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

Ireland’s Environment – An Integrated Assessment 2020 STEP UP TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND US AS IT IS UNDER INCREASING THREAT SOE 8: Marine Reduce the Human-induced Pressures on the Marine Environment As an island nation with an extensive marine area, Ireland needs to ensure that robust governance and legal frameworks are in place to protect the marine environment. Ireland’s offshore waters are in a good condition, but near-shore and estuarine waters are less so (Chapter 8). Additional measures and mitigation are required to protect our valuable marine ecosystems, habitats and species from anthropogenic pressures. Of the commercial fish and shellfish stocks assessed by the Marine Institute, 34 are considered to be compatible with Good Environmental Status, while 44 are not (Chapter 8). The compatibility of 99 stocks with Good Environmental Status is unknown. Overall, the status of commercial fish and shellfish stocks is not fully compatible with Good Environmental Status. Crucial to protecting fisheries and the health of the associated food webs is a transition to sustainable fisheries and heeding scientific advice and catch limits. A number of non-commercial fish species are also threatened because of habitat loss/disruption and by-catch. Other species, such as some marine bird species and other top predators, migratory baleen whales and deep-diving cetaceans, remain vulnerable to environmental degradation from human activities. Protecting the ecosystems in which marine species live should be a key part of the sustainability question. Ireland’s marine environment is nearly 10 times the size of its land area. 7 There is a target that 10 per cent of these coastal and marine areas should be conserved as Marine Protected Areas. At present, just over 2 per cent of these areas are designated. Ireland’s seagrass and kelp beds are an important habitat for many types of marine life, as well as a store of carbon. These types of blue carbon stores are areas for further research in Ireland. Some of Ireland’s estuaries are affected by eutrophication, which is caused by increased nutrients and excessive algae growth (EPA, 2019a). The specific factors causing the decline in ecological status of estuaries should be addressed through the action programmes developed under the Water Framework Directive. 7 https://www.marine.ie/Home/site-area/irelands-marine-resource/real- map-ireland A total of 1.9 million people live within 5 km of the coast, representing 40 per cent of the population and 40,000 people live less than 100 metres from the coast (CSO, 2019). Sea temperatures have been rising and future warming is expected to increase the intensity of storms (Desmond et al. , 2017). Sea level rises have already been recorded. Ireland as an island will need clear plans in place to adapt to these changes. The implications of climate change could be felt most closely along our coastal and marine areas. Climate change will put pressure on existing ecosystems as well as on the structure of the coastline itself and on coastal communities. Research is showing that nature-based solutions and the managed realignment of coastal habitats could be part of the measures to protect against sea level rise. Ireland is not immune to the worldwide problem of marine plastic and litter. This turns up on our coastline from rivers and local land-based sources, recreation, from the fishing sector and from further afield, carried by the wind and ocean currents. Local clean-ups while beneficial are effective for only a short while. To really clean up and improve the situation there needs to continued efforts to tackle the source of the waste in the first place. In terms of policy development, the joined-up implementation of directives and policies where there are crossovers, such as those covering water quality (e.g. the Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive), nature directives, fisheries and those tackling waste, are areas for consideration to protect the marine environment. 442