Two thirds of people believe Irish Seas are unhealthy

Published by admin on November 10, 2022November 10, 2022

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 marine environment, has revealed details of its survey conducted to learn about the connection Irish people have with the sea.

Aoife O’Mahony, Campaign Manager for Fair Seas, says that “this is the second time we’ve surveyed people across the country for their views about protecting our seas. It shows that very few people are satisfied with the health of Irish waters and that the vast majority of people are in favour of additional legal protection.”

The research shows that 31% of people believe that Irish seas are healthy and that 67% of people believe the health of Irish seas has worsened in the past ten years.

Marine Protected Areas

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are areas of our seas and coasts legally protected from activities that damage the habitats, wildlife and natural processes that occur there.

Dr Donal Griffin, Marine Policy officer with Fair Seas explained that “Marine Protected Areas are like a National Park in the ocean and are an important conservation tool to help improve the health of our ocean. It is only when areas designated for nature are properly managed and are achieving their conservation objectives, that they positively contribute to tackling biodiversity loss.”

The poll reveals that 45% of people know what a Marine Protected Area (MPA) is, up from 37% of people at the start of this year. It also shows strong support for additional protections with four out of five people saying they would support a campaign to protect more of our seas.

Fair Seas is calling on the Government to designate a minimum of 30% of Irish waters as MPAs by 2030. Currently, just 2% of Irish waters are protected.

“The Government has committed to protecting 30% of our waters before 2030.” Aoife continues. “However, that’s less than eight years away, we need to act now to restore critical habitats, safeguard wildlife and help address the climate crisis.

The upcoming MPA legislation will provide a key tool to help Ireland to address the health of our oceans and provide a framework to designate and implement properly managed MPAs.”

Where could MPAs be located?

Fair Seas published a report in June 2022 identifying 16 ‘Areas of Interest’ for MPA designation in Irish waters. The locations are home to critically endangered sharks, globally important seabird colonies, and animals threatened with extinction which rely on these areas for breeding and feeding such as Atlantic puffins and blue whales. The full report can be viewed here.

Further Survey Findings

Over 1,000 adults were surveyed by RED C for the online poll between October 21st and 27th, 2022. Data was weighted across gender, age, region and social class to ensure a nationally representative sample.

One-third (31%) of people surveyed believe Irish seas are healthy
Two-thirds of people (67%) believe Irish seas have worsened in the past decade.
Almost half of people surveyed (45%) say they know what a Marine Protected Area is, up from 37% in February
A majority of people (81%) agree with more legal protection for our seas
Four out of five people (80%) would support a campaign for more legal protection
More than three-quarters of people (77%) say they understand the importance of healthy seas
More than half (53%) would be more likely to visit an area if it was declared a Marine Protected Area

The Fair Seas campaign is led by a coalition of Ireland’s leading environmental non-governmental organisations and networks including Irish Wildlife Trust, BirdWatch Ireland, Sustainable Water Network, Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, Coomhola Salmon Trust, Irish Environmental Network and Coastwatch.