Sea Alarm workshop and training held in Ireland

Sea Alarm was asked to present and train on a response procedure created in 2013 to representatives of SEA-PT, the Irish Coast Guard, and interested NGOs during a dedicated full day workshop held in Limerick on 16 May, 2014.

One year ago, Sea Alarm developed this response procedure, customised for the Shannon Area, for SEA-PT, as part of their ongoing work on the development of Irish wildlife response preparedness. During the 2014 workshop, Sea Alarm’s Hugo Nijkamp provided a short course in which a wide range of topics were presented along with a table top exercise.

The aim of the first day was to provide a better understanding of the management issues involved in a wildlife response and to explain the key guidance of the Response Procedure as it relates to such a response in the Shannon area.

On Saturday, Claude Velter (WRC Ostend) and Sascha Regmann (ProBird) provided a full day course to volunteers based on the POSOW material, developed as part of a European project. For some of the volunteers the course provided a refresher, for other attendees the material was new.

Highlights of this day were the outdoor practice of bird stabilisation and search/collection skills, and the use of the wildlife equipment kit stockpiled by SEA-PT. It is SEA-PT’s intention to develop a training and exercise programme and encourage the development of greater preparedness at a national level.