Context
Currently, only around 2% of Irish seas are nominally protected, even though the government had committed to protecting 10% of the Irish marine region by 2020. Now, the Irish government has committed to expanding its network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to cover at least 30% of its marine region by 2030, in line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy. In order to inform the process of MPA designations, the Irish government has opened a public consultation on a report that outlines how to expand Ireland’s network of MPAs. The 200 page report (+annexes) was written by a group of academics and MPA experts who have many years experience in this field.
Why does it matter?
MPAs are now more important than ever – sealife faces many threats from fishing with harmful gear to intensive aquaculture, pollution and climate change. We want the Irish government to achieve their target of protecting at least 30% of Irish seas by 2030 in a network of highly protected areas that are coherent, representative, connected and resilient. For this, the government must implement the advice of their own MPA expert group. We want to make sure that the public is as engaged in this consultation process as possible and will hold the government to account should they fail to deliver on marine protection once again.
What the MPA report is about The expert advisory group has delivered a very detailed and informative report. In it, the group explains the current degraded status of Ireland’s marine environment compared to historic baselines, identifies benefits and socioeconomic impacts of MPAs and sets out a clear path to expanding Ireland’s network of protected areas. The report also suggests a definition of a marine protected area which is to be enshrined in Irish law for the first time. What we think of it We support most of the recommendations in the report. In particular, we support the
There are a few things we would have wished to see more of in the report, and those include
There are two options to respond to the consultation:
Re: Public consultation on ‘Expanding Ireland’s Network of Marine Protected Areas’ Ireland’s marine environment has changed dramatically over the past century. Our inshore areas are under immense pressure from industrial fishing, aquaculture and pollution. One-third of shark, ray and skate species are threatened with extinction (and another third is near-threatened), many seabird populations are declining, estuaries are becoming more polluted and habitat loss is widespread. In addition, offshore areas are increasingly unsafe for cetaceans: Since 2011 the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group has recorded a steady increase in whale and dolphin strandings around the Irish coastline, with 2021 on track to be the worst year on record. Entanglement in fishing gear and acoustic trauma are the two causes of death of most concern. Globally, one of the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss is damage or destruction of habitat. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are one tool to help reverse this loss and we need them now. The report on expanding Ireland’s network of MPAs comes at a crucial time and I fully support the main recommendations. The good bits I particularly like the following recommendations: What’s missing?
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Sounds good, I want to act!
Step 1: Respond to the public consultation
Our response to the report
Step 2: If you took part in the consultation, please tell us by filling out the quick form below.
Thank you for taking the time to participate.
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