• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Shop
    • Gift Vouchers
    • Binoculars and Scopes
    • View Cart
    • Your Account
      • edit-account
      • edit-address
      • lost-password
  • Wildlife Tours
    • Discover Wildlife Weekends
    • Guided Wildlife and Birding Walks
    • Custom Wildlife and Birding Tours
  • Schools
  • Books
  • News
    • Irish Wildlife News
    • International Wildlife News
    • Wildlife Events
    • Wildlife Press Releases
  • Articles
    • Blog
      • Birding
      • Wildlife Photography
      • Whales and Dolphins
      • Mammals
      • Wildlife Podcasts
        • The Calendar Road
      • Biodiversity
      • Wildlife Calendar
    • Species Profiles
      • Amphibians
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Fungi
      • Invertebrates
      • Mammals
      • Plants
      • Reptiles
    • Feature Articles
      • Choosing Binoculars
      • Birding for Beginners
      • How to watch whales and dolphins
      • How to watch Basking Sharks
      • Wildlife travel
    • Wildlife Portfolio
    • Wild Wide Web
    • Reviews
      • Book Reviews
      • Gear Reviews
        • Wildlife Optics
          • Binocular Reviews
          • Spotting Scope Reviews
        • Wildlife Clothing
        • Wildlife Accessories
  • Work with us
    • Write for us
    • Advertise with us
    • Sponsorship Opportunities
    • Wildlife Marketing Services
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Disclosure Statement
    • Cookie policy (EU)
  • Contact

Ireland's Wildlife

Irish wildlife, nature and biodiversity

You are here: Home / Features / Feature Articles / Conserving Ireland’s Seas: The Marine and Coastal Protection Areas of Ireland initiative

Conserving Ireland’s Seas: The Marine and Coastal Protection Areas of Ireland initiative

November 26, 2014 by Peter Green Leave a Comment

Looking after Ireland’s marine environment should be a massive priority for the Irish government, not just because of EU directives and potential sanctions, or the very obvious benefits to our rich coastal biodiversity, but also for moral, social and economic reasons. Peter Green of the Marine and Coastal Protection Areas of Ireland Initiative explains.


 

Ireland's Marine and Coastal Protected Areas Initiative
Ireland’s marine and coastal environment needs protection explains Peter Green (Photo: Peter Green)

We are the guardians of our environment. The most important legacy we leave is the state of that environment for future generations.

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires EU member states to take the necessary measures to achieve and maintain Good Environmental Status in the marine environment by 2020. Meaning that our oceans and seas should be clean, healthy and productive and the use of the marine environment is at a level that is sustainable. Thus safeguarding the potential for uses and activities by current and future generations.

Within the EEZ ( Exclusive Economic Zone), 200 nautical miles West and North and obviously less to the East and South, Ireland enjoys sovereign rights over the exploitation, conservation and management of living and non-living natural resources, and exercises jurisdiction over marine scientific research and for the protection of the marine environment in the EEZ. Coastal waters, including the seabed and subsoil, also fall within the scope of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Huge opportunity is matched by huge responsibility.

The MSFD is part of a cyclical process repeated every six years (it started in 2012). As more information is gathered and with better scientific understanding, EU member states update their assessments and move towards achieving and maintaining Good Environmental Status (GES).

Humpback whale off the coast of West Cork
Humpback whales, like this one photographed off the coast of West Cork, thrive in the rich waters off Ireland’s coasts. But with stocks of their food source dwindling, for how much longer? (Photo: Calvin Jones)

Good Environmental Status requires that biological diversity is maintained, and that human activity does not adversely alter the ecosystem. Also that fish and shellfish stocks are within safe biological limits. Water pollution, marine litter, effects on sea floor integrity and underwater noise are all important factors to be considered and minimised.

Responsibility for the implementation of the MSFD falls on the Department of the Environment in collaboration with other state agencies and the Marine Institute. The National Parks and Wildlife Service has responsibility for SAC’s, SPA’s and National Parks in Ireland. Whilst legal powers of enforcement have increased, the pressure on biodiversity continues to rise.

Currently there is minimal protection for the marine and coastal environment. There is a need to identify and establish a network of Marine Protection Areas (MPA’s). Ireland has made a commitment under the OSPAR convention to protect the marine environment and the biodiversity of the N.E. Atlantic. Ireland’s marine environment contains some of Europe’s most diverse ecosystems, from coastal and near-shore shallow waters to the deep water expanses of the N.E. Atlantic. Ireland’s marine waters are blessed with the richest diversity of life, from fish and shellfish, to seabirds, cetaceans (whales, dolphins,porpoises), to crustaceans (e.g. crabs, lobsters), reptiles (turtles) , seals and other marine mammals, plus seaweeds and sea grasses and a multitude of other species.

There is a consensus among marine scientists that the health of Irish seas has suffered in recent decades and that threats from human activities must be better managed. Marine Protection Areas (MPA’S) will help to meet the commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity.

MPA’s are a most important component of the MSFD along with SAC’s (Habitats directives) and SPA’s (Birds directives). MPA’s are needed to protect and help sea life recover from decades of abuse, from large scale productive offshore habitats to fragile and ecologically important inshore areas around the coastline. The designation of a network of Marine Protection Areas will also help to provide protection in critical habitats for nationally important mobile species such as dolphins, whales and basking sharks. There will be a need to get cooperation and agreement locally, regionally and internationally to ensure good implementation and management practices.

Ireland's seas support an astonishing diversity of life
Ireland’s seas support an astonishing diversity of life (Photo: Peter Green)

MPA’s would give a range of benefits, including mitigation against extreme weather impacts, and will give a boost to inshore and offshore fisheries. There will be many economic and social benefits in creating a network of MPA’s. Having a resource available into the future could be of considerable economic value. There will be huge value in the overspill effects of MPA’s in Irish waters. MPA’s are acknowledged in their role of seeding the biological diversity and increasing fish, shellfish and crustacean stocks in neighbouring waters. As, for instance, in the recent designation of 30 new MPA’s in Scottish seas, increasing the level of MPA’s and marine conservation zones to over 20% of Scottish waters, is estimated to have a “scenario-based” value of between £6.3 billion and £10 billion, boosting fish stocks, biological diversity and tourism revenues whilst generating employment for coastal communities in sustainable employment programmes.

For these benefits to flow, MPA’s must be well managed and must properly protect ecosystems. There must be a good mix of top-down and bottom-up management practices involving local community groups and stakeholders. MPA’s can be matched to the requirements of local areas. Some of the more sensitive areas being “no-take” zones until stocks recover. Others can be “marine conservation zones” that could be connected to existing SAC’s and SPA’s that might require less stringent management in agreement with local fishing communities.

Common dolphin
Ireland’s seas are among the richest and most productive in Europe, but they won’t stay that way without the right protection (Photo: Peter Green)

Done correctly Marine Protection Areas will be a “win-win” with benefits for current and future generations.

If you are interested in joining and developing the Marine and Coastal Protection Areas of Ireland initiative you’ll find further details here.

Volunteers and sponsors are most welcome.


 

Do you have something to say about Ireland’s wildlife, the environment or conservation? Are you a budding nature writer with a talent for telling a story? Find out how you can write for Ireland’s Wildlife.

Have an opinion about this article? Let us know in the comments below… or take the conversation over to one of our social media channels.

Filed Under: Feature Articles, Featured Tagged With: biodiversity, coast, conservation, marine, Marine Protection Areas, ocean

About Peter Green

Peter Green is a qualified Marine Mammal Observer and passionate conservationist and the creator of www.celtichorizons.ie (Please see www.celtichorizons.ie for “The Ocean” art exhibition and ”A Celebration of the Kingdom and Islands of Kerry” photographic exhibition plus the novel “The Tales of Amergin” by Peter Green)

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Search the site

  • Microthemer - Visual editor for your WordPress site

Subscribe to the mailing list








Supporting Ireland’s Wildlife

  • Microthemer - Visual editor for your WordPress site

*****

Footer

Experience Ireland’s Wildlife for yourself

Breaching humpback whale Ireland

Join us on a wildlife adventure on Ireland’s Wild South Coast… and find out first hand why we call this Europe’s Undiscovered Wildlife Frontier.

Find out more…

Ireland's Wildlife runs on the Genesis Framework from StudioPress · Hosted with InterServer

Recent Additions

  • 2023 Discover Wildlife Weekend Dates
  • Review: Hawke Frontier APO 10×42 Binocular
  • Book Review: Crossbill Guides, Ireland
  • Avian Influenza hits Irish seabird colonies
  • German Precision Optics (GPO) Passion HD 10×42 Binocular Review
  • Beneficial Garden Insects and How to Attract Them to Your Garden
  • Cuckoo spit/spittlebug foam on plants is harmless. Please leave it alone.
  • Purple Heron: an epic end to our spring Discover Wildlife Weekend

Tags

audio binoculars biodiversity birding birds Birdwatch Ireland books cetaceans citizen science CJ Wildlife competition conservation Cork fin whale full size binoculars garden birds garden wildlife Golden Eagle Trust Hawke humpback whale Ireland IWDG Kerry national biodiversity data centre npws optics photography raptors reintroduction review reviews spring stranding surveys Vanguard west cork whales whales and dolphins whalewatching whale watching white tailed eagle Wildlife wildlife crime wildlife photography wildlife podcasts

Take it from the top....

Copyright © 2023 Ireland's Wildlife · Site Design by West Cork Websites · Content by CJ Writing

Manage Cookie Consent
Like most sites, Ireland's Wildlife uses cookies to improve functionality, enhance your user experience and to gauge the popularity of our content.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}