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Displaying items by tag: Dublin Bay Biosphere

Small blue balls found on a North Dublin beach have prompted concerns around their origin and whether they pose a threat to a protected habitat, as the Irish Times reports.

Brian Bolger — who lives near Bull Island — says he has reported increasing numbers of the 25mm rubber-like spheres, both blue and orange, washing up on the island’s Dollymount Strand.

“We thought they were golf ball innards because there are two courses on the island,” he says.

But he later discovered that similar objects washed on an English beach were traced back to a nearby nuclear power station.

Those objects, known as Taprogge balls, are used in the cleaning process for cooling systems in power stations and other industrial processes.

It’s not yet confirmed if the balls found on Dollymount are of the same type, but their presence within the Dublin Bay Biopshere prompts concern for their potential to affect a sensitive habitat for many marine wildlife species.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Coastal Notes

The Dublin Bay Biosphere Youth Committee is holding a ‘Monster Clean-Up’ on North Bull Island this Sunday 27 October from 2pm.

Get into the spooky spirit in this Hallowe’en-themed coastal litter pick-up event, and all taking part will be entered into a prize draw to win a family pass to Dublin Zoo.

All ages are welcome to join in — especially in costume — with all equipment provided as well as hot drinks for what will probably be a chilly day on Dublin Bay.

For more follow the hashtags #MonsterClean and #BiosphereYouth on Twitter and Instagram.

Monster Clean Up poster

Published in Dublin Bay

About Warrenpoint Port

The Original Port of Warrenpoint was constructed in the late 1770s and acted as a lightering port for the much larger Port of Newry.

Following the demise of Newry Port Warrenpoint Harbour Authority was created as a Trust Port by legislation in 1971. The modern Port was completed in 1974 when it covered 28 acres. Since then the port has expanded to its current size of approximately 53 Acres. The Authority has just completed a £22 Million capital infrastructure project (under the terms of a Service of General Economic Interest with the Department for Regional Development) that includes, the construction of a 300 Metres of Deep Water Quay (7.5 Metres C.D), new Ro-Ro berthing facilities, additional lands and covered storage facilities and a new 100 Tonne mobile crane.

  • Warrenpoint Port is the second largest port in Northern Ireland and the fifth-biggest on the island of Ireland.
  • Warrenpoint Harbour Authority was created as a Trust Port by legislation in 1971.
  • In 2018, the value of goods moving through Warrenpoint Port was £6.5 billion. The Port handled 3.56 million tonnes in 2017, increasing to 3.6m in 2018.
  • The port employs 70 staff directly and supports over 1,500 in the local economy.
  • In addition to serving the markets in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, the Port deals with imports and exports from countries and regions across the world including to Spain, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, Ukraine and the Americas.

 

At A Glance – Warrenpoint Port

  • Warrenpoint, Newry BT34 3JR, United Kingdom Phone: +44 28 4177 3381

     

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