Hello Ireland. It’s me. Your sea.
This may be the most important time for Ireland’s oceans.
Click to play below.
Irish Seas - A free for all
Although Ireland is a little island, we actually have a maritime area that is seven times the island of Ireland!!
But only 9% of Ireland’s oceans are protected. The rest is a free for all.
In this 9%, there is not one single ‘No Catch Zone’ in Ireland. Not one.
What does this mean? You can fish anywhere, anytime in Irish seas. And this is causing problems.
Irish waters are considered whale and dolphin sanctuaries. In spring every year, basking sharks (conservation status: vulnerable) flock to our coasts and its common to catch a glimpse of these magnificent creatures from the shore or when out on a paddleboard or kayak. Irish seas are also home to the rare grey seal and 24 species of catecean!! Oh and we can’t forget about Fungi (RIP), our former resident dolphin in Dingle, Co Kerry. We also have 450 bird species of which many rely on the ocean for food. This includes our adorable puffins who come to our shores to nest from April to July every year.
So why aren’t we protecting this marine life? The short answer is…..…Fishing.
Ireland does have Marine Protected Areas but they are not very good at protecting marine life. There may be no trawlers but the Irish MPAs still allow gillnets and pots and there is little management or enforcement of this. This means not only that overfishing becomes a big problem, but that many marine species are caught in bycatch.
What is a Marine Protected Area (MPA)?
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) defines a marine protected area as “any area of intertidal or subtidal terrain, together with its overlying water and associated flora, fauna, historical and cultural features, which has been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part or all of the enclosed environment”.
In response to the biodiversity and climate crises, the Irish government has pledged to create increase Marine Protected Areas from 2% to 30% by 2030, in line with other global and EU ambitious targets as part of its new report “Expanding Ireland’s Marine Protected Area Network” published October 2020.
Its a very ambitious target but a welcome one! I was lucky to work on the public consultation for Irish MPAs, where Irish citizens had the chance to tell the government that we want more MPAs. You can view Ireland’s progress here.
Why do we need MPAs?
We need at least 30% of the ocean to be highly protected by MPAs in order to rebuild the ocean’s former productivity by:
protecting against overfishing
stopping noise and waste pollution by trawlers which help whales
safeguard and replenish ocean life.
allow safe breeding grounds for threatened and endangered species, such as whales
protect habitats
help restore ocean ecosystems
increase biodiversity
FAIR SEAS
A fantastic movement is underway in Ireland called Fair Seas. This is a coalition of Ireland’s leading environmental non-governmental organisations (eNGOs) and environmental networks. They are calling for 30% of Ireland’s ocean territory to be fully protected by 2030. They says that “This is our greatest chance at restoring ocean health and we must act now. Fair Seas’ aim is to see Ireland, with a renewed appreciation of the ocean, become a world leader in marine protection, giving our species, habitats and coastal communities the opportunity to thrive.”
Read the full report which outlines 16 areas where Ireland could set up MPAs.
Read more about Fair Seas and watch their award-winning video below!
Other work on MPAs on a Europe-wide scale
It is clear that we need bigger and better managed marine protected areas in Ireland in order to reverse biodiversity declines and mitigate the worst effects of climate breakdown. The Irish Wildlife Trust has launched a project aimed at engaging with the general public, policymakers and marine stakeholders and submit responses to relevant public consultations to help achieve their objective of creating bigger and better MPAs.
The Irish Wildlife Trust are working with Coastwatch and Seas at Risk as part of a larger European campaign. Together with partner organisations in Portugal (Sciaena) and France (FNE), we hope to preserve precious ecosystems in European waters for future generations. This will give our seas spaces to breathe while we work on reducing additional stressors such as climate change and pollution.
What can YOU do to help?
Keep an eye out for further Public Consultations on Marine Protected Areas and tell your local councillors you want more MPAs in Ireland.
Support the Fair Seas Campaign.
Tell other people about what is happening to oceans in Ireland and why we need to protect Ireland’s marine species.
Protect the ocean by reducing plastic consumption, doing a beach clean and eating less seafood (reduce overall supply & demand for fishing!)
Resources for extra info:
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/e00ec-marine-protected-areas/
Padraig’s blog from the IWT: https://iwt.ie/marine-protected-areas-but-where/
https://iwt.ie/what-we-do/campaigns/bigger-better/marine-protected-areas/
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/importance-marine-protected-areas/