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Displaying items by tag: Trinity

#Rowing: NUIG/Grainne Mhaol won the men’s senior four on the first day of the Irish Rowing Championships today. Alan Martin’s crew overtook long-time leaders Commercial and beat them by over two seconds at the National Rowing Centre. It was Martin’s 10th senior fours crown and his 21st championship.

John Keohane roared with relief after taking his fourth consecutive senior single sculls championship. He was tested coming up to the finish by Erik Rowan, but had built up a big lead and was able to win by over a second. Old Collegians won the men’s senior double by a big margin.

The women’s senior four went to Trinity and the senior pair to UCC. The men’s junior eight saw Portora tested by St Joseph’s of Galway, but the Enniskillen club prevailed. Patrick Munnelly of Athlone won the junior single.

Bann’s crew of Rebecca Meenagh, Erin Barry, Hannah Scott and Katie Shirlow won the women’s junior four by .36 of a second from fast-finishing Skibbereen.

Irish Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Cork (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Club: 1 Queen’s 6:03.62, 2 Cork BC 6:03.93, 3 UCD 6:08.53. Junior: 1 Portora 6:00.69, 2 St Joseph’s 6:03.82, 3 Bann 6:13.00.

Four – Senior: 1 NUIG/Grainne Mhaol 6:11.63, 2 Commercial 6:13.97, 3 UCC 6:21.35. Inter, coxed: 1 NUIG 6:41.64, 2 St Michael’s 6:44.03, 3 UCD 6:49.83.

Sculling, Quadruple – Novice, coxed: Commercial 7:38.90.

Double – Senior: 1 Old Collegians 6:59.99, 2 Garda 7:12.07, 3 St Michael’s 7:48.13.

Single – Senior: 1 Lee Valley (J Keohane) 7:15.02, 2 Skibbereen (E Rowan) 7:16.08, 3 Skibbereen (J Ryan) 7:18.78. Junior: 1 Athone (P Munnelly) 7:32.18, 2 Shandon (R Byrne) 7:34.19, 3 Bann (D Mitchell) 7:36.09.

Women

Eight – Intermediate: 1 UCD 6:40.99, 2 NUIG 6:55.31, 3 Garda 7:00.87.

Four – Senior: 1 Trinity 7:13.81, 2 UCC/Cork BC 7:17.54, 3 Skibbereen 7:45.50. Club, coxed: 1 NUIG 7:27.35, 2 Cork BC 7:37.45, 3 Queen’s A 7:43.13. Junior: 1 Bann 7:05.57, 2 Skibbereen 7:05.93, 3 St Michael’s 6:21.65.

Pair – Senior: 1 UCC 7:37.44, 2 Trinity 7:48.40, 3 Shannon A 7:52.21. Inter: 1 Shannon 8:00.04, 2 Cork BC 8:10.49, 3 UCC 8:12.14.

Sculling, Quadruple – Novice, coxed: 1 Fermoy 7:48.72, 2 NUIG 8:05.59, 3 Castleconnell 8:14.48.

Double – Junior: 1 Skibbereen 7:37.95, 2 Bann 7:44.66, 3 Lee A 7:51.45.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: The Afloat Rowers of the Month for June are Trinity’s men’s senior eight. The Dublin University Boat Club crew had a convincing win in the Division One final at Cork Regatta, outpacing UCD and NUIG/Gráinne Mhaol. They crew took the Leander trophy, one of the most impressive prizes on offer in Irish sport. Well done to: Gearóid Mahon, Ian Hurley, John Magan, Michael Corcoran, Patrick Moreau, Mark Kelly, Liam Hawkes, David Butler and cox Cian Flynn.

Rower of the Month awards: The judging panel is made up of Liam Gorman, rowing correspondent of The Irish Times and David O'Brien, Editor of Afloat magazine. Monthly awards for achievements during the year will appear on afloat.ie and the overall national award will be presented to the person or crew who, in the judges' opinion, achieved the most notable results in, or made the most significant contribution to rowing during 2015. Keep a monthly eye on progress and watch our 2015 champions list grow.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Trinity bowed out of the Temple Cup for student eights at Henley Royal Regatta, losing by two-thirds of a length to Cornell University of the United States. Cornell, who had a close call against Oxford Brookes B in the first round, got off to a good start and took the lead. The heavier Trinity crew were able to limit that lead to about three-quarters of a length, but could not draw level, and encountered problems with their steering. Cornell covered a late push to win.

Henley Royal Regatta, Day Two (Irish interest)

Temple Cup (Eights, Student): Cornell University, United States bt Trinity 2/3 l 6 mins 39 sec.

Princess Elizabeth (Eights, Schoolboy): Gonzaga College High School, United States bt Portora Royal School ½ l, 6:38

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Trinity had a convincing win in the first round of the Temple Cup for student eights at Henley Royal Regatta today. The Dublin crew started well and powered away from the lighter crew from two colleges in Cambridge, Pembroke and Caius. Trinity were in command down the course into a headwind and came under no pressure. They won by three and one quarter lengths.


Henley Royal Regatta, Day One (Irish interest)

Temple Cup (Eights, Student): Trinity bt Pembroke and Caius Colleges, Cambridge 3 1/4 l, 6 mins 49 secs

Wyfold Cup (Fours, Club): Nottingham RC 'A' bt Lady Elizabeth BC 2 1/2 l, 7:39

Published in Rowing
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#ROWING: Trinity won the men’s eights impressively at the Cork Regatta at the National Rowing Centre today. The college crew took an early lead and extended it to a length at 500 metres. The chasing UCD and NUIG/Grainne Mhaol crews looked never likely to catch Trinity from that point on. The winning margin was over five seconds, with UCD taking second. NUIG’s intermediate crew won the women’s eights by an even bigger margin of over seven seconds from Skibbereen’s junior 18A eight.

Cork Regatta, National Rowing Centre (Selected Results)

Sunday

Men

Eight – Div One – A Final: 1 Trinity (senior) 5:40.667, 2 UCD (intermediate) 5:45.957, 3 NUIG/Grainne Mhaol 5:46.533; 4 Queen’s (Club One) 5:54.94; 5 St Joseph’s (jun 18A) 6:02.257. B Final: UCD (Club One) 6:01.593. C Final: Trinity (Club One) 6:28.997.

Four – Div One – A Final: 1 NUIG/Grainne Mhaol (sen) 6:07.807, 2 UCC A 6:10.83, 3 Carlow (sen) 6:15.543. Four, coxed – Div Two – A Final: Skibbereen (Club Two) 6:43.837. B Final: Trinity (Club Two) 7:04.517; 3 Col Iognaid (jun 16) 7:06.357.

Sculling

Quadruple – Div Two – A Final: Cork (jun 16) 6:45.45; 6 Lee (Club Two) 7:03.56. B Final: Workmans (jun 16) 6:59.8; 4 Workman’s (jun 18B) 7:06.817. C Final: Carlow (jun 16) 7:05.697.

Double – Div One – A Final: 1 Old Collegians (D Neale, S Jacob; sen) 6:29.50, 2 Portadown/Skibbereen (sen) 6:34.43, 3 Shandon (jun 18A) 6:44.873. B Final: Waterford (inter) 6:46.473. C Final: Lee (inter) 6:48.227; 4 Methody (Club One) 7:10.627.

Single – Div Two – A Final: Belfast BC (A Murray; jun 18B) 7:35.483, 2 Cappoquin (Aherne; club two) 7:5.052; 4 Lee (Jackson, jun 16) 7:49.427. B Final: Clonmel (Dundon; jun 16) 7:49.347. C Final: St Michael’s (O’Byrne; jun 16) 7:48.40.

Women

Eight – Div One – A Final: 1 NUIG (inter) 6:43.177, 2 Skibbereen (jun 18A) 6:50.87, Commercial (inter) 6:57.593. Four – Div One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (jun 18A) 7:08.330, 2 Shannon (sen) 7:12.137, 3 Skibbereen (sen) 7:27.62. Div Two, coxed – A Final: Queen’s A (Club Two) 7:27.26; 6 St Michael’s (jun 16) 8:32.17.

Sculling

Double – Div One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (A Casey, E Hegarty; jun 18A) 7:28.957, 2 Lee (jun 18A) 7:33.43, 3 St Michael’s (inter) 7:43.430. B Final: Belfast BC A (inter) 7:39.570.

Single – Div Two – A Final: Lee (Cremin; Club Two) 8:16.437; Workman’s (Burns; jun 16) 8:32.55; 6 Shandon (jun 18B) 8:59.37. B Final: Cork (jun 16) 8:52.337. C Final: Lee Valley (jun 16) 8:56.26.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland’s entry for Henley Royal Regatta is again relatively small this year. Trinity and Portora Royal School have entered eights, while Lady Elizabeth Boat Club and Belfast Rowing Club have both entered Wyfolds fours. UCC have entered a coxed four for the Prince Albert Cup. Qualifying races take place on Friday, June 26th; while the regatta starts on Wednesday, July 1st.

Henley Royal Regatta Entries (Irish interest)

Temple Cup (Eight, Student): Trinity College, Dublin

Princess Elizabeth (Eight, Schoolboy): Portora Royal School

Wyfold Cup (Four, Club and University): Lady Elizabeth; Belfast Rowing Club

Prince Albert (Fours, coxed, Student): University College, Cork

Diamond Sculls (Single, Open): A Campbell

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Trinity won the senior men’s and women’s races at the Lagan Construction University Boat Races in Belfast today. Queen’s closed fast on Trinity coming up to the line in the men’s race and lost by a narrow margin. The senior women’s race was a more decisive win for the visitors, who had a strong senior crew. There was a strong headwind for the 11th annual running of the event.

Lagan Construction University Boat Races, Belfast

Men

Senior: Trinity bt Queen’s, canvas

Fresher: Queen’s bt Trinity

Junior 18, Ulster Schools: Portora bt Bann.

Junior 16 (Craig Cup): Portora bt Methodist College

Alumni: Queen’s bt Trinity, 1 ft

Women

Senior: Trinity bt Queen’s

Fresher: Trinity bt Queen’s, disq

Junior 18 (Bobby Platt Cup); Bann bt Portora

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: UCD took some late and notable wins at Trinity Regatta in Islandbridge today. They won the intermediate men’s eight final with a convincing win over the hosts, and also took the club eights with a win over Queen’s. Trinity’s A crew had just one and a quarter lengths to spare over their B crew in the men’s senior eights final – suggesting that had UCD put out a senior eight there could have been a good race. Commercial’s Neil Gahan and Colm Dowling won the senior pair and were part of Commercial’s winning four, while Damien Kelly won the senior single sculls, beating Fionnán Groome, and the intermediate single, where he was given a serious test by clubmate Ronan Allen. Bann won the junior 18 women’s eight and coxed four.

Trinity Regatta, Islandbridge, Saturday (Finals, Selected Results):

Men

Eight – Senior: Trinity A bt Trinity B 1¼ l. Intermediate: UCD bt Trinity 3¾ l. Club: UCD A bt Queen’s ¼ l. Novice: Queen’s bt Trinity A 3ft. Jun 16: Commercial bt Methodist canvas. Junior 15: Reading A bt Commercial ½l. Masters: Neptune bt Old Collegians ¼l.

Four – Senior, coxed: Commercial A bt Trinity B 4l. Intermediate, coxed: UCD bt Cork 1¾ l. Club, coxed: UCD B bt UCD A 2½ l. Masters, coxed: Neptune bt Commercial ¼l.

Pair – Senior: Commercial B bt Lady Elizabeth/Old Collegians easily.

Sculling

Quadruple – Novice, coxed: Reading bt Trinity easily. Jun 18B, coxed: Athlone bt Graiguenamanagh 1½ l. Junior 16, coxed: Methody bt Three Castles 1l. Jun 15, coxed: Graiguenamanagh bt Commercial A easily.

Double – Senior: Trinity bt Belfast 4½ l. Jun 15: Neptune bt Reading easily.

Single – Senior: Garda (D Kelly) bt Commercial (F Groome) 1¼ l Club: Garda (R Allen) bt Trinity (Browne) easily. Intermediate: Garda (D Kelly) bt Garda (R Allen) 1l. Jun 18: Athlone (Munnelly) bt Graiguenamanagh (Lennon) easily. Jun 16: Athlone (Byrne) bt Three Castles (Irwin) 1l. Jun 15: Commercial bt Neptune 3l. Masters: Commercial (O’Toole) bt Belfast BC (Curran) 1½ l

Women

Eight –Intermediate: Trinity bt Queen’s easily. Club: Commercial bt Queen’s 2¾ l. Novice: Queen’s bt Methodist College, Belfast easily. Jun 18: Bann bt Neptune easily. Jun 16: Commercial bt Bann 2¾ l.

Four – Club, coxed: Garda bt UCD ¼ l. Jun 18, four: Bann bt Methody easily.

Sculling

Quadruple – Novice, coxed: Carlow bt UCD easily. Jun 18B, coxed: Bann bt Carlow 1¼ l. Jun 16, coxed: Carlow bt Commercial canvas. Junior 15, coxed: Commercial bt Carlow 2l.

Double – Jun 15: Athlone bt Commercial 4l.

Single – Club One: Methody (Deyermond) bt Garda easily. Junior 18: Neptune (Coleman). Jun 16: Three Castles (Darcy) bt Carlow (Nolan) easily. Jun 15: Three Castles (Darker) bt Athlone (Donovan) easily.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING – Trinity took the overall title and the Wylie Cup for men and the Bank of Ireland trophy for women at the Irish University Championships at the National Rowing Centre in Cork today. The Wylie and Bank of Ireland trophies are decided on the results of senior, intermediate and novice eights – and in both men and women, there were different winners for the three grades. The results from second and third places gave Trinity the decisive edge. While Trinity were comprehensive winners over NUIG in the senior men's grade, UCD were similarly impressive in the winning the women's senior eight.

Irish University Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Cork (Selected Results)
Men
Eight: 1 Trinity, 2 NUIG, 3 UCC; 2l, 1l. Intermediate: 1 UCD, 2 UCC, 3 Trinity; 3l, 1l. Club: 1 Trinity, 2 NUIG, 3 Queen's; bowball, 1l. Novice: 1 Queen's A, 2 Trinity A, 3 UCD; 2l, 1l.
Four – Sen: 1 UCC, 2 NUIG, 3 Trinity; canvas, 1l. Inter, coxed: 1 UCD, 2 Trinity, 3 UCC; 5l, 2l. Club, coxed: 1 Trinity, 2 UCC, 3 Dublin IT; 1 ½ l, 1l.
Pair – Senior: 1 UCD, 2 Trinity; 2½ l.
Sculling
Quadruple – Novice, coxed: 1 Dublin IT A, 2 Trinity, 3 NUIG; 3l, 3l.
Double – Intermediate: 1 Cork IT, 2 UCD, 3 Dublin IT; 5l, easily.
Single – Senior: 1 Queen's (C Beck), 2 Trinity (I Hurley). Inter: 1 UCD (A Griffin), 2 UCD (S Toland), 3 Cork IT (M Ryan); 2½ l, distance.
Women
Eight: 1 UCD, 2 Trinity A, 3 UCC; 1½ l, easily. Inter: 1 Trinity, 2 NUIG, 3 Queen's; 1l, distance. Club: 1 Trinity A, 2 Queen's, 3 UCD. Novice: 1 Queen's, 2 Trinity, 3 UCD.
Four – Senior: 1 Trinity, 2 UCC; distance. Club, coxed: 1 Trinity A, 2 NUIG, 3 Trinity B; ½ l, 2l.
Pair – Senior: 1 Trinity, 2 UCC B, 3 UCC A.
Sculling
Quadruple
Novice, coxed: 1 UCC, 2 NUIG, 3 Dublin IT; 5l, 1½ l.
Double – Inter: 1 Trinity, 2 Queen's; 2½ l
Single – Inter: 1 UCC (S Horgan), 2 UCD (O Finnegan), 3 DCU (S Dineen); 5l, 2l.

Published in Rowing
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#ROWING: Commercial Regatta got back on track after a six-year break with a relatively small event in excellent weather at Islandbridge today. The host club provided the bulk of the entry, but Trinity supplied the two eights which competed in the women’s senior eights final, where the B crew beat the A crew. The men’s senior single sculls final saw Michael Maher beat his Commercial clubmate Colm Dowling.

Commercial Regatta, Islandbridge, Sunday (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Intermediate: Commercial A bt Commercial B. Club One: Commercial A bt Commercial B.

Four – Intermediate, coxed: Trinity bt UCD

Sculling, Quadruple – Club One: Commercial bt Trinity. Junior 16, coxed: Three Castles bt Commercial A. Junior 15, coxed: Commercial A bt Commercial C.

Double – Senior: Commercial A bt Commercial B. Junior 15: Commercial bt Three Castles

Single – Senior: Commercial (M Maher) bt Commercial (C Dowling). Intermediate: Commercial (N Gahan) bt Commercial (F O’Toole). Junior 16: Three Castles (O Clune) bt Three Castles (D Gilheany). Junior 15 – Final One: Commercial (A Holton) bt New Ross (J Becker). Final Two: Commercial (K Browne) bt New Ross (L Sutton).

Women

Eight – Senior: Trinity B bt Trinity A. Club One: Trinity bt Neptune. Novice: Commercial bt Trinity A. Junior 16: Commercial bt Athlone.

Four – Intermediate, coxed: Commercial bt Trinity B.

Sculling, Quadruple – Club One, coxed: Neptune bt Commercial A. Novice, coxed: Carlow bt Commercial. Junior 16, coxed: Commercial bt Athlone B. Junior 15, coxed: New Ross bt Commercial.

Double – Junior 18: Neptune A bt Athlone. Junior 16: Commercial bt New Ross B.

Single – Intermediate: Trinity (H O’Neill) bt Three Castles (A Feely). Club One: Commercial (C Edwards) bt Commercial (S O’Neill). Junior 15 - Final One: Commercial (A Keogh) bt New Ross (C Flanagan). Final Two: Three Castles bt Commercial (Dolan). Final Three: New Ross (A Coughlan) bt New Ross (L Brown).

 

Race No.TimeGroupEventRoundNorth StationSouth StationNext Race
19:30WC1WC1 4X+QF1Commercial ACommercial B16
29:35MJ16XMJ16 1XQF1Commercial, Lynch, MCommercial, Meehan, E39
39:40MJ16XMJ16 1XQF23 Castles, Clune, O3 Castles, Quinn, R39
49:45MJ16XMJ16 1XQF33 Castles, Irwin, A3 Castles, McKnight, T40
59:50WJ16XWJ16 4X+SF1Athlone BNewRoss41
69:55WJ16XWJ16 4X+SF2Athlone ACommercial41
710:00WIW Int 4+SF1CommercialDULBC A43
810:05WIW Int 4+SF2CarlowDULBC B43
910:10MXM Int 1XQF1Commercial, Gahan, NUCDBC, Toland, S33
1010:15MXM Int 1XQF2UCDBC, Griffin, ACommercial, Groome, F33
1110:20MXM Int 1XQF3Commercial, O'Toole, FCommercial, Joyce, D34
1210:25MXM Int 1XQF4Commercial, Healy, JCommercial, Baskerville, R34
1310:30MC1 MC1 8+SF1Commercial AUCDBC69
1410:35WC1XWC1 1XSF1Commercial, Edwards, CNewRoss, Janet, W47
1510:40WC1XWC1 1XSF2Commercial, O'Neill, SNewRoss, Doyle, J47
1610:45WC1WC1 4X+SF1Commercial AAthlone49
1710:50WC1WC1 4X+SF2CarlowNeptune49
1810:55MJ16XMJ16 4X+SF1Commercial ANewRoss50
1911:00MJ16XMJ16 4X+SF2Commercial B3 Castles50
2011:05WJ15 WJ15 4X+SF1NewRossCarlow65a
2111:10WJ15 WJ15 4X+SF2CommercialAthlone65a
2211:15WJ16XWJ16 2XSF1NewRoss ACommercial51
2311:20MSXMS2XSF1Commercial BUCDBC67
2411:25MSXMS2XSF2Commercial ACommercial C67
2511:30WNWN 8+SF1DULBC ADULBC B64
2611:35MJ15XMJ15 4X+SF1Commercial CNewRoss67a
2711:40MJ15XMJ15 4X+SF2Commercial BCommercial A67a
2811:45WSWS4+FDULBCCommercial 
2911:50MC1 MC1 4+FUCDBCCommercial 
3011:55MS MS 2-FNeptuneBelfast RC 
3112:00WJ18 XWJ18 2XSF1Neptune ANeptune B52
3212:05WJ18 XWJ18 2XSF2AthloneCommercial52
3312:10MXM Int 1XSF1Commercial, Gahan, NCommercial, Groome, F59
3412:15MXM Int 1XSF2Commercial, O'Toole, FWinner 1259
3512:20WJ14WJ14 4X+F1AthloneNewRoss1,000m
3612:25WJ14WJ14 4X+F2CommercialCarlow1,000m
3712:30MJ14MJ14 1XFCommercial, Hanley, RCommercial, Keane, R1,000m
3812:35WC1WC1 8+SF1CommercialDULBC65
3912:40MJ16XMJ16 1XSF1Commercial, Meehan, E3 Castles, Clune, O66
4012:45MJ16XMJ16 1XSF23 Castles, McKnight, T3 Castles, Gilheany, D66
4112:50WJ16XWJ16 4X+FAthlone BCommercial 
4212:55W Int 1XW Int 1XFDULBC, O'Neill, H3 Castles, Feeley, A 
4313:00WIW Int 4+FCommercialDULBC B 
4413:05MC1 MC1 4X+FDUBCCommercial 
4513:10MJ15XMJ15 2XFCommercial3 Castles 
4613:15WNWN 4X+FCarlowCommercial 
4713:20WC1XWC1 1XFCommercial, Edwards, CCommercial, O'Neill, S 
4913:30WC1WC1 4X+FCommercial ANeptune 
5013:35MJ16XMJ16 4X+FCommercial A3 Castles 
5113:40WJ16XWJ16 2XFCommercialNewRoss B 
5213:45WJ18 XWJ18 2XFNeptune AAthlone 
5313:50WJ15 WJ15 1XF1Commercial, Keogh, ANewRoss, Flanagain, C 
5413:55WJ15 WJ15 1XF23 Castles, Darker, SCommercial, Dolan, K 
5514:00WJ15 WJ15 1XF3NewRoss, Brown, LNewRoss, Coughlan, A 
5614:05M IntM Int 4+FUCDBCDUBC 
5714:10MJ168MJ16 8+FCommercial ACommercial B 
5814:15WS8WS 8+FDULBC ADULBC B 
5914:20MXM Int 1XFCommercial, Gahan, NCommercial, O'Toole, F 
6014:25MJ15XMJ15 1XF1Commercial, Holton, ANewRoss, Becker, J 
6114:30MJ15XMJ15 1XF2Commercial, Browne, KNewRoss, Sutton, L 
6214:35WJ14WJ14 2XF1NewRoss ACarlow1,000m
6314:40WJ14WJ14 2XF2NewRoss BAthlone1,000m
6414:45WNWN 8+FDULBC ACommercial 
6514:50WC1WC1 8+FDULBCNeptune 
65a14:55 WJ15 4X+FNewRossCommercial 
6615:00MJ16XMJ16 1XF3 Castles, Clune, O3 Castles, Gilheany, D 
6715:05MSXMS2XFCommercial BCommercial A 
67a15:10 MJ15 4X+FCommercial CCommercial A 
6815:15WJ168WJ16 8+fCommercialAthlone 
6915:20MC1 MC1 8+FCommercial ACommercial B 
7015:25MSXMS 1XFCommercial, Maher, MCommercial, Dowling, C
Published in Rowing
Page 6 of 9

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) - FAQS

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are geographically defined maritime areas where human activities are managed to protect important natural or cultural resources. In addition to conserving marine species and habitats, MPAs can support maritime economic activity and reduce the effects of climate change and ocean acidification.

MPAs can be found across a range of marine habitats, from the open ocean to coastal areas, intertidal zones, bays and estuaries. Marine protected areas are defined areas where human activities are managed to protect important natural or cultural resources.

The world's first MPA is said to have been the Fort Jefferson National Monument in Florida, North America, which covered 18,850 hectares of sea and 35 hectares of coastal land. This location was designated in 1935, but the main drive for MPAs came much later. The current global movement can be traced to the first World Congress on National Parks in 1962, and initiation in 1976 of a process to deliver exclusive rights to sovereign states over waters up to 200 nautical miles out then began to provide new focus

The Rio ‘Earth Summit’ on climate change in 1992 saw a global MPA area target of 10% by the 2010 deadline. When this was not met, an “Aichi target 11” was set requiring 10% coverage by 2020. There has been repeated efforts since then to tighten up MPA requirements.

Marae Moana is a multiple-use marine protected area created on July 13th 2017 by the government of the Cook islands in the south Pacific, north- east of New Zealand. The area extends across over 1.9 million square kilometres. However, In September 2019, Jacqueline Evans, a prominent marine biologist and Goldman environmental award winner who was openly critical of the government's plans for seabed mining, was replaced as director of the park by the Cook Islands prime minister’s office. The move attracted local media criticism, as Evans was responsible for developing the Marae Moana policy and the Marae Moana Act, She had worked on raising funding for the park, expanding policy and regulations and developing a plan that designates permitted areas for industrial activities.

Criteria for identifying and selecting MPAs depends on the overall objective or direction of the programme identified by the coastal state. For example, if the objective is to safeguard ecological habitats, the criteria will emphasise habitat diversity and the unique nature of the particular area.

Permanence of MPAs can vary internationally. Some are established under legislative action or under a different regulatory mechanism to exist permanently into the future. Others are intended to last only a few months or years.

Yes, Ireland has MPA cover in about 2.13 per cent of our waters. Although much of Ireland’s marine environment is regarded as in “generally good condition”, according to an expert group report for Government published in January 2021, it says that biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation are of “wide concern due to increasing pressures such as overexploitation, habitat loss, pollution, and climate change”.

The Government has set a target of 30 per cent MPA coverage by 2030, and moves are already being made in that direction. However, environmentalists are dubious, pointing out that a previous target of ten per cent by 2020 was not met.

Conservation and sustainable management of the marine environment has been mandated by a number of international agreements and legal obligations, as an expert group report to government has pointed out. There are specific requirements for area-based protection in the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the OSPAR Convention, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

Yes, the Marine Strategy Framework directive (2008/56/EC) required member states to put measures in place to achieve or maintain good environmental status in their waters by 2020. Under the directive a coherent and representative network of MPAs had to be created by 2016.

Ireland was about halfway up the EU table in designating protected areas under existing habitats and bird directives in a comparison published by the European Commission in 2009. However, the Fair Seas campaign, an environmental coalition formed in 2022, points out that Ireland is “lagging behind “ even our closest neighbours, such as Scotland which has 37 per cent. The Fair Seas campaign wants at least 10 per cent of Irish waters to be designated as “fully protected” by 2025, and “at least” 30 per cent by 2030.

Nearly a quarter of Britain’s territorial waters are covered by MPAs, set up to protect vital ecosystems and species. However, a conservation NGO, Oceana, said that analysis of fishing vessel tracking data published in The Guardian in October 2020 found that more than 97% of British MPAs created to safeguard ocean habitats, are being dredged and bottom trawled. 

There’s the rub. Currently, there is no definition of an MPA in Irish law, and environment protections under the Wildlife Acts only apply to the foreshore.

Current protection in marine areas beyond 12 nautical miles is limited to measures taken under the EU Birds and Habitats Directives or the OSPAR Convention. This means that habitats and species that are not listed in the EU Directives, but which may be locally, nationally or internationally important, cannot currently be afforded the necessary protection

Yes. In late March 2022, Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien said that the Government had begun developing “stand-alone legislation” to enable identification, designation and management of MPAs to meet Ireland’s national and international commitments.

Yes. Environmental groups are not happy, as they have pointed out that legislation on marine planning took precedence over legislation on MPAs, due to the push to develop offshore renewable energy.

No, but some activities may be banned or restricted. Extraction is the main activity affected as in oil and gas activities; mining; dumping; and bottom trawling

The Government’s expert group report noted that MPA designations are likely to have the greatest influence on the “capture fisheries, marine tourism and aquaculture sectors”. It said research suggests that the net impacts on fisheries could ultimately be either positive or negative and will depend on the type of fishery involved and a wide array of other factors.

The same report noted that marine tourism and recreation sector can substantially benefit from MPA designation. However, it said that the “magnitude of the benefits” will depend to a large extent on the location of the MPA sites within the network and the management measures put in place.

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