Ten students from the coastal counties of Donegal, Galway, Waterford, Wicklow and Cork recently graduated from the Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) National Fisheries College, Greencastle, Co. Donegal following their completion of the Commercial Fishing Course.
Ten students from the coastal counties of Donegal, Galway, Waterford, Wicklow and Cork recently graduated from the Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) National Fisheries College, Greencastle, Co. Donegal following their completion of the Commercial Fishing Course.
One of the students, Ronan Lowther from Mountcharles, Co. Donegal was presented with the ‘BIM Commercial Fishing Student of the Year’ award by guest speaker, John O’Kane, Manager of Foyle Fishermen’s Co-Op. John congratulated all of the students on their achievement; ‘I am delighted to be here today to witness first hand the high calibre of young students successfully completing this important training delivered by BIM. It is encouraging to see young entrants enter the industry and it is important to recognise the important role a deckhand plays in the food chain as their handling of the product has a direct impact on the price of the catch’
Captain James Hegarty, Principal of the BIM College emphasised the importance of putting what they have learnt into practice; ‘I would like to encourage all of the students to put the safety techniques they have learnt on this course into practice in their fishing careers. I would particularly like to stress the importance of wearing a Personal Flotation Device at all times while working on deck. I would like to wish all the graduates every success in the fishing industry’
The FETAC Commercial Fishing course is one of two courses run at the College which is aimed at young people entering the fishing industry. The modules studied are Fishing Vessel Operations, Fishing Gear Maintenance and Repair, Net Construction, Safety at Sea, Navigation and Stability, Communications, Computer Applications, Information Technology, and Marine Engine Operations. On successful completion of the course, the student is awarded with a FETAC Level 5 Certificate in Commercial Fishing. The next course is scheduled to commence in September 2013.
BIM organises a series of training courses for the fishing, processing and aquaculture sectors including Marine Engineering, Basic Safety Training, Commercial Fishing Certificates, Aquaculture, Risk based HACCP for seafood and Fish Handling and Filleting.
Image: Back row L-R Joseph Hurley, Kinsale, Co Cork; Eamon Byrne, Aran Islands; Andrew McKeever, Greencastle, Co Donegal; Jason Rose, Inver, Co Donegal; Manus Boyle, Dungloe, Co Donegal and Shane Friel, Fanad, Co Donegal
Front row L-R Colby Lewis, Youghal, Co Waterford; John O’Kane ( Manager, Foyle Fishermens Co-Op), Ronan Lowther, Mountcharles, Co Donegal ( Student of the course award winner), Cara Rawdon (Chairman Foyle Fishermans Co-Op) and David Quinn, Arklow, Co Wicklow
