Basking shark © Alexander Mustard/2020VISION
Conservationists urge don’t squeeze out nature as the Irish Sea comes under pressure
Wildlife Trusts and partners call for more joined-up marine planning, as the Irish Sea’s wildlife and habitats face an uncertain future
The Irish Sea Network, which includes Cumbria Wildlife Trust, is urging planners in all six nations bordering the Irish Sea to collaborate and cooperate, for the sake of nature.
In a report out today, the Network calls for planners to work together strategically and ensure that wildlife is protected, as they review how the Irish Sea is used.
The Irish Sea, which is bordered by England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, is coming under significant and increasing pressure from damaging activities such as industrial fishing, aquaculture, offshore renewable energy development, shipping, military activity, recreational activity and pollution. All of these activities take their toll on marine species, that are already endangered by the impacts of climate change.
The Irish Sea Network reports that while over a third of the Irish Sea has been designated as Marine Protected Areas, as little as five per cent is actually managed for nature, and less than 0.01 per cent is fully protected from damaging activities. This leaves the Irish Sea’s wildlife and the habitats on which they depend at serious risk, with little chance for nature to recover. As well as its intrinsic value, people depend on healthy seas because they produce oxygen, sequester carbon on the seabed, provide food security, livelihoods for local fishing and coastal communities, enable low-impact eco-tourism opportunities, and contribute to our wellbeing and culture.
Marine wildlife doesn’t respect borders – yet each Irish Sea nation is producing separate marine planning documents. Each plan will cover a huge range of uses of the Irish Sea, from rules about fishing and renewable energy to shipping and tourism. The Irish Sea Network says all planners and decision-makers must collaborate and cooperate better and with urgency, to consider the Irish Sea as a whole, and ensure that the nature and climate crises are at the forefront during this process.
Manx shearwater © Chris Gomersall/2020VISION
Joan Edwards, Director Policy and Public Affairs at The Wildlife Trusts says: “The Irish Sea is a special place, but decades of overexploitation and pollution have left wildlife here degraded and at risk. As our seas are increasingly industrialised, it’s vital nations work together to prioritise nature and the achievement of net zero. We need spatially explicit marine plans which aim to recover nature, ensure the sustainability of all activities and enable a just transition for sea users and communities around our coasts.”
Head of Marine at the North West Wildlife Trusts, Georgia de Jong Cleyndert says:
“The Irish Sea is in a degraded state and under huge and increasing pressure from climate change and increasing levels of human activities.
“More than 15 million people live around the Irish Sea and many more visit for holidays, but not everyone realises the diverse wildlife that lives there and just how important it is for biodiversity and the environment. It’s home to a huge amount of amazing wildlife – giant basking sharks, leatherback turtles, beautiful starfish and jellyfish, dolphins, porpoises, seal and sharks, and is internationally important for seabirds like Manx shearwater and guillemots. Without protection and proper management, much of this wildlife faces an uncertain future - pollution, development and destruction of habitat could lead to a severe decline in biodiversity. But for protection to be effective, it must be done in a joined-up way.”
Georgia continues: “Marine species don’t respect borders or stick to lines drawn on maps - they show just how connected our Irish Sea is. For example, basking sharks migrate throughout the Irish Sea while cockles from all corners of the Irish Sea are genetically linked. Tracking data reveals Manx shearwaters from each breeding colony around the Irish Sea will travel long distances to a shared central feeding ground. Species are so interconnected, we believe strongly that the Irish Sea should be considered as a whole and urgent measures to protect nature should be taken at a cross-national level.”
All six Irish Sea nations are responding to the joint nature and climate crises by committing to protect and restore at least 30% of our seas by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2050. However, with all of the large-scale developments and numerous activities in the Irish Sea the Wildlife Trusts and its partners are highlighting the urgent plight of marine wildlife and the habitats they depend on. The Irish Sea Network is urging planners to ensure that environmental projects, such as wind farms, are sited in the right places using the right technology, i.e. not in marine protected areas, where underwater cables can damage fragile habitats and ecosystems on the seabed.
Georgia says: “It’s fantastic that all the Irish Sea nations have committed to protect 30% of their seas by 2030, but at the moment this commitment is not a reality. We need better governance, to ensure that our already fragile underwater ecosystems aren’t put in further jeopardy. Planners need to work together, to be more strategic. For example, using cable corridors, so that different cables from various wind farm developers can merge their cabling into one site, thus greatly reducing the harm to the seabed.
“Other key areas for collaboration include moving away from fishing in Highly Protected Marine Areas to other less fragile areas, and to replace trawling methods with less damaging forms of fishing, such as using creels, as well as exploring the benefits of nature tourism. Local communities, as well as the economies of all six Irish Sea nations, will benefit from more strategic and joined-up planning of our seas, as well as benefitting the urgent nature and climate crises.”
Stephen Trotter, CEO of Cumbria Wildlife Trust said: “The Irish Sea Network is a vital partnership that brings together representatives from all six nations around the Irish Sea. This report reflects an urgent need to protect and strategically manage this incredibly important, yet busy, regional sea. Our marine environment plays a huge role in climate change mitigation but can only do so if it is healthy and if actions are taken to reduce and reverse biodiversity loss and protect ecologically important areas.”
The Irish Sea Network was set up in 2022 to improve understanding of conservation activities and pressures across the Irish Sea.
It's a partnership of 10 Wildlife Trusts from around the Irish Sea (Manx Wildlife Trust, North Wales Wildlife Trust, North West Wildlife Trusts - Cumbria, Lancashire and Cheshire, The Wildlife Trusts, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Ulster Wildlife, Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales, and Wildlife Trusts Wales), Northern Ireland Marine Task Force, Irish Wildlife Trust, and the Sustainable Water Network (SWAN).
The Irish Sea Network’s report ‘Ecological Considerations for Marine Spatial Planning in the Irish Sea’ is published on 8 February 2024 and can be read online here.
Notes
Grace Carr, Marine Advocacy Officer, Irish Wildlife Trust said: “As we all know, nature does not recognise borders and so it’s imperative we take a cross border approach when designating areas for protection, fishing and industry in this biodiverse area. With the new Irish MPA bill due to be released early this year, the knowledge sharing and collaboration within this report will make it an important tool when advocating for nature and ecosystem focussed MSP in the Irish Sea.”
Tom Burditt CEO of Lancashire Wildlife Trust said: “We often describe the Irish Sea as the Forgotten Sea, because it gets less attention than other parts of the British and Irish coastline, and because despite millions of people living and holidaying along its shores, very few of us get to see and experience either the wealth of life living in it, or the damage being done to that special wildlife by inappropriate and unregulated activities. We need new ways of working in order to better manage the Irish Sea and to work in partnership with the communities and businesses living and working on, in and alongside this fabulous marine ecosystem.”
Leigh Morris, CEO, Manx Wildlife Trust said: “85% of the Isle of Man’s territory is in the Irish Sea, and our island is positioned at the very heart of it. There are important issues for Manx Wildlife Trust in relation to how our territorial waters are utilised and sustained, and how the important species and habitats within it are conserved and, in some cases, restored. With discussions now gathering pace on the potential for a large off-shore windfarm in our territorial sea, the importance of a joined-up thinking with the other five nations around the Irish Sea is paramount, and we see this collaboration as a significant step forward in the creation of a Marine Spatial Plan for the whole Irish Sea.”
Robert Walsh, Officer, NI Marine Task Force said: “The Irish Sea is an incredibly important ecosystem which sees unique species not typically found anywhere else, alongside sharing ‘borders’ with multiple nations. The Irish Sea Network and this report has allowed us to collaborate together to showcase the urgent needs to achieve benefits for marine ecology through marine spatial planning with nature at its core. It is important to ensure cross-collaboration and policy linkages amongst all the nations involved in the Irish Sea Network and this report is vital in highlighting the pressures facing the marine environment. We need to ensure that as our seas become busier, that developments are sustainable to ensure nature positive actions and allow the achievement of marine recovery – allowing it to not only survive, but to thrive.”
Frances Cattanach, CEO of North Wales Wildlife Trust said: “Whilst there is still much to discover about the wildlife of the Irish Sea we know that it is suffering massive declines and we must act quickly and decisively to protect what’s left. Wales, along with the other nations, have committed to protecting at least 30% of our seas by 2030 – we will only achieve this if we work collaboratively. With this report we are urging planners to take a strategic ecosystem-based approach, to remove the lines from the maps and to consider the Irish Sea as a whole.”
Jo Pike, CEO, Scottish Wildlife Trust said: “This important new report highlights the urgent need for transboundary collaboration in a marine region that is an increasingly busy space, governed by six different administrations. Prioritising nature in such areas will be crucial for achieving the clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse seas we all need. The report coincides with the development of Scotland’s new National Marine Plan 2 and provides opportunity for its recommendations to be taken forward, not only in the Irish Sea but across Scotland as well.”
Sinéad O' Brien, Sustainable Water Network (SWAN) Co-ordinator said: "This Irish Sea Network report has highlighted how the Irish Sea is getting much busier and, as a result, there is an urgent need for effective planning to safeguard its precious marine wildlife and habitats. A collaborative ecosystem-based approach, that has regard for the environmental sensitivities of what can go where and when, is needed in order to protect and restore the health of the Irish Sea for all.
“However, SWAN commissioned research, found Ireland's first spatial plan from 2021, the National Marine Planning Framework, did not meet these criteria. It was created without a coherent network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) or maps of vulnerable ecosystems and, as a result, the plan needs to be fully revised. The key recommendations for marine spatial planning for the Irish Sea in this report must be applied."
Emma Armshaw, Marine and Coastal Policy Officer (SWAN) said: " Legislation for Irish Marine Protected Areas is fundamental for marine spatial planning for the Irish Sea. However, three years after the National Marine Planning Framework, we still don't have this, with continual delays preventing the bill from being published. What has been drafted so far lacks many of the key criteria highlighted in this report: strength and ambition with adequate strict protection, a robust management framework, and a commitment to principled stake holder engagement. With a strong MPA bill, Ireland can meet its responsibility of ensuring the Irish Sea, and all of Ireland's marine area, is in good health for all who benefit from it. This will furthermore allow the biodiversity and climate crises to be tackled effectively together. It needs to be a top priority for this Government."
Jennifer Fulton CEO of Ulster Wildlife said: “To overcome the impacts of biodiversity loss and climate change on the already busy Irish Sea, we urgently need a comprehensive cross-boundary strategy that has nature’s recovery at its core. Safeguarding and restoring marine ecosystems must be a priority for Marine Spatial Plans, which need to be strategic, spatially prioritised and fit for purpose. Together, with a resilient and well-managed network of Marine Protected Areas, we can safeguard marine wildlife and the livelihoods of the many people who depend on the Irish Sea, now and into the future.”