See Unusual Fish on the Celtic Explorer at Seafest

See Unusual Fish on the Celtic Explorer at Seafest

Full programme here

This is an Orange Roughy, a deep water fish that is now more popular with consumers since he got a change of name.
Previous name was Slimehead! It is a bottom living species.

This Bearfish, pictured also with the Roughy above, is common in the
Eastern Atlantic. Normal length is about 13cm.

This is a Ray. Fishmonger Pat O'Connell: Ray wing is a really economical fish choice and delivers a good quantity of meat which is easily accessed. 

The red mullet is common in the Eastern Atlantic, including around Ireland.

Look at the teeth on this fellow. No wonder it is called the Rabbit fish. The teeth and the big eyes (below) help its survival
in the dark deep ocean. The proper name is Chimaera and it is found in the north eastern Atlantic at anything
 from 40 metres down to over 1,600.

This is the Red Gurnard. There are two types; the Tub Gurnard is pictured below.

Open wide. The Gurnard is well equipped to sweep in anything nutritious in the vicinity.

Didn't note the name of this one!

This is a small Black Shark, another bottom dweller, again with big eyes and sharp teeth. Many of these deepsea fish
have sharp "spikes" to deter predators. This shark also has a tough skin, tough enough to use as sandpaper!

The fish room is just one of the attractions - a highlight for me - on the Celtic Explorer which does fascinating work in the oceans around our coast. The crew here are also very helpful and it is a very highly recommended visit.

SeaFest Rotation Gone by the Bord? Millions Slip Through Cork Nets as Galway Gains

SeaFest Rotation Gone by the Bord?

Millions Slip Through Cork Nets as Galway Gains

Rory O'Connell, a regular at SeaFest

Ireland’s national maritime festival SeaFest attracted 101,113 visitors to Galway Harbour during the three day event in 2017, generating €6.3 million for the city.

The figures, details here, showed a phenomenal 68% growth in attendance in just one year. The 2016 SeaFest saw 60,000 visitors attend the festival in Galway, and in 2015, its inaugural year, it netted 10,000 visitors.

It has been confirmed that SeaFest 2018 will take place in Galway from 29th June to 1st July.  It incorporates a series of marine-related business and research events, the annual Our Ocean Wealth Summit, as well as a maritime festival.

Run by the Marine Institute, with major partners BIM (Bord Iascaigh Mara) and Bord Bia, the initial Seafest was held in Ringaksiddy, County Cork, in 2015 when The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, was Simon Coveney TD. Report on the Cork event here.

There was much more than fish demos in Ringaskiddy with linked events around the harbour including Captain Your Own Ship in the Simulator of the National Maritime College, the base for the event. There were SeaFest Science Talks, the BIM Beaufort Scale Hurricane Experience, Marine Recreation and Tourism and much more. 

It was a two day event and the impression given then was that this festival would “tour” Ireland annually and “plans are in hand to bring it to Galway in 2016”. So Cork is not the only loser as the Festival now seems set for a permanent stay in Galway. Fishing places such as Killybegs (Ireland’s largest fishing port), Dingle, Kilmore Quay, Howth, Greenore, Castletownbere, Burtonport, Dunmore East and Greencastle, and Cork of course, will be wondering and, one suspects, waiting.

Read all about SeaFest and its success in Galway here. 

Taste of the Week. Focus on Fish

Taste of the Week

Focus on Fish

If you’re a regular here you’ll know that we usually have a Taste of the Week, just one at a time. But, shortly after the marvellous Seafest at Ringaskiddy, we are still on a fish trend and have quite a few tasty bits.

Let’s start with Kilmore Quay Seafood. They had a string of products at SeaFest including fish burgers, even fish sausages. The one that impressed us though was the pack of Haddock Goujons, Hand cut fresh fillets of Haddock tossed in breadcrumbs with a Lemon and Pepper seasoning. (Available Frozen and Chilled).

Quite often, when you buy goujons in a store or order them in a restaurant, you have more breadcrumbs than fish and sometimes have to poke around to find the flesh. Not the case here. The fish is almost bursting out of the crumb and very tasty fish it is too.

Catch 'em young, at Seafest!

We got Smoked Rainbow Trout and Barbecued Rainbow Trout from Goatsbridge Trout Farm. One of the advantages of visiting the Goatsbridge website is that you’ll find a load of recipes there. Mag and Ger Kirwan are the people behind the farm (which you can visit). And another handy product that you can keep in stock is their Tinned Trout. And there's much more, including the much sought after Trout Caviar!

Last but not least we can recommend the products of the renowned Woodcock Smokery in West Cork. “All of our products are from fresh, wild fish caught by sustainable methods. We use no artificial chemicals or dyes, only traditional smoking methods over native hardwoods.” Fish smoked by Sally Barnes and daughter Joleine include Haddock, Pollock, Mackerel (our purchase), Tuna, and Salmon. And the good news is that they run a Mail order service.