Sprat made the national airwaves in late May, when former Whale Watching Skipper Colin Barnes and leading Underwater Cameraman and Documentary Film-maker Ken-O’Sullivan Joined Claire Byrne on her mid-morning current-affairs show to discuss the staggering decline in marine wildlife off the West Cork coast, and the importance of Sprat in maintaining a healthy marine ecosystem.
In the clip Colin explains what brought him to West Cork as a commercial fisher in the 1970s, his decision to leave fishing and set up one of Ireland’s first whale-watching ventures around the turn of the millennium, and the incredible wildlife he experienced and shared with his guests over the next 25 years.
He explains the crucial role Sprat play in the marine ecosystem, transferring the energy and nutrients locked in plankton to higher tiers on the food chain, providing food for seabirds, fish, seals, dolphins, whales and more. He goes on to reveal how the industrial removal of sprat by a few large local boats has undermined that ecosystem, and ultimately his business.
Ken O’Sullivan adds his insight and expertise, explaining how fish quotas work, what the numbers mean, how Sprat fishing in Ireland remains completely unregulated, and the lunacy of continuing to target Sprat in the absence of scientific data allowing the calculation of sustainable catch limits.
You can listen to the clip online via the RTÈ Radio 1 Website here.
If you feel strongly about the Government’s obligation to protect our oceans and preserve the marine ecosystem that underpins coastal communities around Ireland, find out how you can Help Save Our Sprat!