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.

Series Place	Sail No	Helm	M/F	Crew	Category	Tally	UK Nats
1	183231	Conor O'BEIRNE		G	J	4.7-042	I
2	174568	Will CREAVEN		G	Y	4.7-010	W
3	193620	Aisling KELLER	L	G	J	4.7-046	I
4	202458	Hamish ECKSTEIN		G	J	4.7-023
5	179795	Sam MCKAY		G	Y	4.7-014
6	191850	Georgia BOOTH	L	G	J	4.7-027
7	195118	Tom JOESBURY		G	J	4.7-030	W
8	201701	Sophie HERITAGE	L	G	J	4.7-039
9	165292	Joe WOODLEY		G	J	4.7-008
10	198435	Sorcha NI SHUILLEABHAIN	L	G	Y	4.7-049	I
11	193494	Jack ROCKETT		G	J	4.7-029
12	151286	Simon WEATHERSPOON		G	J	4.7-005
13	161777	Caitlin TWEEDLE	L	G	Y	4.7-007
14	186262	Josh ATHERTON		G	J	4.7-020
15	197362	Erica RUIGROK	L	G	J	4.7-048	I
16	196999	David HAW		G	J	4.7-032
17	197899	Karyna MANUEL	L	G	J	4.7-034
18	180292	Emily GENT	L	G	J	4.7-015
19	185978	Rupert DANIELS		G	Y	4.7-019
20	193576	Craig CAMPBELL		G	Y	4.7-045
21	198827	Jacob FARREN-PRICE		G	J	4.7-036
22	186695	Sophie TAYLOR	L	G	Y	4.7-021	S
23	19617	Hanna BRANT	L	S	J	4.7-017
24	192861	Andrew LEVIE		G	Y	4.7-044	I
25	130583	Verity HOPKINS	L	S	Y	4.7-003
26	189216	Scott O'SULLIVAN		G	J	4.7-043	I
27	178210	Sam TWEEDLE		S	J	4.7-013
28	149321	Harry COBBY		S	Y	4.7-009
29	196243	Lucy BURROWS	L	G	Y	4.7-047	I
30	119333	Fred WARREN-SMITH		S	Y	4.7-002
31	185655	Sam CHILTON		S	J	4.7-018
32	153740	Chelsea JACKSON	L	S	Y	4.7-006	W
33	191038	Sam THOMAS		S	J	4.7-025	W
34	189370	Edward DOWNES		S	Y	4.7-024	W
35	197705	Aimee O'BRIEN	L	S	J	4.7-033
36	187491	Ollie TAIT		S	J	4.7-022
37	191693	James EADY		S	J	4.7-026
38	180777	Harriet PHILO POWELL	L	S	J	4.7-016
39	201836	Tom FENEMORE		S	J	4.7-040
40	199271	Fiona HARRINGTON	L	S	Y	4.7-037
41	191794	James WILLIAMS		S	Y	4.7-035	W
42	200748	Tai THOMAS-DAY		S	J	4.7-038
43	192517	Rosie POVALL	L	S	Y	4.7-028
44	136198	Steph HARDING	L	S	Y	4.7-050
45	186068	Poppy DANIEL	L	S	J	4.7-041
46	196381	Melissa BRADY	L	S	J	4.7-031	S
47	176716	Tadhg O'FARRELL		S	J	4.7-011
48	133335	Millie HOPKINS	L	S	J	4.7-004
49	118465	Melissa COULTON-MCCULLOUGH	L	S	J	4.7-001

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

See All Featured Sections

Featured Sailing School

Featured Clubs

Featured Brokers

Featured Associations

Featured Chandleries

Featured Sailmakers

Featured Blogs

Displaying items by tag: royal st.george yc

Afloat.ie Proudly Supported By

Title Sponsor

Foundation Supporters

Clubs & Associations

Marine Industry

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) - FAQS