Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

215 Chapter 9: The Marine Environment The Marine Environment 1. Introduction The estuaries, coastal and marine waters of Ireland combine to extend to over 880,000 km 2 . The area covered by water is more than ten times the land mass of Ireland. In recent years, there has been increased attention given to our marine areas, their constituent habitats and biodiversity, their natural resources and their energy generation potential. Marine areas can be damaged by human-induced pressures and pollution, whether of global origin (e.g. climate change, marine litter or fisheries) or of local origin (e.g. agriculture, industry or urban waste water). Although Ireland’s offshore waters have generally been considered relatively clean and healthy, our nearshore coastal systems are under increasing pressure. As our saline waters are very diverse and cover such a large area, they are assessed and managed in different ways. Estuaries and coastal waters are close to shore. Estuaries represent the interface between the freshwater environment (see Chapter 8) and ocean waters. These areas are very dynamic and highly variable in their salinity levels, tidal forces, freshwater inputs and exposure to the wider ocean environment. Water quality in estuaries is primarily managed under the Water Framework Directive (WFD; Directive 2000/60/EC); within the WFD, estuaries are referred to as transitional waters. These connect to coastal waters, which cover larger areas of greater salinity and extend to around 1 nautical mile offshore. The WFD sets out the management measures and assessment techniques required to assess these water bodies. In the wider marine area, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD; Directive 2008/56/EC) is the main legislation used to ensure that our seas are clean, healthy, biologically diverse and sustainably used. Figure 9.1 shows the WFD and MSFD areas. The MSFD requires the application of an ecosystem-based approach to managing human activities, enabling the sustainable use of marine resources, goods and services and the assessment of whether marine waters are achieving good environmental status (GES). Figure 9.1 Water Framework Directive coastal and transitional water bodies and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive assessment area Source: https://atlas.marine.ie/