory behaviour.

Smooth Hammerhead Shark (Sphyrna zygaena)

There are only six authenticated records ofSmooth Hammerhead Shark from UK waters,five of which were recorded between 1829 and1865, and the sixth (head only) in December2004 (Portreath, Cornwall). Although a total of39 attacks (including one fatality) have beenattributed to Hammerhead Sharks (Sphyrnidae)

in general, only one of these was identified tospecies level (Great Hammerhead Shark S.mokarran Ruppell 1837). The latter species hasnot been recorded in European Atlantic waters.

Oceanic Whitetip Shark(Carcarhinus longimanus)

One of the most extraordinary shark tales inrecent times involved the discovery of anOceanic White-tip Shark that had clearly lost itsway and was discovered swimming around awarship in a brackish water fjord near Gull-marsfjorden in west Sweden during September2004. It died shortly afterwards. The specimen,a male, measuring 2.3m long and weighing65.65 kg is the first record of this species inNorthern European seas. The species hasaccounted for a total 9 attacks on man, includ-ing one fatality.

Thresher Sharks(Alopias vulpinus & A. superciliosus)The Thresher Shark and Bigeye Thresher

Shark are regarded as scarce and rare in Irishwaters respectively (see Sherkin Comment,Issue 40, 2005). Threshers in general have beenimplicated in a total of 5 authenticated non-fatal attacks on man worldwide. During theearly 1970s it was reported that a pair ofThreshers attacked a child who was swimmingin very shallow water on the Kent coast.Although the sharks failed to inflict any seriousdamage to the child, he was apparentlyknocked about rather badly.

Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus)The Basking Shark is relatively common all

around the Irish coast and although it only feedson plankton, due to its very large size (weighingup to 4 tonnes and measuring up to 9.8m), it isconsidered to be potentially dangerous if pro-voked. Indeed, during September 1937, thespecies was involved in two non-fatal attacks onboats in Scottish waters.

Other Potentially Dangerous Shark Speciesin Irish & European Atlantic Waters

In addition to the species mentioned above, anumber of other species of shark which areknown to occur in Irish waters have been impli-cated, albeit very rarely (≤ 1) in non-fatalattacks on humans in other parts of the world:Sixgill Shark, Spur Dogfish (Squalus acan-thias), Greenland Shark (Somniosusmicrocephalus) and Tope (Galeorhinus galeus).However, several other species which to datehave only been recorded, albeit rarely, frommore southern European waters(France/Spain/Portugal) are potentially moredangerous to humans: Dusky Shark (Carcharhi-nus obscurus), Bronze Whaler (C. brachyurus),Spinner Shark (C. brevipinna), Sandbar Shark(C. plumbeus), Silky Shark (C. falciformis) andBignose Shark (C. altimus).

ConclusionsAlthough in the past sharks have often been

vilified and maligned as ruthless indiscriminatekillers, there is a growing appreciation and con-cern that these wonderful animals (who shouldmake no apology for being top predators in theirown domain) constitute an important part of theworld’s complex aquatic ecosystems and assuch, deserve to be protected and conserved.While it is clear that a number of potential“man-eating” sharks already inhabit Irishwaters, it would appear that the odds of beingattacked by one, let alone consumed, are statis-tically remote.

Declan T.G. Quigley, Dingle Oceanworld(Mara Beo Teo), The Wood, Dingle, Co Kerry.Mobile: 087-6458485; FAX: 0404-62406;Email: [email protected]

SHARKAttack in Irish Waters?

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By Fr James GoodCOATS of arms first came into existence to

fulfil the same purpose as football-jerseys – toidentify the participants in a competition. Theirmost frequent use in the Middle Ages was toidentify knights at their favourite game ofjousting – riding their horses at one another atfull tilt, each knight trying to unhorse the otherwith a long lance.

Later on, Popes and bishops and royal fami-lies adopted coats of arms. Soon the style anddesign became very complex, usually withwarlike symbols – lions, battle-axes, shieldsand so on. Up to very recently, all coats-of-arms carried a motto in the Latin language,which for many centuries remained the lan-guage of diplomacy and heraldry.

Without even looking at the Latin mottounderneath, we can see the general meaning ofour Cork coat of arms. It depicts a ship sailingin between two towers – into a safe harbour.And that is what the Latin motto tells us. Itreads: STATIO BENE FIDA CARNIS, mean-ing “a harbour quite safe for ships”. And ofcourse most Cork people are proud in theknowledge that their harbour is one of thebiggest and best harbours in the world.

Origin of the mottoMany people will be surprised to learn, how-

ever, that when the motto first appeared in

print, it meant exactly the opposite of what itsays today. It was penned by the Roman poetVergil (who died in the year 19 B.C.) in hisepic poem the Aeneid. He was describing avery dangerous harbour. He wrote: “Statiohaud bene fida carinis” – “a harbour in no waysafe for ships”.

Sadly, we have no way of knowing who wasthe smart Corkman who dropped the world“haud” (in no way) and left us with the beauti-ful motto that we have today for ourcoat-of-arms: “a harbour quite safe for ships”.

It is a great boost to Cork people to see theircity’s coat-of-arms displayed so prominently inso many places. Alas! I saw a “howler” of amisprint recently in the coat-of-arms as dis-played on one of our prominent buildings inCork city. It would perhaps be unkind to “nameand shame” it, but perhaps somebody in thatacademic institution will spot the error in theaccompanying photograph and rectify it. EvenHomer sometimes nods.

Fr James Good, Douglas, Cork.

Can you spot the error? Any idea where it appears?

The Cork Coat of Arms

By AnthonyToole

ONE of the major items ofnews toward the end of 2006involved the mysteriousdeath of former Russianagent, Alexander Litvinenko.His murder, with its back-ground of ‘cloak-and-dagger’secrecy has been likened toan episode from a John LeCarré novel. The poisonresponsible for his death isbelieved to have been an iso-tope* of the metal, polonium.This is an intensely radioac-tive element, and oningestion into the body, willirradiate any cells in its vicin-ity, leading to rapidbreakdown of DNA and othercell molecules. It is one mil-lion-million times as toxic ascyanide. Despite the fact thatvery few people, until now,have heard of polonium, thestory of its discovery and itssubsequent history is one ofthe great, and ultimatelytragic tales of science.

Polonium is a member ofthe same family group of ele-ments as oxygen, sulphur,selenium and tellurium. TheRussian chemist, DmitriMendeleev predicted its exis-tence in 1891, as a result of hisdevelopment of the PeriodicTable. While all elements,even common ones likehydrogen and carbon, haveradioactive forms, or isotopes,the first elements to be discov-ered that were radioactive inall their isotopes, were ura-nium and thorium, whichwere isolated in 1789 and1815, respectively.

At the times of their dis-covery, radioactivity was anunknown phenomenon, andremained so until Henri Bec-querel, in 1896, noticed theeffect of pitchblende, an oreof uranium, on a photo-graphic plate. In the classicdescription of his discovery,he tells of placing a piece ofthe ore near the sealed platein a laboratory drawer. A keylay on top of the plate. Whenthe plate was developed, itcontained an image of thekey, which could only havebeen formed by invisiblerays coming from the rock.However, subsequent inves-tigations showed that thepitchblende was far more

radioactive than could beexplained by uranium alone.

Becquerel’s colleagues,Pierre and Marie Curie, setabout solving the discrep-ancy. Starting with severaltonnes of the ore, which theywere able to obtain fromAustria, and after manymonths’ labour, they isolatedless than a gram of a new ele-ment, which they namedpolonium, in honour ofMarie Curie’s birth country,Poland.

For their discovery ofradioactivity, Becquerel andthe Curies shared the NobelPrize for Physics in 1903.Marie Curie went on toreceive a second Nobel Prize,this time for Chemistry, in1911, for her discoveries ofpolonium and anotherradioactive element, radium.

Polonium is extremelyrare, being one of the tenleast abundant elements inthe Earth’s crust. It exists asseveral isotopes, with massnumbers from 194 to 218.(All atoms of polonium con-tain 84 protons in theirnuclei. The differences inmass number are due tovarying numbers of neu-trons.) The most commonisotope, and the one thoughtto be responsible for the poi-soning of AlexanderLitvinenko, is polonium-210.

Extraction of poloniumfrom uranium ore is veryinefficient, and it is nowobtained, to the extent ofaround 100 grams each year,by neutron-bombardment ofthe metal bismuth, in anuclear reactor. Its intenseradioactivity means that itgenerates much energy, andit is used as a lightweight,non-mechanical heat sourcein space satellites. Whenalloyed with beryllium, it

provides a source of neutronsin nuclear weapons.

It was used, for a time, toremove the static electricitythat often builds up on textilesduring their manufacture. Thealpha radiation from the polo-nium caused the airmolecules in its vicinity tobecome electrically charged.This, in turn, allowed thestatic to leak away. A similarmechanism prevented dustfrom clinging to photographicfilm during its manufacture.Nowadays, a source of betaradiation is used as a saferalternative for these purposes.

The minuscule concentra-tion of polonium in rocksmeans that it is unlikely toenter our diet. Nevertheless,it is a natural decay productof the radioactive gas, radon,which is present in very lowconcentrations in air, and istherefore found to a tinyextent in all our bodies.

Marie Curie died ofleukaemia in 1934 as a resultof her years of exposure toradium. Alexander Litvi-nenko was not the first personto have been poisoned bypolonium. Marie Curie’sdaughter, Irene, carried on herparents’ tradition of scientificresearch. Along with her hus-band, Frederick Joliot, shewas awarded the Nobel Prizefor Chemistry in 1935 forwork on artificial radioactiv-ity. In 1956, she died, like hermother, of leukaemia. Herdeath, however, is believed tohave resulted from her expo-sure to polonium as a result ofa laboratory accident fifteenyears earlier.

M.A. Toole, 65, CheswickDrive, Gosforth, Newcastleupon Tyne, NE3 5DW, U.K.

Polonium

*one of two or more atoms with the same atomic number but with different numbers of neutrons

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Salmon, Trout & ShellfishMarine & Freshwater

North, South, East & West

Delivering results for Aqua-Business

For more information contact:IFA Aquaculture Section, Irish Farmers’ Association, Bluebell, Dublin 12ph: 01-4500266 fax: 01-4551043 e-mail [email protected]


By Dara DuffyREHAB Recycle is part of Rehab Enter-

prises, the commercial division of RehabGroup whose wide remit also includes training,employment and social care. Each year morethan 60,000 people access these services in theGroup's network of 208 centres. Between theGroup companies – Rehab Enterprises, Rehab-Care, National Learning Network and RehabLotteries in Ireland and the UK companies –3,000 staff are employed.

Established in 1984 in Monahan Road, Cork,primarily to create employment opportunitiesfor people with disabilities, Rehab Recycle hasgrown to become an Irish success story and amajor force in Ireland's recycling industry, withfacilities in Dublin (Ballymount, Ballyfermotand Tallaght), Cork, Galway, Navan and Eind-hoven in the Netherlands. Rehab Recycle'scombined glass, can, paper, electrical and elec-tronic waste recycling now accounts for inexcess of 75,000 tonnes of material each year.

In purely economic terms, Rehab Recycle isjust one of many Irish companies to havegrown in recent years. Its real achievement,however, is to have assisted workers with dis-abilities to prove that they have a role to playin the growth of a company and in the creationof wealth in this country. Although operatingin an increasingly competitive market, RehabRecycle's unique integrated employmentmodel provides a supported environment forpeople with disabilities within the workplace.Assisted by the Government's Wage SubsidyScheme (WSS), a total of 104 people with dis-abilities are employed in Rehab Recycle's162-strong workforce.

In the 23 years since it was first established,Rehab Recycle has been responsible for everymajor advance in Ireland's glass recycling sec-tor. The company began with an initial base ofjust 10 bring sites and only rudimentary equip-ment that consisted mainly of a crusher and asingle second-hand collection vehicle. In its

first year of operation, Rehab Recycleprocessed 300 tonnes of glass cullet. In 2007,the company reaches this figure every daybefore lunch.

Today, Rehab Recycle is the largest glassrecycler in Ireland and is the only glass recy-cling company that operates nationally. Thecompany currently reprocesses approximately70 per cent of glass recycling in the State. As aresult, Rehab Recycle contributes significantlyto the achievement of EU targets for recyclingof packaging waste.

According to Rehab Recycle's GeneralManager, Bob Rowat, when Rehab Recyclewas first established in 1984 the vast majorityof waste went straight into landfill. "The costof landfill was very cheap, so there was ini-tially no real political will to focus onrecycling. However, as time went on there wasa growing recognition of the ever-increasingpressure on landfill sites and the importance ofwaste management. Glass was the ideal prod-uct to focus on as it is easily recyclable and isboth bulky and heavy."

In co-operation with local authorities andRepak, Rehab Recycle expanded rapidly duringthe 1990s. In addition to the facility in Cork, thecompany's first Dublin plant opened in Santryin the early 1990s, and this was followed in1999 by the establishment of the larger andmore modern Ballymount plant. The companyunderwent its most significant period of growthbetween 1995 and 2001 when the number ofbring sites quadrupled in just six years.

"A glass bottle that is landfilled now will stillbe there in the year 5000, and beyond," said MrRowat. "By collecting and recycling glass,Rehab Recycle not only reduces pressure onour landfill sites, but saves energy."

"It is estimated that the energy saved fromrecycling one glass bottle is enough to keep anelectric light bulb lit for four hours. In fact, astaggering 2.3 million gallons of fuel is savedeach year purely through the recycling of glass."

With over 1,800 bring sites nationwide,Rehab Recycle will this year process a stagger-

ing 200 million glass bottles and jars, enoughto fill Ireland's largest sporting stadium, CrokePark, to a height of 42 feet. Rehab Recycle notonly collects glass deposited by the generalpublic at bring sites nationwide, the companyalso specialises in the collection and recyclingof glass from pubs, clubs and other businessesand has pioneered collection schemes inrestricted access areas such as Cork City, Gal-way City and Dublin's Temple Bar.

In the early 1990s, the company built on thesuccess of its glass recycling service with anexpansion into can, paper and cardboard recy-cling, as well as a service that ensures the securedestruction of confidential documents and infor-mation for a variety of commercial and stateorganisations, including many Governmentdepartments, financial institutions and hospitals.

According to Mr Rowat, the company'splans for the future include strengthening itsposition as Ireland's largest glass recycler aswell as the continuing development of new

markets and recycling initiatives. In 2004,Rehab Recycle opened its first waste electronicand electrical (WEEE) recycling facility in Tal-laght, and this service continues to expand. Thecompany offers a full take back service to busi-nesses nationwide that ensures not only WEEEdisposal, but also guaranteed data destructionand a complete audit trail.

In 2006, Rehab Recycle began developmentwork on Ireland's first Expanded Polystyreneplant. The plant, which is based in Navan,County Meath, is set to open later this year andwill service all the expanded polystyrene wastestreams for the Leinster area.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, Rehab Recyclelaunched a highly successful new initiativewith Microsoft to provide schools and charitieswith software and recycled/refurbished com-puter equipment. In addition, agreement wasreached with WEEE Ireland for Rehab Recycleto supply every primary school in Ireland witha recycled computer as part of a programme toraise awareness about electrical and electronicwaste recycling.

According to Mr Rowat, Rehab Recycle'splans for the future include a consolidation ofthe company's asset recovery business, whichalthough only recently launched, already boastscomputing giant Dell as a customer. RehabRecycle is increasingly looking to provide atotal waste management solution for large andsmall businesses nationwide. With growingwaste charges and a heightened awareness ofthe need for commercial businesses to be envi-ronmentally friendly, it is a business thatclearly has huge potential.

Dara Duffy, Rehab Recycle, Roslyn Park,Beach Road, Sandymount, Dublin 4

REHABRecycling for the Future

Electrical recycling at Rehab Recycle

Glass sorting at Rehab Recycle, Ireland’s largest glass recycler A truck collecting glass at Rehab Recycle

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By Jane ClarkTHE Wildlife Trusts are the

fasting growing conservationcharity in the UK, with the 47Wildlife Trusts across the UKforming an affiliation or part-nership. The Partnershipcampaigns for the protectionof wildlife and invests in thefuture by encouraging peopleof all ages to get closer towildlife. By working togetheras a partnership (often in con-junction with otherconservation organisationsincluding Natural England,RSPB, Environment Agencyand the National Trust), weaim to influence government(local, national and European)and key influencers to protectwildlife and habitats. Mostrecently at the national levelwe have campaigned to gainpositive outcomes for wildlifethrough the CountrysideRights of Way (CROW) Actand the Marine Bill.

The UK Partnership caresfor around 2,500 nature

reserves covering over80,000ha and has a member-ship of over 600,000 people.There are also over 30,000volunteers helping us with thiswork, their efforts contribut-ing to the equivalent of morethan 240,000 volunteer days.Volunteering roles can varyfrom administrative roles,practical conservation workon a reserve, or being a volun-teer warden for one of ourreserves to fundraising, lead-ing guided walks, giving talksto promote the work of theTrust, surveying and biologicalrecording. The variety of roles isendless and without such volun-teers we would not be able to do asmuch as we do.

Each of the individual 47Wildlife Trust is dedicated toconserving, protecting andenhancing the habitats andwildlife in its local area aswell as supporting the nationalinitiatives described above. Ata local level our Trust, (Hertsand Middlesex) has beenactively involved in discus-sions on airport expansion,

proposals for housing andother building developmentand minerals extraction affect-ing our area.

Herts and MiddlesexWildlife Trust (HMWT) wasformed in 1964 and now ownsand manages 43 naturereserves covering over 800haof land and has over 16,000members across the two coun-ties. HMWT comprisesCouncil of Management(made up of voluntaryTrustees), a small team ofabout 20 paid staff and a hugearmy of volunteers. Ouroffices are based at GrebeHouse in St Albans.

HMWT works to conserve,protect and enhance the habi-tats and species in our area,including those that are espe-cially threatened e.g. Stagbeetles, cornflowers, watervoles, bitterns, dormice andotters. Firstly we manage ourown nature reserves includingancient woodlands, old grass-lands, wetlands andheathlands. Some of thesesites have statutory protectionas SSSI’s (Sites of SpecialScientific Interest) due to thediversity of species and habi-tats found there. Naturereserves are great places tovisit not only for wildlife butpeople as well! They offersome of the counties’ bestsites for wildlife and providedgood examples of successfulwildlife management. Our 43nature reserves are open allyear and there is no charge tovisit these havens for wildlife.

It would be hard to describeall 43 reserves to you in thisarticle but we have recentlysuccessfully purchased withthe help of our members andother fundraising organisa-tions a large wetland reserve

known as Amwell NatureReserve situated in East Hert-fordshire. This reserve whichwas once a former gravel pit isnow one of Hertfordshire’stop sites for breeding and win-tering wildfowl.

Previously owned and man-aged by the St Albans Sandand Gravel Co Ltd (later RMCAggregates (London) Ltd),

development of the site as awildlife reserve started in1983 – whilst mineral extrac-tion was still beingundertaken. By 1990 whenextraction ceased, the creationof diverse environments toattract wildlife was wellunderway. In addition to the200 species of resident or vis-iting birds, 315 plant, 20butterfly, 16 dragonfly andnine (nationally scarce) beetlespecies have also beenrecorded there.

We also advise otherlandowners on managing theirsites – either directly or byworking in partnership withother conservation organisa-tions in the wider countrysideand influencing local authori-ties. Local authorities play amajor role in nature conserva-tion, ensuring appropriatepolicies for wildlife are devel-oped and are included in theirplans as well as regional plan-ning documents. We alsoadvise them on individualplanning applications, with anaverage of 600 beingresponded to each year!

HMWT led partnershipsprovide a focus for the prob-lems facing certain habitatsand species such as the Hert-fordshire Water Vole Project(the water vole which isBritain’s fastest decliningmammal) and HertfordshireCounty Wildlife Sites Partner-ship, where we coordinate andcarry the recording and moni-

toring not only of our ownreserves but also other land-holdings across the twocounties. The data collectedcontributes to the monitoringof the Hertfordshire and Mid-dlesex environment and formsan important part of theCounty and Local Biodiver-sity Action Plan process. It isalso a valuable tool inenabling owners, planners andconservation bodies alike towork together to makeinformed decisions about thefuture management of varioussites and protect the county’sbiodiversity.

This is only a brief synopsisof the work my local WildlifeTrust and the UK WildlifeTrust Partnership undertakeand it is the dedication andpassion of its staff, volunteersand members that enable us tocontinue to do this fantasticand rewarding work whilstfacing the various environ-mental challenges such asclimate change, pollution andhousing development aroundus. If you ever get a chance,stop off at a Trust Reserve andenjoy the wildlife on offer andsee the work we do first hand!

By Jane Clark, Wildlife SitesOfficer, Herts & MiddlesexWildlife Trust, Grebe House,St Michael’s Street, St Albans,Hertfordshire AL3 4SN, UK.Tel: (01727) 858901 Fax:(01727) 854542

The Wildlife Trustsin the UK

An aerial view of Amwell Nature Reserve, East Hertfordshire, UK.

The UK partnership of Wildlife Trusts cares for around 2,500nature reserves cover over 80,000 ha, with a membership of over600,000 people.

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WT


By Jim WilsonBEFORE we can attempt to answer the ques-

tion we need to be sure we know what exactlyis our natural heritage. To me our natural her-itage is the wildlife and geographical features ofour island home. It usually refers to our wildanimals and plants but also includes the habitatswhere they (and we!) live, such as seashore,estuary, rivers, lakes, bogs and mountains.

Is there a place for all that in 21st CenturyIreland? There has to be, but judging by theway we are treating it at the moment it lookslike there is not. What was once celebrated insong and verse by our forefathers is now cast asthe obstructive, awkward opponent to “devel-opment”, having little or no value in a modernIreland. And before you say that’s not truethink about what happens when we want tobuild a new road, housing development ormarina. Natural heritage rarely gets seriousconsideration.

At government level many who speak out forour natural heritage are looked on as traitors to“progress”. One would be forgiven for thinkingsuccessive governments have treated naturalheritage as something they would prefer to dowithout, pushing it from government depart-ment to government department and graduallywatering it down to an embarrassingly lowlevel of importance. There is also the fact that,

because of our small population, we assumethat our natural heritage will always be with usand losing a bit here and there will not makeany real difference.

After thirty years of work in the area of con-servation I have come to the conclusion thatmost people in Ireland do not look on nature aspart of their heritage in the same way as they doold buildings or human traditions such asmusic and storytelling. Many of us see it not assomething to be valued for its own sake, for itsbeauty, but just something to be exploited forshort-term gain.

Before the invention of the engine our abil-ity to transform our landscape and damage ournatural heritage was limited. However, in thelast 100 years that has changed completelyand forever. Because of our “intelligence” wehave successfully learned to exploit theresources of our planet and here in Ireland it isno different. Since the success of the celtictiger that transformation has gone into over-drive. It does not take a rocket scientist to seethat we are destroying our natural heritage atan alarming rate, and we don’t seem to want todo anything about it.

In the 1970s and 1980s I used to laugh at theAmerican TV programmes with their vastshopping malls, their huge “gas guzzling” carsand SUVs, road rage, rush hour traffic, gridlock, outsized refrigerators and televisions thesize of cinema screens. It didn’t take long for us

to catch up and it seems we didn’t learn fromtheir mistakes either.

The indicators of “prosperity” in modern Ire-land, as in all countries on the planet, are thingslike spending up to four hours of our wakingday in traffic and driving to a gym to get ourexercise. Our chaotic transport system and the

blind belief in the car are creating an environ-ment where natural heritage has no place. In2005 there were 219,284 new cars licensed inIreland. If these were placed bumper to bumperthey would stretch from Killarney to Dublinand back again! That’s new cars for just ONEyear! The number of licensed vehicles has dou-bled since the 1990s.

Ireland is not getting any bigger so the onlyway to accommodate all these cars is to makenew roads and widen existing roads, thusremoving more and more of our natural her-itage. Modern Ireland has decided to turn ablind eye to this issue, which will only getworse. When are we going to come to theinevitable conclusion that we cannot fit anymore cars on the “emerald” isle?

Because we have made the motorcar one ofthe gods of modern Ireland we have relegatedpedestrians and cyclists to the level of second-class citizens, and left public transport to thosewho cannot afford a car and those few whowant to combat global warming in a practicalway. As a result we have further detached our-selves from our natural heritage. Our wholelifestyle now revolves around the car. It hasbecome increasingly difficult to easily accessareas of natural beauty without one, and theidea of a quiet relaxing walk on a country roadis a thing of the past – anyone attempting it istaking their lives in their hands. No proper pro-vision has been made for pedestrians andcyclists to use the “public highway” in safety.Where there are footpaths they have been com-mandeered by motorists as car parks, keepingtheir precious machines out of harm’s waywhile forcing pedestrians out onto increasinglybusy roads. Media advertising by car manufac-turers blatantly disregards responsible use ofthe vehicles they want to sell, feeding usimages of speeding cars on empty countryroads and SUV’s thundering across wildernesslandscapes, the very places that should be pre-served for everyone, not abandoned asplaygrounds for those who have no regard forour natural heritage.

I am not suggesting we should all becomeornithologists or entomologists and spendour days in a bog studying an ugly insectwith an unpronounceable name. In fact toenjoy the natural world around us does notrequire you to be able to identify any of theplants or animals on this island. Our naturalheritage is not just for a few tree huggersand twitchers – it’s for everyone to enjoy. Italso has a serious role in maintaining ourmodern lifestyle. Two of Ireland’s largestindustries, tourism and agriculture, dependon it for their very existence.

We wonder why our social problems areincreasing and why we don’t seem to be any

Common Frog – not so common any more.

Shield Bug on Alder Leaf – as fascinating as an insect from a tropcial rain forest.

Is there a place for ournatural heritage in 21st

Century Ireland?

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happier despite all this new found wealth. Ourchildren are growing up in an increasingly elec-tronic environment where they can beentertained without leaving the couch. If youwant to look at your natural heritage buy theDVD or look at it on the Discovery channel. Noneed to go out at all.

I seriously believe that if nature studies weregiven a more prominent place in our educationsystem and we developed “outdoor class-rooms” where we and our children could learnabout the amazing natural world around us, wewould be able to use our natural heritage tohelp us maintain a healthy balance between theamazing technologies that enrich our lives andthe natural wonders on our door step. The gov-

ernment needs to plan for the provision of out-door classrooms – new large public suburbanparks and a network of nature reserves witheducation facilities and staff. For a relativelysmall investment the returns would be bothlong lasting and very valuable.

I believe that there is a place for our naturalheritage in 21st Century Ireland. I think it is pos-sible to have all the trappings of modern life andalso a healthy green environment where we cango to escape the madness of our motorised, elec-tronic, media driven, high speed lives. Whetherwe have the vision and willingness to do itremains to be seen.

Jim Wilson, www.irishwildlife.net


Puffin – Most irish people know more about Cheetahs in Africa than Irish Puffins.

A flower rich field – a beautiful sight on a walk.

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FloraCelticaPlants andPeople in Scotland

By William Milliken& Sam Bridgewater

Birlinn Limited & RoyalBotanic Garden, Edinburgh

www.birlinn.co.uk

ISBN: 978 1 84158 303 7

Price: £30.00stg/2004Here is an elegant and informativesynthesis of the interaction ofplants and people in Scotland. Theobvious comparison is withRichard Mabey’s Flora Britannica(1996), but the authors concentrateon Scotland – with a nod to globalcultures such as the Amerindians.They also seek out practicalitiesrather than folklore (a little toomuch of that recently), finding avibrant, living ethnobotanicaltradition. Timber, thatch, dyes,basketry, medical plants andsustainable harvests of everythingfrom gorse to kelp and edibleseaweeds, are grist to their mill.This arrangement of speciesthematically draws out moreinformation than had the text beenarranged by species. Superbphotos, many by WilliamMilliken, clear English and cleanlayout make this book a triumph.Governments should take heed ofthe great economic resource that isa native flora.

John Akeroyd.

Wild Belfaston safari inthe city

By Robert Scott

The Blackstaff Press, Belfast

www.blackstaffpress.com

ISBN:0-85640-762-3

Price: £12.99stg/2004The last two decades have seengrowing interest in the wildlife ofcities. Studies of the floras ofDublin and Belfast have yieldedhundreds of wild flowers, and nowRobert Scott reveals the wealth ofvaried wildlife in his nativeBelfast. He gives an enthusiasticaccount of plants, birds, mammalsand invertebrates in a mosaic ofhabitats that link the city centrewith the rivers, seas, coasts andmountains at the edge of Belfast.The Belfast Hills support severalmountainy birds: ring ouzels, redgrouse and even (migrant) snowbuntings. City parks have orchids:broad-leaved helleborine, commonspotted orchid and lesser butterfly-orchid. Such urban and suburbanbiodiversity is a marvellousshowcase for natural history, andthe author makes one want to visitBelfast immediately. The bookends with details of a Top 20 of thecity’s wildlife sites.

John Akeroyd.

A Bird in the Bush – A SocialHistory ofBirdwatchingBy Stephen Moss

Aurum Press

www.aurumpress.co.uk

ISBN: 1 84513 085 5

Price: £8.99stg/2005 (pb)What a book. Forget that its aboutbirdwatching, it tells a wonderfulstory from the first birdwatchers inthe 1700s to the present day. I havealways believed that they are abreed apart. Birdwatching is a pas-sion. Birders get up at dawn, will goout in all types of weather, will standor sit for hours on end waiting andwatching. If it is a rarity then theybecome oblivious to everything. Ioften say they would not see a JCBbearing down on them.

The opening chapter on thoseearly 18th century naturalists:White, Clarke, Berwick and Mon-tague gives a wonderful picture ofthose talented individuals whowithout the present day "birdguides" left such a legacy. The au-thor states "Like White, Clarke hadno paper optical aids so his obser-vations all had to be done with thenaked eye. In his writings he em-phasised the behaviour of birdsrather than the modern obsessionwith fine plumage details." I won-der are many of today's birdwatch-ers more interested in "trophygathering " rather than taking theClarke option. The 1800s againsaw wonderful birders and natural-ists – they included Mark Catesby,William Bartram, Alexander Wil-son and the great John Audubon.

The book has seventeenchapters, each more fascinatingthan the last. They include theVictorian Era, early 20th century,World War I and II and above allhow birding became an obsession.As I said, a wonderful book – andI say that as a non-birder!

How to Live a Low-CarbonLife – the individual'sguide to stopping climatechangeBy Chris Goodall

www.earthscan.co.uk

ISBN: 978 818 44074266

Price£14.99stg/2007This book is soappropriate in thepresent "climate"of emissions ofcarbon dioxide. Itshows how indi-viduals rather than governments orcompanies are going to have to bethe driving force behind reductionsin greenhouse gases. Very few of usknow how our day to day livinggenerates emissions of CO2 andother harmful gases. Seventeenchapters cover such topics as Homeand Water Heating and Cooking;Food; Lighting and House Appli-ances, Travel – air, car and publictransport and Use of RenewableEnergy. We learn that the EU aver-

age of greenhouse gas emissions byeach person is 12.5 tonnes of car-bon dioxide. Half of this approxi-mate 6.0 tonnes is directly createdby the individual in running ahouse, a car and taking transport.The other half – 6.5 tonnes – is gen-erated by other activities such asmanufacturing, offices, smeltingiron ore and transporting goods.

The author points the way togetting down to 3 tonnes emissionper person. All seem reasonableexcept air travel where the authorsuggests air travel should bereduced by 1.8 to zero. To followsuch a suggestion would see worldtrade and tourism disappear. Usingmore car travel is suggested butthis is not practical in many cases.This issue aside this book has somuch to offer each of us and is animportant contribution in how wecan reduce each of our emissionsof greenhouse gases.

Climate Change andInsurance – Disaster RiskFinancing in DevelopingCountriesGuest Editor Eugene N. Gurenko

www.earthscan.co.uk

ISBN: 9781844074839

Price: £60.00stg (hk)/2007Over the years,when nationalc a t a s t r o p h e soccur in devel-oping countries,the one thing iscertain – mediacommentators

never mention anything about in-surance cover. Yet if it happens inthe developing world, after the ini-tial day or two, describing the dis-aster becomes all about who has orhas not got insurance cover. Thisbook states that if the scientificglobal climate models are accurate,the present problems will be mag-nified in the near future. Changeswill have profound impact uponthe lives, health and property ofmillions of people. It is importantto read that in response to theKyoto Protocol, the Munich Cli-mate Insurance Initiative (MCII)was founded in 2005. The mem-bers included representatives ofthe insurance and re-insurance in-dustry, climate experts, NGOs andpolicy researchers. The articles inthis publication are intended tostimulate discussion on insuranceand how they can help in adaptingto a changing climate and the cor-responding risks.

Of the eight articles, the one on"Insurance for assisting adaptationin climate change in developingcountries; a proposed strategy",points the way for:

· The establishment of aclimate insurance programmespecialising in supportingdeveloping countries;

· Public-private insurancerelated instruments that areaffordable to the poor;

· Disaster relief contingent oncountries making credibleefforts to manage their risks.

Highly recommended foranyone involved with getting aidto developing countries.

FloodHazards & HealthRespondingto Presentand FutureRisks

Edited by Roger Few andFranziska Matthies

www.earthscan.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-84407-215-6 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-84407-216-3 (sbk)

Price: £80.00 (h) £22.46 (s)/2006Flooding, forever in the news, is aglobal phenomenon, althoughSouth Asia suffers disproportion-ately. As well as causing physicaland psychological damage, floodwaters expose victims to diseaseand disease vectors. The eightchapters of this book collate andreview existing knowledge fromenvironmental, social andepidemiological studies, whileindicating priorities for futureresearch, policy and practice inrelation to the risks posed tohuman health, especially amongalready disadvantaged people. Thebook concludes that flooding isepisodic and variable, but thatalterations in land use andsettlement patters, together withclimate change (the evidenceremains inconclusive for upwardtrend in flooding due to globalwarming) will intensify floodingproblems in the future. A 29-pagebibliography covers a wider rangeof disciplines relating to flooding.

John Akeroyd.

High Seas Bottom TrawlFisheries and theirImpacts on theBiodiversity of vulnerableDeep-Sea Ecosystems:Options for InternationalActionBy Matthew Gianni

www.iucn.org/themes/marine

ISBN: 2-8317-0824-9

Price: Free (postage only)/2004S e a m o u n t s ,coral reefs andother vulnerabled e e p - s e ae c o s y s t e m ssuffer frombottom trawlfishing in thehigh sea. Thisbook makes recommendations asto how the issues must beaddressed if the above are to beprotected. Virtually all high seasbottom trawl fisheries arepresently unregulated in so far astheir impacts on deep seabiodiversity are concerned. Mostare not covered by a regionalfisheries management organisationand so there is no commitment toregulate deep-sea bottom fishing.No one can give an accurate figureof the tonnage of the fish catch. Somuch is illegal and unreported.

Losses of up to 95-98% of thecoral cover of seamounts as aresult of deep-sea bottom trawl

have been documented. Becauseof the damage by trawl fishing, thevery fish stocks being fished arerapidly being depleted. The authorcalls for the establishment of aninternational regime for deepwater fisheries on stocks andassociated species which arefound exclusively on the highseas, as well as the establishmentand implementation of effectivemechanisms for monitoringcompliance and enforcement forhigh seas bottom fisheries.

This book is a superb andessential read for fishermen,managers and scientists.

Alaska's FishingCommunities – Harvesting the FutureConference proceedings

Alaska Sea Grant CollegeProgram

www.alaskaseagrant.org

AK-SG-07-02

ISBN: 1566121205

Price: $10.00/2007This book is sorelevant. It is abook that shouldbe read by bu-reaucrats in theEuropean Com-mission that seemto have no under-standing of how

their policies affect fishing commu-nities in coastal areas. The papers atthis conference in Anchorage,Alaska in 2006 cover many topics,which include:

· Looking out for the future ofsmall fishing communities

· Rural communities in aGlobal Marketplace

· Fishing Benefits Communities· Models for Community

Organisations· Fishing as a Long-term

Economic sourceThese are but a few issues

discussed and each one of these isvital to the survival of everyone ofIreland's fishing ports from HookHead to Castletownbere to MalinHead. The celtic tiger will not savethem – self-promotion, self-preservation and above all propersustainable fishing policies are theonly remedies. The newFishermen’s Federation shouldconsider a similar conference asthis one before Irish fishingvillages become holiday homevillages. The book is a must foranyone wanting to see our coastalareas survive and prosper.

Fishers'Knowledgein FisheriesScience andManagementEdited by Nigel Haggan,Barbara Neis and Ian G. Baird

ISBN: 978-92-3-104029-0

www.unesco.org/publishing

Price: €30.00/2007In so many countries, scientistsand managers who decide what

fish species and tonnage may becaught in the sea, have ignored theknowledge that fishers (fishermen)have gained from many years atsea. This book shows that there isa little light at the end of thetunnel. It originated from aconference called "Putting FishersKnowledge to Work". It has threesections:

· Indigenous practitioners & researchers

· Indigenous & artisan fisheries· Commercial fisheries

The most important paper ofthe 22 papers is "Integrating fish-ers knowledge with survey data tounderstand the structure, ecologyand use of a seascape off south-eastern Australia". It describes therole of fishers at all stages of thefishing assessment and manage-ment process. Scientists meet reg-ularly with experienced fishers.They integrate the ecologicalknowledge of the fishers with sci-entific survey data to map and un-derstand the seabed in a way thatwould not have been possiblefrom scientific data alone. Vastareas of the seabed off SE Aus-tralia were mapped which wouldhave otherwise been impossible.Another paper is titled "Fishersknowledge? Why not add their sci-entific skills while you're at it?"Many scientists and managerswould rather eat humble pie be-fore they would accept this sug-gestion. Well, the Canadians andAustralians realise fishers areequal if not superior in knowledgeof the sea. This book must have aspecial place on the shelf of any-one involved in the managementof the seas and make a living fromthe sea.

Wetland’s of Ireland –Distribution,ecology, uses& economicvalue

Edited by Marinus L. Otte

UCD Presswww.ucdpress.ieISBN: 1 900621 88 6 (Hb)ISBN: 1 900621 89 4 (pb)

Price €60.00 (h) €30.00 (p)/2003Never was a book so needed tohighlight the importance of Ire-land’s wetlands, many of which areunder pressure from building ac-tivities, especially in coastal areasand particularly in estuaries. Newgolf courses have led to the de-struction of the upper salt marsh incoastal areas. Possibly the mostworrying aspect of the destructionof wetlands is the draining of suchlands, much have been filled in andused as waste dumps. The richnessof the flora and fauna of Ireland’swetlands is addressed in the manychapters in this book. We read ofthe importance of salt marshes,coastal lagoons, peatlands, callousand flood plain vegetation of tur-loughs. Wetlands play a major roleas they efficiently retain pollutantsfrom passing through them. Theyare also important as they act asbuffers against floods during peri-ods of high rainfall while duringdry spells enhance the water re-taining capacity of watersheds.Valuable fish species depend onthem for reproduction.

This book is easy to understandand a wonderful present for a fam-ily. It is a must for libraries, policymakers, and especially local au-thority planners.


PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST


By DaphnePochin Mould

ON May 23, 1707, a boychild was born to the family ofNils Ingemarsson Linnaeus,Lutheran pastor of Rashuit,Smaland, southern Sweden.The boy would be only thesecond generation to have thesurname Linnaeus, for theSwedes had only just adoptedsurnames in place of the moreancient system where you arethe son or daughter of yourfather – so the second namechanges with each generation.(A system that still works per-fectly well for Iceland.) Butwhen Carl’s father Nils Inge-marsson went to check in atLund University, theydemanded a surname. Thefamily farm was named Lin-negard (Lime tree farm) andthere was one particular biglime tree (linn in Swedish)and he invented the Latinisedname Linnaeus.

Nils hoped Carl would fol-low him into the Church butthe boy would have none of it.Apart from the family callingthemselves after a lime tree,they were all enthusiastic gar-deners. It was an exciting timeto be a botanist. Ships wereexploring the world and com-ing back with skins and bonesof new animals, and carefuldrawings, written descriptionsand dried specimens of newplants. Australia “BotanyBoy”, a name now more con-nected with the penalsettlements, was named for itsbewildering display of plantsof many sorts. Botanical gar-dens were started and tried togrow the new species, as sail-ing ships brought in seeds,and sometimes growingplants. It was very interna-

tional – all through theNapoleonic wars, the Botanicgarden in Paris exchangednews and specimens withKew in London.

Young Carl went to univer-sity to study medicine (nodegrees in botany then) butplants were the love of his life.The family was not rich. Carlwas very much a poor boywho made good. He was

lucky in finding many like-minded academics who couldhelp him with work and some-times hospitality. He was avery active writer and his firstpublication came in 1729,“Praeludia sponsaliorumplantarum” on the wedding ofplants, for he was fascinatedby their sexual arrangements

and used it as a system to clas-sify them – to the horror of themore prudish. He was a popu-lar, fun-loving fellow, and abit of a poet: “The flowersleaves serve as bridal bedswhich the Creator has so glo-riously arranged, adornedwith such noble bedcurtains,and perfumed with so manysoft scents that the bride-groom with his bride mightcelebrate their nuptials with somuch the greater solemnity”.Or his description of Paeonialactiflora (the Chinese Peony)with its single ovary and manystamen “20 males in bed withone female”.

He was an active explorer.His first trip was to Lapland,then unknown terrain, organ-ised, but only partly paid for,by the Royal Academy of Sci-ence. He wrote up the flora ofLapland and as well picked upenough about mining and dif-ferent ores to lecture about it

in order to make up the short-fall in the trip’s costs.

In 1735, he gained his Doc-tor of Medicine with a thesison malaria in Holland and itsrelations to muddy water.Medicine in his day wasworlds away from ours, forthen there was no knowledgeof the life cycles of the manytiny organisms that carry dis-

eases, and a surgeon’s skillwas judged by the speed withwhich he could work a knifeand saw on a consciouspatient. Carl’s MD allowedhim to marry his beloved SaraElizabeth Moraea. Their firstchild, also called Carl, wasborn in 1741, the same year hewas made professor of medi-cine at Uppsala. He madesome special study of syphilis(the “great” pox as against theequally deadly small pox).However the remedies of thetime were as likely sometimesto kill as to cure. But theman’s heart was with theplants. Carl had experiencedcholera on his way to Paris.Wild strawberries were hisfavourite cure-all.

At this time there weresome 7000 known species ofplants and 4000 of animalsand Linnaeus had the kind ofmind that can deal with suchnumbers. More and more

information was flooding in asbotanists went further and fur-ther afield. Linnaeus had aninner circle of 17 “apostles”.One was Daniel Solander whowas on Captain Cook’s firstround the world voyage, thatbrought the first plant collec-tion from Australia. PehrKalm went to America, CarlPeter Thunberg to Japan. AndCarl “Deus creavit, Linnaeusdisposuit” (God created, Lin-naeus arranged). Just asEnglish is now, Latin then wasthe universal language. Lin-naeus wrote his numerouspublications in it. And withplants, it is still with us. Usean English name to a non-English speaker, and see theireyes light up when you nameit in international Latin. ButCarl insisted there be only twonames to a species, not awhole mouthful of descriptivewords. Do you recognise Rosa

sylvestris alba cum ruborefolio glabro? All true BUTunwieldy. Linnaeus cut itdown to Rosa canina, ourlovely dog rose.

People had always seenlikenesses in groups of plantsand animals. The cats fromlions to domestic mouser, thevarious monkeys, or plantsthat bore pea pods, like gardenpeas and sweet peas. WhatCarl grasped was that generallikenesses could form a genusand then be broken down intosmaller and more closelyrelated groups, until youended up with one individualspecies. Thus vertebrates con-tain the primates and thegenus homo, in which is thespecies homo sapiens(humans). Linnaeus’ use ofthe word “species” seems tohave been devised by Carl.

Linnaeus’ fame was nowsuch that he was raised to theSwedish peerage, taking thename Carl von Linné, anddevising a coat of arms. Thatwas in 1757, and the follow-ing year he bought a farm atHammarby. This countryhome can still be visited today.

But the man was no special-ist academic. He saw the gloryof God in the splendour ofnature. In London, he came onPutney Heath with the furze(English gorse/Scottish whin)in flower and fell on his kneesto thank and praise God forthat most glorious of plants.But Ulex europaeus is a shrubof western Europe. No waywould it grow in Sweden. Carlalso had hopes of growing teaand coffee there – a ship’scaptain brought him a livingtea plant, all the way by sail-ing ship from China – and hedid get it to flower. But noSwedish tea gardens resulted.

He died in 1778. Whilenobody thinks of him as a

medical pioneer, his botanicalwork remains very much withus. Meteorologists use his sys-tem for clouds, dividingcumulus into its various typesand so on. And now, 300 yearslater, all the world is celebrat-ing the work of the genius,who saw the glory of God inthe golden, scented furze.

Tercentenary celebrationsof Linnaeus have been worldwide especially of course, inhis native Sweden.

The Swedish Post Officeproduced four special stampsand a book about him. Two ofthem valued at 11SEK each,have two beautifullyengraved pictures, on one ofthe mandrake, Podophyllumpeltatum, and on the other, thebanana, Musa paradisiaca.The first day cover has a pic-ture of the snake’s headfritillary, Fritillaria meleagrisand the cancellation has Lin-naeus’ signature.

At this year’s ChelseaFlower Show in London, therewas a Linnaeus Gardendesigned by Ulf Nordfjell, andit was awarded a gold medal.The Linnean Society of Lon-don, founded in 1788, holdsLinnaeus’ botanical and zoo-logical collections and library.

The Floral Clock – Lin-naeus had noticed that manyflowers open or close at reg-ular times, and that onemight make this into a floralclock. It caught the fancy of aFrench composer Jean Fran-cais, whose L’horologe deflore tries to express theflowers in music.

Readers of Patrick O’Brien’snaval novels of Napoleonictimes will see in Dr. Maturin,very much the Linnean type ofdoctor, good at doctoring buteven more fascinated by thenatural world and newly dis-covered creatures.

The man who thankedGod for the furze

On first seeing furze (gorse) in flower in the UK, Linnaeus is said tohave fallen on his knees and to thank and praise God for that mostglorious of plants.

Celebrating the 300 birthdayof Carl Linnaeus

Founded in 1655, the Linnaeus Garden was the first botanical gardenin Sweden. The garden flourishes today with approximately 1,300species growing in the garden. The plants are all known to have beencultivated by Linnaeus and are arranged according to his own system.

Dog rose Rosa canina

Carl Linnaeus dressed in Lapp costume.

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Winter VisitorsBy Declan MurphyNOW that the long days of summer are over, many birds like Swallows, Swifts, Warblers andWheatears have now flown south to their wintering grounds in Africa. These birds are allinsect feeders and although there is food in abundance during the summer months, there arefar fewer insects around in the harsh months of winter. Many other species of bird spend thesummer months in the high arctic; these include many types of wader, ducks geese and swansand these birds fly south to spend the winter months in Ireland.Winter is an excellent time to enjoy the delights of wildfowl on our lakes, estuaries andlagoons. The sights and sounds of thousands of geese or ducks on a crisp winter’s day is aspectacle not to be missed.

Two species of swan spend the winter in Ireland, the Whooper Swan and the Bewicks Swan,these are often referred to as ‘wild swans’ as our other species of swan, the Mute Swan, is aresident species and a familiar sight on canals, lakes and rivers.


Learn aabout bbirds wwithBirdWatch IIrelandFeeding Wild Birds LeafletDownload this leaflet from the Learn about Birdssection on BirdWatch Ireland’s website atwww.birdwatchireland.ie

Learn how to identify the birds in your gardenwith our Free Garden Bird Charts. Send a SAEto: BirdWatch Ireland, P.O. Box 12, Greystones,Co. Wicklow.

BirdWatch Ireland hasover 10,000 members andhas branches throughoutthe country whichorganise events andoutings in your area. Whynot get your school tojoin? Write to us or visitour website for details:www.birdwatchireland.ie

BirdWatch Ireland has two educational websites, catering for learning about birds in schools.

0 Visit the Working with Birds web site tolearn about watching and feeding birds

Simply go to www.birdwatchireland.ie and go tothe ‘learn about birds’ section

BirdWatch Ireland, P.O. Box 12, Greystones,Co. Wicklow.Tel: 01-2819878 Fax: 01-2819763 Email: [email protected]

Website: www.birdwatchireland.ie

Bewick’s SwanThe Bewick’s Swan is our smallest swan and ismore goose-like than either the Mute orWhooper Swan. They have a proportionallyshorter and thicker neck than the WhooperSwan and this is often the best way toseparate them at a distance, especially if theyare feeding with Whooper Swans. When seenclose the bill is rounder and square than thelong pointed wedge of the Whooper Swan. Italso has less yellow on the bill which can appearblacker at a distance. They are a lot less vocaland have a soft mellow yelping call, quitedifferent from other swans. These swans arenamed after Thomas Bewick, an eminentornithologist in the late 18th century. They nestfarther north than any other species of swan,in northern Russia, and need to complete theirbreeding cycle in 100-110 days before thearctic weather deteriorates. Considerably

fewer birds winter in Ireland than Whooper’swith a wintering population of approximately1,000 birds compared to the Whooper’s 8,000-9,000. They too are faithful and mate for lifewith the oldest wild bird being 20 years oldalthough one bird kept in captivity was over 30when it died.

Whooper Swan

The Whooper Swan gets its name from the loudwhooping or trumpeting calls it make, they are avery vocal bird and a flock of them can beheard from some distance. They breed in thearctic tundra in Iceland and in northernScandinavia and Russia, however the birds whichspend the winter in Ireland all come fromIceland.

They are slightly smaller than Mute Swans witha slightly longer and thinner neck which isusually held straight but with an obvious kink atthe base. The bill is black with a yellow base andis long and wedged shaped giving a verydistinctive ‘roman-nosed’ profile.They arrive in Ireland in October and leavebefore mid-April and can sometimes be seenmigrating north along our coasts towardsIceland. They are a highly gregarious speciesand it is very unusual to see a lone bird unless itis injured. Most flocks average about 70 birdsbut some flocks can include several hundredbirds and are known as ‘herds’. Although foundnear water they are usually seen grazing infields by day alongside bodies of water whichthey use for roosting at night.Like many other large birds Whooper Swans arelong lived and do not nest until 4-5 years old.Their courtship takes place in Ireland towardsthe end of the winter and is accompanied bymuch trumpeting and wing flapping. They areextremely faithful birds and mate for life, whenthey return in the winter the family party staystogether for the duration of the winter monthsand only split up on return to Iceland. Theoldest recorded bird was over 23 years.

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YET again Sherkin Island Marine Station had a marvellous response to the Environmental Competition for Primary SchoolChildren in Munster 2007. Thank you to all who entered this annual competition. It is wonderful to see such creativity andinterest in the environment. We had a marvellous day at the prize-giving ceremony at the Carrigaline Court Hotel,Carrigaline, Co. Cork, where Cllr. Tom Sheahan, Mayor of Cork County, presented the prizes.

We would like to take this opportunity to again thank our sponsors for this year. They were: BIM (Irish Sea Fisheries Board),Central Fisheries Board, City Print Cork, Cork City Council, Cork County Council, Dept. of the Environment, Heritage & LocalGovernment, Evening Echo Newspaper Cork, Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd. and Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals.

Here is a very small selection of some of the 405 prize-winners.

Sherkin Island Marine StationEnvironmental Competition

Winners from Glandore NS, Co. Cork.

Winners from Scoil Iosagain, Upper Aghada, Midleton, Co. Cork.Cllr. Tom Sheahan, Mayor of Cork County presenting the prizesat the Carrigaline Court Hotel, Carrigaline, Co. Cork. Alsopresent were: Paul Bourke, Central Fisheries Board, Eric Forde,Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd; Dr. Mary Stack, Cork CountyCouncil; Dr. Bridget Lehane, Bord Iascaigh Mhara; CharlieHipwell, Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals; Matt Murphy, SherkinIsland Marine Station.

for Primary School Children in Munster 2007

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Winners from Killurney NS, Co. Tipperary.

Checking out some of the winners.

Winners from Dangan NS, Co. Clare.


Mermaid’sPurse

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When you hear the name“Mermaid’s Purse” you might wellimagine a fashion-loving mermaidswimming around in the sea.However, in reality Mermaid’sPurses are the egg cases laid bysharks, skates and rays in deepwaters. Sealed inside the purse isthe baby animal, which willcontinue to grow in there for up to15 months, protected by the toughwalls of the case. These purses often have long, twistedtendrils on each corner, which are used to attach the egg caseto seaweed and other floating structures. Brown in colour andoften nearly see-through, an egg case is usually only seen whenit is washed up on the shore, and then it is often dry and hard.It will usually be empty, as the young fish will have hatched bythe time the case is washed ashore.

d

Can you pick outtwo marine animalsthat begin life as aMermaid’s Purse?

Hermit CrabSea UrchinCrab

Dogfish

Thornback rayScallopStarfish

Lesser Spotted DogfishScyliorhinus canicula

Fíogach beag

Also called Rock Salmon, the dogfish is a relative of the shark. Like othersharks, it has a cartilaginous (made of cartilage) skeleton and rough skin. Ithas a long, thin body and a head is rounded. Its mouth is underneath andthere are five gill slits on each side. The dogfish is one of several animals thatbegins life in a mermaid’s purse. This case is usually about 6cm long.

Purse Search Ireland are on the lookout formermaid’s purses. If you spot one on your next trip tothe beach, be sure to report it. For more informationread details about the project on page 6 of this issueof Sherkin Comment or visit www.marinedimensions.ie

Mermaid’s Purse

Thornback RayRaja clavata

Rotha gharbh

The Thornback ray is probably one of thecommonest rays seen by divers. Found incoastal waters all around Europe, it lives in theopen sea and in shallow seas. It has a flattenedbody with wing-like pectoral fins and it lookslike a kite, with a long tail. The tail, along withits back, is covered in thorny spines. Its colourcan vary from light brown to grey, with dark blotches and darker spots, withyellow patches. Like other rays, it too begins life as a mermaid’s purse.

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Sketches: © Audrey Murphy

Full Colour PrintingBrochures, Reports,MagazinesLeaflets & Booklets

Victoria Cross, CorkTelephone (021) 4545655Facsimile (021) 4342996

By Sile Kelleher &Therese Geoghegan

THE best adventure of our lives so far,Gaisce Gold Adventure to Kenya 2007, in June2007. This unforgettable experience will bedeeply rooted in our hearts and minds forever,simply because, it was a life changing experi-ence for all involved.

The forty strong group of us fundraisedmoney for the renovation of seven classroomsin Wagwer, Western Kenya. From the moneyraised we also hired local tradesmen, throughthe Moving Mountains Organisation, to help usachieve our goal within seven days.

We worked closely with the local builders,who taught us how to plaster the walls and mixcement. Our work included lowering the levelof the dirt floors so that we could put in a stone

foundation and proper concrete floors. Windowframes were put in place, sanded down andpainted, glass was then put into these. We wereastonished by the amount of things we take forgranted at home such as cement mixers andrunning water. At Wagwer, we faced the chal-lenge of carrying water fifteen minutes fromthe well, a task which the school children werenot fazed by as they ran to and from the welllaughing and singing. As for the cement mix-ers…well, we felt it in our arms!

As well as working on the primary school,we camped in and worked with an orphanage inUlamba, Western Kenya. Here we played withthe children who greatly appreciated the toys,clothes and resources that we brought out withus. The majority of these children have sufferedfrom terrible physical abuse and starvation. Thedifferent stories of these children touched us all.

In Kenya it is common for children to runaway from home and become street kids in big towns or the capital Nairobi. Here they would

become involved in street crime and in sniffingglue. The organisation who we were workingwith, Moving Mountains, works with thesestreet kids. They give them an opportunity to

rehabilitate themselves and to earn an honestliving. For instance a group of former streetkids came with us to work on the school proj-ect. Our bus drivers and guides were oncestreet kids also.

Only for Gaisce, we would have missed outon this incredible and humbling experience.The work we carried out was deeply appreci-ated and the joy and happiness shown to us wasoverwhelming. From this adventure we allhave everlasting memories.

We would encourage everyone to becomeinvolved in Gaisce. Not only do you makegreat friends but you accomplish great things.

More information from: Gaisce – ThePresident’s Award, The State Apartments,Dublin Castle, Dublin 2. Tel: 014758746Web site: www.p-award.net or www.gaisce.ieE-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]


Gaisce GoldVolunteers Workin Kenya

Sile Kelleher and Therese Geoghegan hard at work on the project.

A group of workers involved in the project.

The classrooms before work commenced. A classroom on completion.

School children carrying water for fifteen minutesfrom the well.

Reuse your schoolor college booksand help protectyour environment

CORK COUNTY COUNCIL CIVIC AMENITY SITES

Bandon 023 43371Macroom 026 43721Millstreet 029 30971Clonakilty 023 50982Raffeen (Monkstown) 021 4859350 / 4842082Carrigtwohill 021 4533934 / 4883936Youghal 024 91084 / 93834 Derryconnell (Schull) 028 37048Castletownbere (Foildarrig) 027 70126Kinsale Road 021 4705911

Guide to opening hours: Mon-Fri 8.30am to 4.30pmSat 8.30am to lunch hour • Closed Wednesday Check local offices for variations

The School Book Exchange web site is sponsored by Cork County Council under Local Agenda 21 funding

www.schoolbookexchange.ieLog on to the SCHOOLBOOKEXCHANGEto BUY andSELL YOURBOOKS

Cork County Council Cork County Council ENVIRONMENTENVIRONMENTALAL

AAWWARENESS &ARENESS &RESEARCH UNIT RESEARCH UNIT

021 4532700021 4532700

OOr your books can ber your books can berrecycled at your local ecycled at your local Civic Amenity SiteCivic Amenity Site

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Lemon & Herb Crusted Fishwith parsley mash

Cooks in 8 – 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS• 4 large pieces pollock (or other chunky white fish) approx

180g each • 2 large handfuls of fresh breadcrumbs • Zest and juice of 2 lemon • Salt and pepper • 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or chives (you can

also use spring onions) • 4 – 6 large potatoes, cooked and mashed

METHOD• Mix the bread crumbs with the lemon juice, zest and most

of the chopped herbs, and pat firmly onto the fish.• Place the fish into a hot oven and bake for 8 – 10 mins, or

until the topping is golden and crispy.• While fish is cooking add the remaining chopped herbs

and mix through the mashed potatoes.• Remove fish from oven. Place a spoonful of mash onto

each plate. Add the fish on top and serve with freshvegetables. Serves 4

For more delicious fishrecipes visit www.bim.ie

DOWNLOAD RESOURCESFROM THERNLI WEBSITE

The RNLI's site for young people is crammed full ofexciting activities and games, from seeing how fityou have to be to become a lifeguard, to working outhow to successfully launch a massive lifeboat andrescue people using your skills and knowledge. TheRNLI is a charity that provides a 24-hour lifesavingservice around Ireland and the UK. Their volunteercrews give up their time and comfort to carry outrescues in difficult and often dangerous conditions.

Visit the site at: (www.rnli-shorething.org.uk)

There are loads of items to download from the RNLI website,including:• “Facts at your fingertips” – a fun, pocket-sized game to

highlight the work of the RNLI.• Safety posters

• Whiteboard activity games including “Rip Current BeachSafety“

• Worksheets for teachers

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o: ©

BIM

By Mike LudwigI MOW other people’s lawns as a way to unwind at the end of

a day. So, I get to watch the annual lawn wars as seekers of theperfect green attempt to out “green” their neighbours. Invariably,someone overdoses their acreage and it’s a sandy tan from mid-June to late fall. Too much fertilizer brought on by failure to reador accept the warnings on the label is the standard conclusion.Imagine several million people ignoring the directions about fer-tilizer use, all along one river and you have the source of thesecond largest, manmade, annual water pollution event in theworld; the Gulf of Mexico / Mississippi River “Dead Zone”. TheMississippi River drains about 40 percent of the entire US. And,although it drains the water from states from Montana to NewMexico to New York, including nearly every state between theRocky and the Appalachian mountains, much of the fertilizer isadded along the banks of the “Corn Belt,” States (Illinois, Indi-ana, Iowa, and Ohio) which produce about 50 percent of the UScrop. Bad fertilizer management is aggravated by the belief thatif a pound will do the job, a little more should make crop growtheven better. When several million farmers think that way, onlythe well fed algae that clog the waterways are happy.

The Gulf of Mexico/Mississippi River Dead Zone was discoveredin 1974 by researchers from Louisiana State University studying theMississippi River and Gulf of Mexico mixing zone. They foundfrom spring through early fall, a dead zone usually impacting an areaas large as New Jersey (17,000 square kilometres or 6 to 7,000square miles) particularly between the inner and mid-continentalshelf in the northern Gulf of Mexico. It begins at the MississippiRiver delta and extends westward across the upper Texas coast.

When the sun goes down on our happy algae and photosynthe-sis stops, the plants shift from making oxygen to consuming it.When conditions are right for these simple, floating plants, theyare very good at using more oxygen than they made during the

daylight hours. And, because they take in oxygen as individualcells, they are better at sucking it up than are bigger beasties.Early in the morning, before the sun rises, the phytoplankton andtheir associates, bacteria, may have used up most of the oxygendissolved in their water and created a condition called hypoxiawhere oxygen levels are below 2 milligrams per litre (mg/l). Nor-mally, dissolved oxygen should be about 8 ml/l to 10 mg/l. Onreally bad days when photosynthesis is limited by weather orwater quality conditions, phytoplankton and bacteria can use upvirtually all the oxygen in the deeper, darker water and create“anoxia” or no dissolved oxygen left (0.0 mg/l). Most aquaticanimals need over 3 mg/l to survive.

Nitrogen and phosphorous enter the river in upstream runoff ofexcess fertilizer, soil erosion, animal wastes, and sewage. In anatural system, these nutrients aren’t significant factors in algaegrowth because they are retained on the upland. However, withanthropogenically increased nitrogen and phosphorus inputsrainfall can wash the excess into waterways and algae growth isno longer limited. Consequently, algal blooms develop, the foodchain is altered, and dissolved oxygen in the area may bedepleted. The dead zone fluctuates seasonally in size, as it is fedor starved by farming practices. It is also affected by weatherevents such as flooding and hurricanes.

Each year, some 1.6 million tons of nitrogen now enter theGulf from the Mississippi basin, more than triple the averageamount measured between 1955 and 1970. Worldwide, annualfertilizer use has climbed to 145 million tons, a tenfold rise overthe last half-century. This increase in fertilizer use coincides withthe increase in the number of dead zones around the globe. Butagriculture fertilizer is not the only source of nutrients, especiallynitrogen, in the river. Manure from lifestock farming and sewagetreatment waste water both add to the problem. A US SenateAgriculture Committee report released in December 2006 esti-mated that 1.37 billion tons of manure was produced by our

livestock last year alone, much of it making its way to the sea viathe Mississippi River. And let’s not forget industrial wastes, andatmospheric pollutants which contribute, also, to the problem.

Forty-three of the world’s 146 dead zones recorded in 2004,occur in U.S. coastal waters. The one in the Gulf of Mexico, nowthe world’s second largest, disrupts a highly productive fisherythat provides some 18 percent of the U.S. annual catch. Gulf fish-ers have had to work outside of the hypoxic area to find shrimpand fish. Landings of brown shrimp, the most economicallyimportant seafood product from the Gulf of Mexico for Ameri-can fishermen, have fallen from the record high in 1990, with theannual lows corresponding to the highly hypoxic years

Despite the evidence, scientists remain reluctant to blame thedead zone entirely on farmers: “We’re all fairly convinced thatit’s going to be agriculture that’s going to have to kick in andchange to some degree to make a big difference,” said WilliamBattaglin, hydrologist at the Geological Survey, in Denver, andpart of a team tracking the sources of nitrogen in the MississippiRiver Basin. “But we don’t want to point the finger at the farmerunless we’re absolutely sure. He’s the one that’s going to suffer.”Hypoxia may be a standard of living issue,” he said. “If wedecide not to cut back on our pesticides and fertilizers, we maynot be able to solve the problem.” It is this attitude that insuresthings are not going to get better anytime soon!

The world’s largest dead zone (70,000 km2) is found in theBaltic Sea.Read more about Dead Zones:< http://jeq.scijournals.org/cgi/content/full/30/2/275. > & < http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/products/pubs_hypox.html >

Mike Ludwig, Ocean & Coastal Consultants, Trumbull, CT USA.


The Gulf of Mexico /Mississippi River Dead Zone

WHAT IS THE WATER FRAMEWORK?The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is a European Directive introduced inDecember 2000 establishing a new framework for the protection and managementof water resources throughout the European Union. There is a statutory obligationon each country to monitor fish at selected sites in rivers, lakes and estuaries.

WHO WILL DELIVER THE FISH ELEMENT OF THE WFD?The Central Fisheries Board is delivering the fish element of the WFD and willcompile information about the fish species occurring at certain specified locations,their abundance and age patterns. The CFB, together with the Regional FisheriesBoards will be working closely with all stakeholders including Fishery Owners,Angling Associations, Fisheries Representative Bodies and other GovernmentAgencies.

WHAT PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE ON THE WFD IN 2007?The Fisheries Boards working together with the fishery owners and angling clubssuccessfully surveyed 16 lakes between July and October, 2007. Preliminaryresults of this years sampling have been compiled and are available.

WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP IN THE PROCESS?The winter will be a very busy time for the Board, processing the fish samplescollected during the field sampling programme, compiling the WFD fisherydatabase and also putting the information into GIS format. Simultaneously we willbe planning the sampling programme for 2008 which will involve sampling aconsiderable number of river sites as well as additional lakes and estuaries. Overthe winter meetings will be arranged with owners and lessees of the rivers andlakes scheduled for examination next year.

WHEN WILL NEXT YEARS SAMPLING TAKE PLACE?The monitoring of river, lake and canal sites must take place between July andSeptember when all species of fish are available for sampling. However theestuarine sampling programme can continue until October 2008. The focus of theWFD team will be to have all personnel, equipment and training in place and beready to commence the second year of the field programme on July 1st.

WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ON THE FISHERIESELEMENT OF THE WFD?The preliminary report on the sampling programme undertaken in 2007 can beaccessed on the Central Fisheries Board website (www.cfb.ie). In addition theBoard is very pleased to have appointed Dr Fiona Kelly as the WFD projectmanager. Dr Kelly will be happy to deal with more detailed queries in relation tothe fisheries elements of the WFD going forward.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF FISH MONITORING?The information obtained from the fish monitoring programmes will be used to evaluate the measures introduced to protect and restore waters.

All enquiries to:Dr Fiona KellyWater Framework Directive Project ManagerThe Central Fisheries BoardSwords Business CampusSwords Co. DublinTel: 01 8842600Email: [email protected]: www.cfb.ie

The Water Framework Directive

Map depicts the 2001, 20,700 km2 dead zone in Gulf of Mexico. Thezone probably extends farther west, but researchers ran out of moneybefore they could finish charting the area. S. Norcross, adapted fromRabalais/LUMCON

Documents

SHERKIN COMMENTShark Attack in Irish Waters? At least 39 species of shark have been recorded in Irish waters. Declan Quigley tell us which ones pose a potential danger. 18 Issue No