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IRISH MARINE CONSERVATION

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There is an enormous array of life in our seas, which few Irish people ever get the opportunity to witness. This is being affected in a variety of ways, as we seize opportunities for new activities in our coastal and offshore waters; this abundant natural resource requires protection.

Conserving Ireland’s ocean and coastal ecosystems will improve water quality, protect diverse marine habitat and benefit the economies and livelihoods of Irish coastal communities for generations. Through scientific and market based strategies, restoration and resilient habitat protection, we can find lasting solutions for marine conservation.

The main challenges which affect the stability of the Irish marine ecosystem are:

• Destructive fishing activity: bottom trawling in particular can destroy entire ecosystems. Bottom trawls are large nets which are used to catch groundfish and other commercially targeted fish and crustacean species. Bottom trawls are one of the most destructive fishing gear types because they directly threaten species richness and biodiversity, and they catch a variety of non-target, undesirable or unmarketable species. The non-target species, or bycatch, is discarded overboard often either dead or dying. In some fisheries the bycatch can be large.

• Coastal development: habitats are destroyed when marshes are dredged for real estate development. Soil runoff and erosion result in excess nutrients from fertilizers and domestic sewage, which then leads to harmful algae blooms that block sunlight and deplete the water of oxygen. It also causes silt to build-up on coral reefs, which blocks sunlight necessary for coral to grow.

• Pollution: development near coastal waters contaminates the Ocean with toxic substances, such as industrial chemicals, pesticides, and motor oil.

• Dredging ship channels: Removes accumulated sediment and pollutants re-suspending them into the water. Dredging can also destroy sea grass beds and other habitats that provide food, shelter, and breeding grounds. The dredged material must be disposed of, and is often dumped into salt marshes damaging a very productive marine habitat.