Ireland is home to a newly designated ‘Hope Spot’ off the Greater Skellig Coast in an area noted to have high conservation value for biodiversity. Hope Spots are scientifically identified as critical to the health of the ocean and designated by the global marine conservation movement Mission Blue. The Greater Read more…
Four out of five want additional protection for Irish coastal waters and oceans. There is strong support for more legal protection for Irish waters according to a coalition of Ireland’s leading environmental non-governmental organisations and networks. The Fair Seas Campaign, which seeks to protect, conserve and restore Ireland’s Read more…
Following advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the EU Commission has finally closed 87 sensitive marine areas in EU waters to bottom fishing. The closed areas amount to 16,000 km2 of EU waters, of which nearly 9,000 km2 are within the Irish Exclusive Economic Read more…
In May earlier this year, within the walls of Dublin Castle, a very special meeting took place. Chaired by Dr. Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, 99 Irish Citizens gathered to learn about biodiversity loss in Ireland, and what can be done to stop it. This was the first meeting of Ireland’s Citizens’ Read more…
18 FOLD INCREASE IN MARINE PROTECTED AREAS NEEDED TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY LOSS Ireland’s Marine Protected Areas must increase 18-fold by the end of the decade in order to restore critical habitats, safeguard wildlife and address the climate crisis according to a new report commissioned by the Fair Read more…
11 November 2020 The Minister for Agriculture has launched an appeal against the High Court’s decision to permit large trawlers within Ireland’s inshore waters. Last month the High Court ruled the ban that came into effect in January that prevented large trawlers from Ireland’s six mile zone was void and Read more…
19 August 2020 A consultation process for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) has been announced by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and will be open until 18 September. The announcement is in line with the terms outlined in the Programme for Government, which promised the opening of a Read more…
18 August 2020 Human-induced change may have affected as much as half of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, a new study has revealed. A new article in Nature Climate Change predicted through climate modelling that 20 to 55 per cent of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian basins would have Read more…
March 26th, 2020 The novel coronavirus could spread to our recreational waters due to the improper disposal of wet wipes, a marine conservation group has warned. Coastwatch issued the warning this week as many use wet wipes as a way to keep infection at bay as the SARS-CoV-2 virus that Read more…
February 24th, 2020 Cork County Council is preparing to remove materials from a grounded ghost ship that could pose a pollution risk by helicopter on Tuesday. The council is preparing to airlift barrels of machine oil from the abandoned cargo ship stranded on rocks near Ballycotton in east Cork as Read more…