Crab fisherman need department’s help after Ophelia

My friends, the local crustacean fishermen of West Cork’s Seven Heads, have still received no help from the Department of the Marine in replacing equipment lost during Storm Ophelia, writes Damien Enright.

Following an article in The Irish Examiner on November 4 detailing the losses, sympathy was expressed by the Government, but there has been no action.

To make a sustainable living, Colin and Ken Cashman need to have up to 500 pots in the water. Pots cost €50 each, ropes about the same — €20,000 worth was lost or damaged. The shortfall threatens to make their livelihood no longer viable.