An area in the northwest Irish Sea is to be designated as Ireland’s largest ever protected zone for birds.
The proposed new special protection area (SPA) will cover over 230,000 hectares and will increase Ireland’s percentage of marine waters protected under the EU Birds and Habitats directive to over 9 per cent.
That’s according to Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform Malcolm Noonan and National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) director general Niall Ó Donnchú.
Mr Ó Donnchú declared the designation as a “milestone” for the “protection of Ireland’s marine biodiversity”.
The new SPA adjoins twelve existing SPAs already designated along the coast in this area, he says.
The publication of detailed information and maps for the site brings “certainty and clarity to a long-mooted proposal for protections for marine birds in this area”, they state.
“This site, at more than 230,000 hectares, is the largest SPA designation for birds in Ireland’s history,” Mr Noonan said.
“We are working hard as a Government to ensure we have robust protections in place for nature as we work to deliver on our offshore renewable energy objectives. Biodiversity action and climate action must go hand in hand, “he said.
The new north-west Irish Sea SPA extends offshore along the coasts of counties Louth, Meath and Dublin.
It will be of “conservation interest” for these seabirds: Common Scoter; Red-throated Diver; Great Northern Diver; Fulmar; Manx Shearwater; Shag; Cormorant; Little Gull; Kittiwake; Black-headed Gull; Common Gull; Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Little Tern, Roseate Tern, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Puffin, Razorbill and Guillemot
It will adjoin these existing protected areas: Lambay Island SPA; Skerries Island SPA; Ireland's Eye SPA; Howth Head SPA; Rockabill SPA; South Dublin Bay and River Tolka Estuary SPA; Boyne Estuary SPA; River Nanny Estuary and Shore SPA; Rogerstown Estuary SPA; Malahide Estuary SPA; Baldoyle Bay SPA and North Bull Island SPA.
More detailed information about the site, including a map, a species list and a list of the Activities Requiring Consent (ARCs) for the site is available on www.npws.ie/protectedsites.
The NPWS says that in keeping with the Birds and Habitats Regulations 2011, any person with an interest in the proposed site may submit an objection or observation at the following email address: [email protected].
“Objections or observations may only be based on scientific, ornithological grounds,” it says.
