#MarineWildlife - Northern Ireland acted too slowly to protect endangered horse mussels in Strangford Lough, according to a new report.
The findings by the Northern Ireland Audit Office, as the News Letter reports, have damned Stormont's failure to ensure proper implementation of various plans to protect the mussel reefs since the 1980s.
As previously reported on Afloat.ie, it's not the first time the NI government has been criticised for inaction over the protected shellfish species.
A study from Queen's University Belfast in 2011 revealed the extent of damage to their habitat by commercial fishing.
Since then, the lough has faced the additional threat of the invasive Japanese sea squirt.
A revised restoration plan was drawn up in 2012 between the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (Dard) and the Department of the Environment (DoE), which share responsibility for Strangford Lough.
But the European Commission is taking seriously previous complaints made against Stormont by the Ulster Wildlife Trust, with the potential for millions in fines to be levied if any future complaint is upheld.
The News Letter has much more on the story HERE.