EPA - Ireland's Environment, An Integrated Assessment - 2020

Ireland’s Environment – An Integrated Assessment 2020 Biodiversity Monitoring shows that several marine fish and bird species and some marine habitats are under threat or in poor condition. The EU adopted the new 2030 biodiversity strategy in 2020 which aims to put Europe’s biodiversity on the path to recovery by 2030 (see Topic Box 6.5 in Chapter 6 for more details) (EU, 2020). Ireland’s National Biodiversity Action Plan aims to address the loss of biodiversity in Ireland. Reporting on marine biodiversity is challenging and providing conclusions on whether or not the loss of marine biodiversity has been halted is difficult. Several nationally important marine species are currently considered to be under threat (NPWS, 2019). Two species of the calcareous red algae maërl, which are found in ten marine Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), have an unfavourable bad status, while nine of these habitats are in an unfavourable condition (NPWS, 2019). The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and Northern Ireland Environment Agency have recently updated the Red List, which identifies species in most need of conservation interventions (Chapter 6). The migratory fish, sea lamprey, and the twaite shad are listed as near threatened and vulnerable, respectively (King et al. , 2011). An assessment of 58 cartilaginous marine fish found that six were critically endangered: Portuguese dogfish ( Centroscymnus coelolepis ); common (blue) skate ( Dipturus batis (= flossada)); flapper skate ( Dipturus intermedia ); porbeagle shark ( Lamna nasus ); white skate ( Rostroraja alba ); and angel shark ( Squatina squatina ). The angel shark is considered to be in danger of extinction (Clarke et al. , 2016). Five species were assessed as endangered and six as vulnerable. OSPAR has compiled a list of threatened and declining species and habitats in the North East Atlantic which are considered a priority for protection. 12 Fish species in Irish marine waters that are not fished or sold on the market (non-commercial fish) are not all achieving Good Environmental Status under MSFD Descriptor 1 (biological diversity). Only 11 species achieve GES, 18 species are not achieving GES and the environmental status of a further 23 non-commercial species is unknown (DHPLG, 2020). National surveys of seabird populations indicate that populations of 17 of the 20 species monitored have increased over the last 16 years, populations of two species are considered stable and the population of one species has decreased (Cummins et al. , 2019). Breeding pairs of the black-legged kittiwake, globally the most numerous gull species, have declined by 32 per cent from 1998-2002 to 2015-2018 (Cummins et al. , 2019; DHPLG, 2020). Numerous resident and migratory water bird species that spend the winter at coastal sites in Ireland, such as estuaries and lagoons, are showing significant and continued population declines (Lewis et al. , 2019). For example, the 12 https://www.ospar.org/work-areas/bdc/species-habitats/list-of- threatened-declining-species-habitats grey plover ( Pluvialis squatarola ) migrates from breeding grounds in Arctic Russia and Canada to overwinter on Ireland’s coast. This species, which is monitored via the Irish Wetland Bird Survey (I-WeBS), underwent a population decline of 62 per cent between 1994 and 2016 (Lewis et al. , 2019). Unfortunately, until recently there has been comparatively little monitoring data on those species that overwinter offshore, such as seaducks and divers. Long-term data on communities of offshore marine mammals, such as the migratory baleen whales or deep- diving toothed cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) are not yet available for all species. However, recent abundance data from Ireland’s exclusive economic zone have indicated that some species’ numbers are higher than previously thought (Rogan et al. , 2018; NPWS, 2019). The harbour porpoise is frequently recorded in Irish waters (Rogan et al. , 2018). Although accidental by-catches of this and other small cetacean and seal species during fishing operations do occur, for several species their relatively high abundance and spatial distribution suggest that such pressures are currently not impacting their populations (DHPLG, 2020). The grey seal and harbour seal have grown in number and distribution in recent decades and are considered to be achieving Good Environmental Status (Morris and Duck, 2019; NPWS, 2019). Further information on wider biodiversity issues, policy and legislation covering this area is provided in Chapter 6. Marine Protected Areas Recent assessments indicate that 65 per cent of Ireland’s coastal habitat types are considered to be in an unfavourable condition. Currently, only 2.1 per cent of Ireland’s maritime area has been designated for protection 13 under existing conservation-based legislation (e.g. Birds and Natural Habitats Regulations). This estimate of existing includes SACs under the Habitats Directive, 19 of which are also recognised as OSPAR Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Ireland’s 2019 Habitats Directive Article 17 report (NPWS, 2019) indicates that, of the 23 coastal and/or marine habitat types listed under the Habitats Directive, five have a favourable status nationally (Table 8.2). The remaining 15 types have either an unfavourable – inadequate ( n = 12) or an unfavourable – bad ( n = 3) status. In particular, lagoons, large shallow inlets and bays, halophilous scrub and fixed dunes are in an unfavourable-bad status and are declining. The causes of the unfavourable-bad status assignment in these nearshore areas are: persistent eutrophication issues (in lagoons, large shallow inlets and bays), loss of species (seagrass and maërl in large shallow inlets and bays), human-induced impacts and the presence of invasive species (in fixed dunes). 13 The value if 2.1% is based on the existing marine component of Natura sites and Ireland’s maritime area as the baseline (488,762 km 2 ). 198