Blackout on Bere Island

BY KIERAN O'MAHONY AND HELEN RIDDELL

THE electricity outage on Bere Island recently, which saw over 200 residents losing power for more than a day, could have been avoided if a proposed ban on inshore trawling had been implemented, according to a West Cork inshore fisherman.

Some residents were left without heating for 30 hours, while others were forced to relocate to the mainland to access electricity and the internet for working remotely, following the outage after a trawler caused damage to a subsea power cable.

Many islanders also rely on power to pump water from their wells and, due to the sporadic nature of mobile coverage on the island, many homes were also left without any form of communication.

Speaking to The Southern Star, Michael Desmond, chair of the National Inshore Fisherman’s Association (NIFA), said the incident could have been avoided had the government been able to implement the six nautical mile limit, whereby boats over 18m in length work where they were built to work – on the offshore fishing grounds, and not in the narrow channels of shallow water separating Bere Island from the mainland.

‘It wasn’t just a dark day for the residents of Bere Island, but also for the inshore fishermen who were again reminded of the adverse effects these boats and the gear they tow have when operating in inshore waters, compared to the smaller vessels who don’t have the capacity of working far from the shoreline.’

‘The six-mile limit should have been a new dawn for the inshore sector, but instead the law was struck down. It flies in the face of any kind of sustainable ecosystem and fisheries management, strips the inshore waters of the food supply needed by birds and other wildlife. By default, this has had a direct negative effect on the livelihood and incomes of inshore fisherman.’

He said it also threatens the future of sections of the eco-tourism industry, which depends on the once-bountiful stocks of forage fish to bring whales and dolphins within their operating range.

He welcomed the fact that Minister Charlie McConalogue said that a second public consultation is to be held on this issue.

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said the damaged Bere Island power cable had once again showed the destructive nature of pair trawling and she called for the re-instatement of the ban on inshore trawling.

‘The trawler which caused the damage was one of two boats which had been fishing for sprat on inshore waters and the damage done to these power cables is indicative of the destruction pair trawling causes on our seafloor,’ she told The Southern Star.

Deputy Cairns pointed out that it has been three years since the High Court overturned the Government’s ban on vessels over 18m trawling within a six-mile limit of the shore.

‘While the ban itself was legally sound, the court ruled that the government had failed to comply with the legal process for notifying EU and UK authorities of the policy. For years I have called on the Minister to re-instate the ban on inshore trawling. However, three years on, the Minister is only now at the stage of planning a public consultation.’

Cork South West Fianna Fáil TD Christopher O’Sullivan also called for the cessation of pair trawling and pointed out that it is well known the devastation that it causes to wildlife.

‘I have to speak on behalf of the entire community who were left without power for two days in the bitter winter. Fishing is incredibly important to the region and all fishermen I know are very responsible and hardworking. We must do our best to prevent things like this happening in the future.’

A spokesperson for ESB Networks said that following the outage, repairs efforts started immediately, which included a diver safely locating the damaged cable so ESB Networks crew could carry out the required restoration work.

‘Power was restored to all impacted customers by 11pm on Friday night and we apologise to those impacted for the disruption caused.’

Despite the outage, the island community came together to assist anyone living on their own. Owners of the Bere Island Hotel provided water to islands, with the help of their generator.

They also offered a space to charge phones and other devices, while Berehaven Golf Club offered showering and laundrette facilities.

Local ferryman Colum Harrington was a member of the diving team and raised the cable to the surface where the damage was inspected by ESB Network crews.