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WHALE-WATCHING, along with scuba diving and sea angling competitions, are among the activities to be encouraged by the South Western Regional Fisheries Board over the next five years, together with more traditional angling forms already strong in the region.

Now updating its five-year strategic plan for Cork and Kerry, the board - which governs from Kerry Head to Ballycotton, a 1,000km stretch of coastline - considers that "the most effective way to protect our fisheries environment in the long-term is to ensure that there are growing wealth-generating sectors depending on its protection", according to chief executive Aidan Barry.