Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

237 Chapter 9: The Marine Environment Research A range of government departments and agencies have a role in the promotion and funding of marine research in Ireland, including Science Foundation Ireland, the Irish Research Council, 11 the EPA and the Geological Survey of Ireland. The Marine Research Funders’ Forum 12 was established in 2018 under the National Marine Research and Innovation Strategy 2017-2021. The forum brings together state funding organisations with the aim of enhancing coordination in marine-related research funding. More than 600 marine research projects were funded nationally between 2017 and 2022. EPA research programme projects include the following. ■ the carbon sequestration potential of the marine environment (e.g. Investigating Ireland’s Blue Carbon Potential through a Scientific, Socio-economic and Legislative Approach (BlueC) – quantification, characterisation, source and fate of past and present carbon storage in coastal offshore sediments for effective marine management) ■ developments in remote sensing (Artificial Intelligence- powered Forecast for Harmful Algal Blooms – an exploitation of remote sensing CMEMS products for monitoring of transitional and coastal waters). 11 The Research and Innovation Act, signed into law in June 2024, provides for the establishment of Taighde Éireann and the amalgamation of Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council: www.oireachtas.ie/en/bills/bill/2024/1/ (accessed 2 May 2024). 12 www.marine.ie/site-area/research-funding/national-marine-research-strategy/marine-research-funders’-forum (accessed 2 May 2024). 5. Conclusions Overall, while our wider offshore marine areas are generally healthy and productive, there are some clear issues and increasing pressures at play. The draft MSFD assessment has highlighted that biodiversity is a key concern in the wider marine environment. Climate change impacts are already being seen in our marine waters, with changes in sea levels and temperatures and ocean acidification already evident. These impacts can act in combination with other pressures to increase the potential for further degradation of delicate ecological communities. Fishing remains a significant pressure in our oceans, with less than 20% of the fish stocks assessed being sustainably fished. This can have knock-on effects on our wider food webs and may contribute to Ireland not meeting its obligations under the MSFD. Our nearshore and estuarine waters are showing clear signs of nutrient enrichment, with 64% of our estuaries at moderate or worse status. While this has not yet affected our wider coastal and marine areas, the continued pressure is likely to cause effects in these areas in time if measures identified under the WFD and MSFD are not fully implemented to address it. The coherence between these policies needs to be better aligned to ensure that the sustainable use of Ireland’s maritime area occurs without adverse impacts on the environment. Recent policy measures such as those related to the development of offshore renewable energy and a target to protect 30% of our marine waters need to be properly and quickly aligned. While developments in spatial planning are progressing, the introduction of MPA legislation has been repeatedly delayed.