Question 1

What is a marine protected area?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 2

Where are MPAs located?

Accepted Answer

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

Question 3

Where was the world’s first MPA?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 4

Is there a global target for MPAs?

Accepted Answer

The Rio ‘Earth Summit’ on climate change in 1992 saw a a global MPA area target of 10% by 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.

Question 5

Where is the world’s largest MPA?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 6

How are MPAs chosen?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 7

Are MPAs permanent?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 8

Does Ireland have any MPAs?

Accepted Answer

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”.

Question 9

Are there plans to expand MPAs in Irish waters?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 10

What are the international obligations on MPAs?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 11

Are there specific EU obligations?

Accepted Answer

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

Question 12

How does Ireland compare to other coastal countries?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 13

How is our nearest neighbour, Britain, doing on MPAs?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 14

How are Irish MPAs protected?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 15

So is there any protection for sensitive habitats and species beyond the foreshore ?

Accepted Answer

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

Question 16

Is legislation planned for Ireland?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 17

That sounds like good news for Irish MPAs ?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 18

Is all activity banned in MPAs?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 19

Is there a cost to MPAs?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 20

Is there an economic benefit to MPAs?

Accepted Answer

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.

Race No.	Time	Group	Event	Round	North Station	South Station	Next Race
1	9:30	WC1	WC1 4X+	QF1	Commercial A	Commercial B	16
2	9:35	MJ16X	MJ16 1X	QF1	Commercial, Lynch, M	Commercial, Meehan, E	39
3	9:40	MJ16X	MJ16 1X	QF2	3 Castles, Clune, O	3 Castles, Quinn, R	39
4	9:45	MJ16X	MJ16 1X	QF3	3 Castles, Irwin, A	3 Castles, McKnight, T	40
5	9:50	WJ16X	WJ16 4X+	SF1	Athlone B	NewRoss	41
6	9:55	WJ16X	WJ16 4X+	SF2	Athlone A	Commercial	41
7	10:00	WI	W Int 4+	SF1	Commercial	DULBC A	43
8	10:05	WI	W Int 4+	SF2	Carlow	DULBC B	43
9	10:10	MX	M Int 1X	QF1	Commercial, Gahan, N	UCDBC, Toland, S	33
10	10:15	MX	M Int 1X	QF2	UCDBC, Griffin, A	Commercial, Groome, F	33
11	10:20	MX	M Int 1X	QF3	Commercial, O'Toole, F	Commercial, Joyce, D	34
12	10:25	MX	M Int 1X	QF4	Commercial, Healy, J	Commercial, Baskerville, R	34
13	10:30	MC1	MC1 8+	SF1	Commercial A	UCDBC	69
14	10:35	WC1X	WC1 1X	SF1	Commercial, Edwards, C	NewRoss, Janet, W	47
15	10:40	WC1X	WC1 1X	SF2	Commercial, O'Neill, S	NewRoss, Doyle, J	47
16	10:45	WC1	WC1 4X+	SF1	Commercial A	Athlone	49
17	10:50	WC1	WC1 4X+	SF2	Carlow	Neptune	49
18	10:55	MJ16X	MJ16 4X+	SF1	Commercial A	NewRoss	50
19	11:00	MJ16X	MJ16 4X+	SF2	Commercial B	3 Castles	50
20	11:05	WJ15	WJ15 4X+	SF1	NewRoss	Carlow	65a
21	11:10	WJ15	WJ15 4X+	SF2	Commercial	Athlone	65a
22	11:15	WJ16X	WJ16 2X	SF1	NewRoss A	Commercial	51
23	11:20	MSX	MS2X	SF1	Commercial B	UCDBC	67
24	11:25	MSX	MS2X	SF2	Commercial A	Commercial C	67
25	11:30	WN	WN 8+	SF1	DULBC A	DULBC B	64
26	11:35	MJ15X	MJ15 4X+	SF1	Commercial C	NewRoss	67a
27	11:40	MJ15X	MJ15 4X+	SF2	Commercial B	Commercial A	67a
28	11:45	WS	WS4+	F	DULBC	Commercial
29	11:50	MC1	MC1 4+	F	UCDBC	Commercial
30	11:55	MS	MS 2-	F	Neptune	Belfast RC
31	12:00	WJ18 X	WJ18 2X	SF1	Neptune A	Neptune B	52
32	12:05	WJ18 X	WJ18 2X	SF2	Athlone	Commercial	52
33	12:10	MX	M Int 1X	SF1	Commercial, Gahan, N	Commercial, Groome, F	59
34	12:15	MX	M Int 1X	SF2	Commercial, O'Toole, F	Winner 12	59
35	12:20	WJ14	WJ14 4X+	F1	Athlone	NewRoss	1,000m
36	12:25	WJ14	WJ14 4X+	F2	Commercial	Carlow	1,000m
37	12:30	MJ14	MJ14 1X	F	Commercial, Hanley, R	Commercial, Keane, R	1,000m
38	12:35	WC1	WC1 8+	SF1	Commercial	DULBC	65
39	12:40	MJ16X	MJ16 1X	SF1	Commercial, Meehan, E	3 Castles, Clune, O	66
40	12:45	MJ16X	MJ16 1X	SF2	3 Castles, McKnight, T	3 Castles, Gilheany, D	66
41	12:50	WJ16X	WJ16 4X+	F	Athlone B	Commercial
42	12:55	W Int 1X	W Int 1X	F	DULBC, O'Neill, H	3 Castles, Feeley, A
43	13:00	WI	W Int 4+	F	Commercial	DULBC B
44	13:05	MC1	MC1 4X+	F	DUBC	Commercial
45	13:10	MJ15X	MJ15 2X	F	Commercial	3 Castles
46	13:15	WN	WN 4X+	F	Carlow	Commercial
47	13:20	WC1X	WC1 1X	F	Commercial, Edwards, C	Commercial, O'Neill, S
49	13:30	WC1	WC1 4X+	F	Commercial A	Neptune
50	13:35	MJ16X	MJ16 4X+	F	Commercial A	3 Castles
51	13:40	WJ16X	WJ16 2X	F	Commercial	NewRoss B
52	13:45	WJ18 X	WJ18 2X	F	Neptune A	Athlone
53	13:50	WJ15	WJ15 1X	F1	Commercial, Keogh, A	NewRoss, Flanagain, C
54	13:55	WJ15	WJ15 1X	F2	3 Castles, Darker, S	Commercial, Dolan, K
55	14:00	WJ15	WJ15 1X	F3	NewRoss, Brown, L	NewRoss, Coughlan, A
56	14:05	M Int	M Int 4+	F	UCDBC	DUBC
57	14:10	MJ168	MJ16 8+	F	Commercial A	Commercial B
58	14:15	WS8	WS 8+	F	DULBC A	DULBC B
59	14:20	MX	M Int 1X	F	Commercial, Gahan, N	Commercial, O'Toole, F
60	14:25	MJ15X	MJ15 1X	F1	Commercial, Holton, A	NewRoss, Becker, J
61	14:30	MJ15X	MJ15 1X	F2	Commercial, Browne, K	NewRoss, Sutton, L
62	14:35	WJ14	WJ14 2X	F1	NewRoss A	Carlow	1,000m
63	14:40	WJ14	WJ14 2X	F2	NewRoss B	Athlone	1,000m
64	14:45	WN	WN 8+	F	DULBC A	Commercial
65	14:50	WC1	WC1 8+	F	DULBC	Neptune
65a	14:55		WJ15 4X+	F	NewRoss	Commercial
66	15:00	MJ16X	MJ16 1X	F	3 Castles, Clune, O	3 Castles, Gilheany, D
67	15:05	MSX	MS2X	F	Commercial B	Commercial A
67a	15:10		MJ15 4X+	F	Commercial C	Commercial A
68	15:15	WJ168	WJ16 8+	f	Commercial	Athlone
69	15:20	MC1	MC1 8+	F	Commercial A	Commercial B
70	15:25	MSX	MS 1X	F	Commercial, Maher, M	Commercial, Dowling, C

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Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) - FAQS