Latest news with #ColinBarnes
Irish Times
02-08-2025
- General
- Irish Times
Whales in Irish waters face a new threat
Almost a quarter of a century ago, west Cork skipper Colin Barnes gave up commercial fishing to set up one of Ireland's first whale-watching businesses. Now whales have left his search area of the ocean because the sprat they feed on have been fished to near extinction. Barnes recently told The Irish Times he can no longer offer 'world-class whale-watching.' Sprat are clearly being overfished. Objectors in Co Cork plan a march this month against this uncontrolled exploitation. The protest will take place in Clonakilty on Wednesday, August 13th. According to Dr Simon Berrow of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG), whales are moving farther north in Irish waters, probably following changing fish distribution. Thankfully, the Government has resolved to impose a ban from October 1st on the trawling of sprat in Irish inshore waters by vessels over 18 metres in length. READ MORE Among the most spectacular of these giant visitors are the humpback whales, which breach right out of the ocean. The overfishing of one of their main foods could mark the second time in more than a century that whales have come under threat in Ireland. [ Why are Ireland's whales disappearing? Opens in new window ] Few Irish people are aware that this country was once the base for a Norwegian whaling operation that killed and butchered hundreds of great whales from the Atlantic Ocean. I have been to visit the site of this whalemeat factory on the island of South Inishkea off Co Mayo. Here, on the little promontory of Rusheen, lie the remains of an industrial operation based on the giants of the ocean. More than a century after they were abandoned, the brick walls and rusting machinery of the whaling station lie dismembered in the ocean winds. A second station was built on the Co Mayo mainland at Ely Bay but little trace remains apart from a scattering of bricks. Whaling boats from these two locations killed and brought back to Ireland a total of 693 whales of six species over a seven-year period from 1908 to 1914. The most numerous quarry species comprised fin whales but it is hard to believe they managed to catch 66 blue whales, rarely seen in Irish waters but now gradually increasing again in the Atlantic. This fascinating history was researched by the Belfast zoologist James Fairley and described in his book Irish Whales and Whaling. The outbreak of war in 1914 put an end to the whaling operation, although the Ely Bay station was briefly used in 1920 and 1922, during which a further 202 whales were caught. Commercial whaling was banned in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) after some species almost became globally extinct. Norwegian, Icelandic and Japanese vessels still hunt whales today but most other countries have banned this barbaric activity. In the early 1990s, then taoiseach Charles Haughey declared Europe's first Whale and Dolphin Santuary in Irish territorial waters. Although it is difficult to estimate population sizes in these animals due to their long migrations, there are signs of recovery in some species. In the 20th century sightings of the distinctive humpback whale in Irish waters were rare. However, since 1999 the IWDG has been collecting humpback whale data in Ireland including sightings by ordinary citizens. [ Ireland's 'hotbed' for whales who have migrated from southern waters Opens in new window ] With ready availability of high-quality cameras, at least 137 individual humpback whales have now been identified from their markings. The repeat matching of photos has confirmed many of these individual whales return to Irish waters annually, with an average resighting rate of about 63 animals in years when 10 or more individual whales were recorded. Dr Simon Berrow says: 'Clearly humpbacks are increasing due largely to an end to killing them and their distribution might also have been affected by climate change . Fin and sperm whale populations may possibly be recovering too. 'Grey whales were extinct in the Atlantic but are now recolonising as the population expanded through the opening up of the Northwest Passage from the Pacific due to climate warming. Among the smaller species, there has been a big increase in common dolphin numbers in Irish waters due to a shift in their distribution rather than a population increase.' The historic whaling operation in Mayo ended when the last whaling station was destroyed by fire in 1923. Still, the demise of this local industry was probably hastened by the replacement of whale oil with fossil fuels that still largely power our economy today. Now it is their key food species that is under threat in our waters. More than three decades after Irish waters were declared a whale and dolphin sanctuary, the unrelenting fishing of sprat here may be more than these giants of the ocean can survive. Richard Nairn is an ecologist and writer. His latest book is Future Wild: Nature Restoration in Ireland
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Man has supported Newport County for staggering 76 years
Colin Barnes went to his first County game in 1949 and is still supporting the club now (Image: Supplied) A 'prime supporter' has been supporting a football team for a staggering 76 years. Colin Barnes' love for Newport County began when he attended his first match in August 1949, aged just nine, at the old Somerton Park ground. Advertisement On that day, he witnessed County earn a 3-2 victory against Norwich City in front of a crowd of 16,400 people, including his dad and brother. From that point onward, for the next four decades, Mr Barnes continued to support the team, becoming increasingly passionate over time. Throughout these years, he attended every FA Cup match, both home and away, travelling to various places such as Portsmouth, Chester, Wimbledon, Bristol, Hereford, Walsall, and Burnley. He has met Alf Sherwood, Len Weare, Alan Woods, Willey Brown, and his great pal John Relish, with the players performing on a pitch which he recalls being in 'poor' condition. Advertisement In 1981, he saw County take on Carl Zeiss Jena in a thrilling encounter, and he was present during the memorable victories over West Ham and Sheffield Wednesday, adding, 'all being spectacles of good match play.' Mr Barnes also had the opportunity to see Stanley Matthews' All Stars team and once served as a linesman for a game against Doncaster Rovers. From 1985 onwards, Mr Barnes began taking his children to the games, a tradition that was passed onto his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Four of his great-grandchildren, along with his daughter Julie, are all season ticket holders. Mr Barnes, Newport County AFC's longest-surviving fan with 76 years of unbroken support, has retained match records and team photos from 1949 to 1989. In these records are some rather peculiar stats, such as the fact that in these 40 years, County played 21 different goalkeepers and fielded a total of 864 players.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Greedy' fishermen blamed for driving whales from Irish coast
A whale-watching boss has blamed overfishing for driving cetaceans away from the Irish coast as he announced his firm was going out of business. Colin Barnes announced the closure of Cork Whale Watch after 25 years in business, saying 'greedy fishermen' had ruined what used to be a premier wildlife destination. He said overfishing on the south coast by large trawlers meant sprat fish, the main food source for whales, had been fished almost to extinction, driving the humpbacks and other species elsewhere in search of food. 'Sadly, our world-class whale watching is now a thing of the past. A small number of greedy fishermen with huge trawlers have overfished the sprats to the point of near extinction,' Mr Barnes wrote on social media. 'There is nothing left for the whales to prey upon so they have moved on in search of prey elsewhere.' Mr Barnes, who has 53 years of experience in Irish waters and started his whale-watching business after leaving commercial fishing, said the change has been dramatic. He explained commercial trawlers fish for sprat in September and October when they are spawning. The fish pack themselves together and allows the fishermen to catch vast quantities of them at the same time. Mr Barnes said the depletion of stocks was an 'ecological disaster'. 'At the start of our first season in 2001 it became very clear to me that we had world-class whale watching in the waters off the West Cork coastline, featuring 3 species of baleen whales, fin, humpback and minke whales amongst huge numbers of common dolphins,' Mr Barnes added in his post. 'All we have now in our search area is just a few minke whales and small groups of dolphins, and over the last couple of years our trips have become totally disappointing.' Mr Barnes said whale activity peaked in November 2004 when a massive sprat shoal brought together what he estimated as 75 fin whales, 15 humpbacks and 150 to 200 minke whales 'amongst common dolphins in thousands'. 'There was never again such a gathering of so many cetaceans since then,' he said. Mr Barnes told The Irish Times: 'I've given it up in disgust. There is loads of plankton but the bird life is gone and the fish are gone. It's an empty, lifeless sea.' Sprat, small sardine-like fish, are crucial to the marine food web, but increased demand for fishmeal from fish farms has intensified commercial fishing of the species. The closure of Mr Barnes's business has prompted Irish government officials to promise action. Christopher O'Sullivan, the minister responsible for nature and biodiversity, said measures must be introduced 'to protect this forage species, not just for whales, but for all the other fish stocks and wildlife that depend on it – to prevent the collapse of an entire food web.' Mr O'Sullivan said Ireland hopes to emulate UK restrictions on sprat fishing, which have shown positive effects. Mark Gannon, who operates Atlantic Whale and Wildlife Tours from Courtmacsherry, agreed with Mr Barnes and said there was a severe decline in wildlife off the coast of Ireland due to overfishing. 'It's a devastating form of fishing,' Mr Gannon said. 'It's like a farmer taking all the grass out of his fields and expecting his cows to thrive.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
31-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
‘Greedy' fishermen blamed for driving whales from Irish coast
A whale-watching boss has blamed overfishing for driving cetaceans away from the Irish coast as he announced his firm was going out of business. Colin Barnes announced the closure of Cork Whale Watch after 25 years in business, saying 'greedy fishermen' had ruined what used to be a premier wildlife destination. He said overfishing on the south coast by large trawlers meant sprat fish, the main food source for whales, had been fished almost to extinction, driving the humpbacks and other species elsewhere in search of food. 'Sadly, our world-class whale watching is now a thing of the past. A small number of greedy fishermen with huge trawlers have overfished the sprats to the point of near extinction,' Mr Barnes wrote on social media. 'There is nothing left for the whales to prey upon so they have moved on in search of prey elsewhere.' Mr Barnes, who has 53 years of experience in Irish waters and started his whale-watching business after leaving commercial fishing, said the change has been dramatic. He explained commercial trawlers fish for sprat in September and October when they are spawning. The fish pack themselves together and allows the fishermen to catch vast quantities of them at the same time. Mr Barnes said the depletion of stocks was an 'ecological disaster'. 'At the start of our first season in 2001 it became very clear to me that we had world-class whale watching in the waters off the West Cork coastline, featuring 3 species of baleen whales, fin, humpback and minke whales amongst huge numbers of common dolphins,' Mr Barnes added in his post. 'All we have now in our search area is just a few minke whales and small groups of dolphins, and over the last couple of years our trips have become totally disappointing.' Mr Barnes said whale activity peaked in November 2004 when a massive sprat shoal brought together what he estimated as 75 fin whales, 15 humpbacks and 150 to 200 minke whales 'amongst common dolphins in thousands'. 'There was never again such a gathering of so many cetaceans since then,' he said. Mr Barnes told The Irish Times: 'I've given it up in disgust. There is loads of plankton but the bird life is gone and the fish are gone. It's an empty, lifeless sea.' Sprat, small sardine-like fish, are crucial to the marine food web, but increased demand for fishmeal from fish farms has intensified commercial fishing of the species. The closure of Mr Barnes's business has prompted Irish government officials to promise action. Christopher O'Sullivan, the minister responsible for nature and biodiversity, said measures must be introduced 'to protect this forage species, not just for whales, but for all the other fish stocks and wildlife that depend on it – to prevent the collapse of an entire food web.' Mr O'Sullivan said Ireland hopes to emulate UK restrictions on sprat fishing, which have shown positive effects. Mark Gannon, who operates Atlantic Whale and Wildlife Tours from Courtmacsherry, agreed with Mr Barnes and said there was a severe decline in wildlife off the coast of Ireland due to overfishing. 'It's a devastating form of fishing,' Mr Gannon said. 'It's like a farmer taking all the grass out of his fields and expecting his cows to thrive.'
Irish Times
31-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Why are Ireland's whales disappearing?
Aren't huge whales always being spotted off Ireland's coast? Skipper Colin Barnes, who gave up commercial fishing in 2001 to set up one of Ireland's first whale -watching businesses, has said the whales have left his search area of ocean off Cork because the sprat they feed on have been fished to near extinction. He could no longer offer 'world-class whale-watching'. This decline contrasts with evidence of a rich mix of cetaceans increasingly found off Ireland including whales, dolphins and porpoises. There is no doubt some are here more frequently due to changes in water temperature caused by global warming or having to go further afield due to overfishing elsewhere. But declaring the territorial waters of Ireland a designated whale and dolphin sanctuary in 1991 helped. This coincided with an increase in numbers following an international ban on killing whales introduced in the 1980s. READ MORE [ 'It's an empty, lifeless sea': Whales leave Cork waters, putting watchers out of business Opens in new window ] It fostered a new form of ecotourism, centring on Ireland's rich marine biodiversity, though some occasionally encroached too close to these magnificent creatures. To see a fin whale, the second largest mammal in the world, almost on our doorstep was awe-inspiring. A humpback whale swims off the coast of west Cork accompanied by a common dolphin in 2021. Photograph: Nick Pfeiffer/Provision Why are sprats so important? Sprats are small fish indigenous to Ireland and a rich protein source for whales but also other cetaceans and seabirds. They dominate the inshore coastline in the Celtic Sea at shallow depths, making them especially vulnerable when trawlers fish for them at spawning stage from October on with no limits on catch. Deep-sea cameraman Ken O'Sullivan has described this as 'ecological suicide' when there is little data on the species, adding that the precautionary principle should apply. Moreover, it is not a commercial catch with most sprat sold to fish farms as fishmeal. [ Shining new light on sperm whales and the importance of Irish waters to them Opens in new window ] Barnes claimed Government apathy and inaction towards fish conservation, however, has led to the demise of the fish by just a handful of large trawlers in Irish waters. What can be done about it? At a recent public meeting in west Cork there were calls for a ban on sprat fishing in inshore coastal waters. In 2019, government efforts to introduce a ban were successfully challenged in the courts. In 2024, a public consultation invited views on introducing the ban again. It attracted more than 5,500 submissions, but campaigners say more than a year on nothing has happened. Minister of State with responsibility for nature and biodiversity, Cork South West TD Christopher O'Sullivan, has accepted the need to 'introduce measures to protect this forage species – not just for whales, but for all the other fish stocks and wildlife that depend on it – to prevent the collapse of an entire food web". Marine ecologists and those in the whale watching business believe a strictly enforced ban cannot come soon enough.
