Ireland

Improved management and new designations for an ecologically connected network of Irish marine protected areas.  

Lead partner: Fair Seas

Covering nearly a half million square kilometers (193,000 square miles), Ireland’s exclusive economic zone is among the largest within Europe and it supports a rich diversity of coastal and marine habitats, including unique cold water coral ecosystems. These waters are home to numerous species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises, including blue whale, beaked whales, and bottlenose dolphins. They also provide key foraging grounds for leatherback turtles and dozens of seabird species such as puffins, guillemots, petrels, gannets and shearwaters. 

Despite Ireland’s longstanding maritime heritage and cultural ties the ocean, the country has designated protections for just 2.3% of its waters – one of the smallest proportions within the European Union. However, the tide appears to be rising on ocean conservation in Ireland. In 2021, Ireland joined the High Ambition Coalition for People and Nature, committing to protecting at least 30% of its ocean by 2030. The Irish government also announced plans to develop comprehensive legislation for the identification, designation, and management of marine protected areas (MPAs) as part of the effort to expand and improve its network of protected waters. 

To ensure that the momentum from these commitments translates into meaningful improvements for Ireland’s ocean, a coalition of Irish environmental NGOs have come together to launch Fair Seas. With the partnership of the Blue Nature Alliance, Fair Seas is a campaign to secure ambitious legislation for the designation and delivery of well-managed MPAs, with a goal to have 10% of Irish waters fully protected by 2025 and develop a pathway to realize the 30% target by 2030. 

In the summer of 2022, Fair Seas will publish its first scientific report on where MPAs should be located in Irish waters.

For now, you can keep up to date by signing up for their newsletter at www.fairseas.ie 

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Contact the campaign:   info@fairseas.ie