Ireland’s leading maritime newspaper covering the Coastal, Fishing and Maritime Communities
In this month’s edition -
Once Lost Inshore Fleet Cannot Be Easily Rebuilt - NIFA warns of dangers ahead and calls for a major plan for inshore fisheries; The Aquaculture Licensing Scandal; The human dimension of a mackerel season that is at the crossroads – Blink and you might miss it; Fisheries must not be left on the sideline in development of MPAs, as has happened previously; the industry is in the worst place it has ever been ....
.... all of this plus so much more in our February issue
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Tom MacSweeney's SEASCAPES Podcast FEBRUARY:
On this edition of our maritime programme, SEASCAPES, presented by Tom MacSweeney .......
THE AQUACULTURE LICENCING SCANDAL
This month’s Podcast reports on the major problem affecting development of Ireland’s aquaculture sector – delays in licencing which have been going on for many years. Despite that the rest of the ocean economy is growing and a major contributor to national welfare, as the programme also reports. There is also a report on the new currach training programme for young people in Cork and the story of how Brendan Behan did not keep a job with the Commissioners of Irish Lights.
.... Listen to the podcast by clicking on the image above.
MARINE TIMES NEWS February 1st:
Service workers of fishing industry must be supported in future plans
Service industries that support the fishing industry must be included in any supports to the sector, a Fine Gael Senator has said. Senator Manus Boyle, Fine Gael’s Seanad spokesperson for the fisheries, said representatives from across the fishing industry are calling for immediate action to support the struggling industry.
“Across our coastal towns and villages, there’s real concern about the future of fishing in Ireland." Full story here"
MARINE TIMES NEWS January 28th:
Bristow’s First all-female Search and Rescue technical crew in Ireland
Winch Operator Kim Germishuys and Winch Paramedic Sophie Thompson have made a little piece of Bristow history, by becoming the first all-female Search and Rescue (SAR) technical crew with Bristow in Ireland.
Kim and Sophie, who are both part of the Bristow Ireland transition team, started on shift together at the Sligo base, Ireland, on 16th January, before taking to the sky on a training exercise with the cargo ship, Vikingbank. Full story here
MARINE TIMES NEWS January 21st:
Fishery Liaison and Community Liaison Services announced for National DMAP
Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Darragh O'Brien, and Minister of State at the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, Timmy Dooley, are pleased to announce the appointments of Fishery Liaison and Community Liaison Services for the National Designated Maritime Area Plan (DMAP) for Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE).
Community Liaison Services for the DMAP will be led by Captain Brian Fitzgerald, while Fisheries Liaison Services will be led by Mr Mark O'Reilly of Fishery Liaisons Ltd. Full story here
MARINE TIMES NEWS January 20th:
Arranmore mum and sons set their sights on world’s toughest row
Mum Sharon and her two sons, Evan and Glenn O’Donnell are taking on The World’s Toughest Row to challenge themselves against the power of Mother Nature and raise money for the RNLI.
The World’s Toughest Row is a 3,000-mile endurance challenge across the Atlantic, from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua in the Caribbean. The O’Donnell trio will row continuously for around 40-60+ days, facing relentless waves, isolation, and the unforgiving force of the ocean. Full story here
No Resolution to Aquaculture Licencing Problems at Oireachtas
20-year licences are necessary to ensure the future of the aquaculture industry, because there is no encouragement for investment and development, nor to young people to enter the sector under the present licencing system, the Oireachts Committee on Fisheries and the Marine was told today.
The Department of the Marine, Bord Iascaigh Mhara and the Marine Institute attended the Committee meeting. Full story here
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The Marine Times Newspaper is Ireland’s leading maritime newspaper covering the Coastal, Fishing and Maritime Communities. We publish a monthly newspaper available in all good shops but also provide additional topical news from around our coast free on our website - help keep it free by buying us a cheap old cup of coffee by clicking on the image above
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Tom MacSweeney's SEASCAPES Podcast JANUARY:
On this edition of our maritime programme, SEASCAPES, presented by Tom MacSweeney .......
The EU is no friend of the Irish fishing industry
This is the lead story on the January edition of SEASCAPES where John Lynch, CEO of the Irish South and East FPO says that other European nations who have benefited from fishing in Irish waters want to take everything and leave nothing for Irish fishermen. Other stories on the first SEASCAPES Podcast for 2026 – the amazing smallest seabird which travelled 300,000 kms and has a connection to St.Peter and the enthusiastic Rosslare Maritime group which has launched its own maritime Podcast.
.... Listen to the podcast by clicking on the image above.
Tom MacSweeney's SEASCAPES Podcast DECEMBER 2025:
On this edition of our maritime programme, SEASCAPES, presented by Tom MacSweeney .......
Oysters are heroes, says the lady who has grown them for 35 years in Dungarvan Harbour - Cliona Mhic Giolla Chuda General Manager and co-Founder of Waterford Oysters on the December Podcast and is the subject of our monthly INTERVIEW on Page 39. “It’s an intensive business,” she says after 35 years in the business. “It’s not for the faint-hearted because there are bad years as well as good.” Also on this month’s Podcast and in our December issue of the Marine Times: The Irish Polar Institute corrects a ‘mean action’ by explorer Ernest Shackleton. Listen and read more on our HERITAGE Page; Also there is the story of the crewman from an inland county who survived the Titanic; And - an Arctic whale arrives in Donegal – Read More in the IWDG column.
.... Listen to the podcast by clicking on the image above.
Tom MacSweeney's SEASCAPES Podcast NOVEMBER:
On this edition of our maritime programme, SEASCAPES, presented by Tom MacSweeney .......
Why has the Government cutback its Budget provision for the fishing industry? When the industry is in extreme difficulty, the Government has reduced financial support by nearly €20m. On the November edition of the MARINE TIMES SEASCAPES PODCAST with Executive Editor Tom MacSweeney, industry leaders give their critical response.
.... Listen to the podcast by clicking on the image above.
Tom MacSweeney's SEASCAPES Podcast OCTOBER:
On this edition of our maritime programme, SEASCAPES, presented by Tom MacSweeney .......
Buy the MARINE TIMES in the shops or online now and listen to our extra service - the OCTOBER edition of Executive Editor Tom MacSweeney’s SEASCAPES Podcast, which this month hears from the Chairman of NIFA, the National Inshore Fishermen’s Association, who talks to Tom MacSweeney on this month’s edition of SEASCAPES for the MARIME TIMES, explaining why he has been thinking about leaving the fishing industry because it has become so difficult to make a living.
.... Listen to the podcast by clicking on the image above.
Tom MacSweeney's SEASCAPES Podcast SEPTEMBER:
On this edition of our maritime programme, SEASCAPES, presented by Tom MacSweeney .......
Buy the MARINE TIMES in the shops or online now and listen to our extra service - the SEPTEMER edition of Executive Editor Tom MacSweeney’s SEASCAPES Podcast, which this month hears from a sailor who spent ten years restoring a boat and then sold it – and that there ar 750,000 seabirds in Ireland; the RNLI needs more volunteers for its lifeboats and, how part of an original Naval Service shipwreck has become part of a house renovation on Cape Clear Island
.... Listen to the podcast by clicking on the image above.
Tom MacSweeney's SEASCAPES Podcast AUGUST:
On this edition of our maritime programme, SEASCAPES, presented by Tom MacSweeney .......
.... Has the Government Got the Backbone to Fight for Irish Fishing? That is a tough question, but it is asked on this month’s SEASCAPES Podcast. Also on the Podcast – Fish farmers need help; Searching for Songs of the Sea; There is also a housing crisis on the offshore islands and – when a submarine blew itself up off Dunmore East. There is always something interesting in and about the sea.
The Podcast is presented by Executive Editor, Tom MacSweeney .... Listen to the podcast by clicking on the image above.
Tom MacSweeney's SEASCAPES Podcast JULY:
On this edition of our maritime programme, SEASCAPES, presented by Tom MacSweeney .......
.... you can hear from a man who has taken upon himself the task of widening maritime knowledge amongst young people and about a son who succeeded where his father failed, becoming the first person to cross the Irish Sea in a balloon. There is a lot more also to listen to – voices from the fishing industry and the leisure sector. There is always something interesting in and about the sea.
The Podcast is presented by Executive Editor, Tom MacSweeney .... Listen to the podcast by clicking on the image above.
Tom MacSweeney's SEASCAPES Podcast JUNE:
On this edition of our maritime programme, SEASCAPES, presented by Tom MacSweeney .......
Where family heritage meets daily life - That is the theme of this month’s SEASCAPES Podcast on the MARINE TIMES, presented by Executive Editor, Tom MacSweeney..
The podcast features two families, one from Cork which has invested in a multi-million Euro seafood centre and the other whose members have given 140 years of service driving cranes in Waterford Port.
The Good family traces its maritime history back to running a ferry boat in Cork Harbour. The O’Hanlons work high above ships in Waterford to keep exports and imports moving. Donagh Good has taken over the running of the Good Fish Company from his father Denis, who started it with one fish shop in 1988. He is one of the youngest company Managing Directors in the country. His family has invested millions with confidence in the future of the seafood industry. Donagh outlines why and says that the ‘mood music’ is changing for the better in the fishing industry.
The Podcast is presented by Executive Editor, Tom MacSweeney .... Listen to the podcast by clicking on the image above.
Tom MacSweeney's SEASCAPES Podcast MAY:
On this edition of our maritime programme, SEASCAPES, presented by Tom MacSweeney .......
On the May edition of SEASCAPES from the MARINE TIMES – the Chairman of the new Oireachtas Committee on Fisheries and the Marine outlines how he intends to focus the work of the Committee. First-time Sinn Fein TD from Waterford, Conor D. McGuinness, who comes from a fishing family - his father being the well-known South East Coast fisherman, Brian McGuinness, says it is a Committee with a broad remit and he will examine regulations affecting the industry where it seems at times that policing is too severe and Irish boats are boarded more often than foreign. And Finian O'Sullivan, Chairman of the National Committee of IFA Aquaculture assess the sector and its future. The Podcast is presented by Executive Editor, Tom MacSweeney .... Listen to the podcast by clicking on the image above.
Tom MacSweeney's SEASCAPES Podcast April:
On this edition of our maritime programme, SEASCAPES, presented by Tom MacSweeney .......
On the APRIL edition - “There’s a wonderful vibrancy around the marine sector at the moment ...” So says Minister of State Timmy Dooley in his first radio interview in his dual maritime and fisheries post, on this month’s SEASCAPES Marine Times Podcast, presented by Executive Editor, Tom MacSweeney. There is also a discussion between the two sides of wind farm development and its effects on the fishing industry; a visit to a €25m ship bought by a Cork company and the question – Is the Irish public ocean literate? is considered .... Listen to the podcast by clicking on the image above
Tom MacSweeney's SEASCAPES Podcast March:
On this edition of our maritime programme, SEASCAPES, presented by Tom MacSweeney .......
On the MARCH edition - Fish farming will be a vital supplier of food to future generations; Are whales changing which parts of Ireland they visit? Once Navy – Always Navy’ and the Waterford Estuary harbour which has changed, but not for the better .... Listen to the podcast by clicking on the image above
Tom MacSweeney's SEASCAPES Podcast February:
On this edition of our maritime programme, SEASCAPES, presented by Tom MacSweeney .......
The “insane” treatment of Ireland’s fishermen is discussed on the February edition of the Podcast, highlighting the way the Irish fishing industry is treated about Bluefin Tuna. John Shine, a leading figure for 20 years in the marketing and selling of Irish fish, highlights the way that Irish fishermen are prevented from catching Bluefin Tuna in Irish waters, while other nations are allowed to do so. He says that proper management of the industry is lacking and, unless its demise is stopped and the industry sustained, he is doubtful and concerned about its future. .... Listen to the podcast by clicking on the image above
Tom MacSweeney's SEASCAPES Podcast January:
On this first edition of our maritime programme, SEASCAPES, presented by Tom MacSweeney .......
The Polish solo sailor who is Ireland’s only representative in what is being described as “a world first event, never attempted before …” explains why he intends to spend over a year sailing 26,000 miles alone around the world on a 19-foot plywood boat which he has built himself….. The Managing Director of a Valentia Island boatyard discusses how it has built the first Naval vessel in Ireland for forty years…. and a sailmaker explains why he built a maritime cannon .... Listen to the podcast by clicking on the image above
MARINE TIMES PODCAST December:
New government must end naivety towards fishing
Tom MacSweeney talks to Brendan Byrne, Chief Executive of the IFPEA
The Chief Executive of the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association says there has been naivete amongst policymakers who thought that the fishing industry would reconfigure itself, despite the losses caused by Brexit.
The entire sector, catching and processing, is in a once-in-a-lifetime crisis, according to CEO Brendan Byrne. He also challenges the rigour of controls enforcement on Irish fishing by the SFPA, at a level which does not happen in other Member States, he says in this Podcast interview with Marine Times Executive Editor / News, Tom MacSweeney. Listen to the Podcast here
Tom MacSweeney's MARITIME PODCAST - DECEMBER
On the December edition of Tom MacSweeney's Maritime Podcast, Ireland’s only maritime broadcast:
Why does Ireland, an island nation, not have a traditional fish dish for Christmas? Other nations do, so why not Ireland? Appropriately, this month being Christmastime, that question is raised in the December edition of my Podcast by historian Antoin O’Callaghan. While other nations make fish a Christmas dish, he wonders why Ireland does not and suggests The Feast of the Seven Fishes. But, will Ireland have enough fish to meet its needs? Perhaps not. The Chief Executive of the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters, Brendan Byrne, says this has been a very bad year for processors. That’s all on the December edition, with a look back at storylines from previous editions.
MARINE TIMES PODCAST September:
Does the Government want a fishing industry or does it want to let it continue into terminal decline?
“The Government must be clear --------The industry needs real help…”
Tom MacSweeney interviews Dominic Rihan, Chief Executive ofthe KFO
Our main News story in the September edition reports a fall of more than €37m in landings by the Irish fleet. All sectors of the industry are united in opinion – it is in its worst crisis ever and the Government is not doing enough to support it.
In this month’s Marine Times Podcast the Chief Executive of the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation, Dominic Rihan, discusses the situation with Marine Times Executive News Editor, Tom MacSweeney. A strategic review is needed of where the industry is going, he says and raises the question - does the Government want a fishing industry or does it want to let it continue into terminal decline?
“That is a stark reality,” says Mr.Rihan, “but it has to be recognised.” Listen to the Podcast here
MARINE TIMES PODCAST August:
Do you accept that the fishing industry is in a very serious crisis situation, Minister?
Tom MacSweeney interviews Minister Charlie McConalogue
In the August issue of the Marine Times, Tom MacSweeney interviews Minister McConalogue - challenging him on a number of aspects affecting the fishing industry, asking him questions on why he insists on putting accross the EU oinion to the industry rather than voicing Irish concerns sufficiently, asking him how is it realistic to encourage young people into the Irish fishing industry ....
Listen to the full MARINE TIMES interview with Tom MacSweeney. Listen to the Podcast here
PODCAST 3rd July:
Government and EU must deal with how offshore wind campaigners and biodiversity campaigners are squeezing the fishing industry says leading fisheries CEO
The Chief Executive of the Irish Fish Producers’ Organisation has warned of potential conflict between fishermen as traditional marine users and the new users of the blue economy.
In the front page leading story of the July edition of the MARINE TIMES, Aodh O’Donnell says there is an impending serious ‘spatial squeeze’ on Ireland’s fishing industry due to the way offshore renewable energy strategy is being implemented nationally, because there has been a failure to co-ordinate the roll-out of ORE and biodiversity strategies with the need to protect the fishing industry and its traditional fishing grounds..
He says that “the fishing sector fully supports the need for climate change measures, but there is a need for balanced thinking and understanding that fishing is a source of food security.
In this MARINE TIMES interview he outlined fishermen’s concerns to Tom MacSweeney. Listen to the Podcast here
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