2 days ago
Map initiative calls for protection of Ireland's endangered seabirds
But despite laws being passed 46 years ago to safeguard them, the places they feed, roam and spend most of their time are largely unprotected.
Birdwatch Ireland now wants the Government to make up for lost time and officially designate key locations around and off the coast as protected areas.
The charity has identified 73 strips of coastline and stretches of sea it said meet the criteria for Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and is calling on the Government to recognise them as a first step towards formal protections.
Oonagh Duggan, of Birdwatch Ireland, said such protections were long overdue.
'The European Union Birds Directive dates back to 1979, so that's how long we're waiting,' she said.
'Article four of the directive says sites should be designated for all phases of a bird's life cycle. On land we have some legally created Special Protected Areas [SPAs] for breeding birds but we don't designate out to sea, which is where they feed, winter and generally hang out the rest of the time.'
Birdwatch Ireland is proposing that 49 coastal IBAs be created for vital breeding sites and established colonies of birds, with a further 24 marine IBAs out at sea.
Marine IBAs are areas where birds have regular feeding grounds and where they exhibit 'rafting' behaviour – gathering in floating groups to socialise and preen under the safety of numbers.
IBAs would support 24 species of seabird of all shapes and sizes, from the compact puffin to the hefty gannet, from the little tern to the great skua, from the well-known herring gull to less familiar manx shearwater.
The others are black guillemot, common guillemot, Arctic tern, roseate tern, sandwich tern, common tern, kittiwake, shag, cormorant, European storm petrel, Leach's storm petrel, northern fulmar, razorbill, Mediterranean gull, black-headed gull, great black-backed gull, lesser black-backed gull and common gull.
All but the great black-backed gull have an unfavourable conservation status, which means their populations are under threat.
Pressures include loss of food sources from overfishing, entanglement in fishing nets, predation of nests and chicks by rats and other invasive species and marine pollution, including plastics. They are also suffering from the spread of avian flu, human interference with breeding sites and increasing extreme weather events caused by climate change.
Future threats are also identified – including intensification of development at sea when offshore wind projects are built.
Birdwatch Ireland is calling on the Government to accept the IBAs and designate all of them as formal SPAs.
The organisation is also asking that existing SPAs be reviewed and updated using the new IBA data.
It also said management plans must be developed for all IBAs/SPAs with 'clearly defined and quantifiable science-based conservation objectives' and 'conservation measures necessary to achieve these objectives'.
It said accompanying 'avian sensitivity maps' should be drawn up to guide activities at sea, in particular the location of offshore renewable projects.
While they are not a legal designation, thousands of IBAs are already recognised in many countries and used to inform policymakers in the process of formally declaring protected areas.
The EU accepts their validity, as does the European Court of Justice.
Global conservation organisation BirdLife International has devised the criteria for declaring an IBA, setting out the research that must be carried out to ensure they are scientifically robust.
A detailed report being published today by Birdwatch Ireland was compiled with help from experts at the National Parks and Wildlife Service, University College Cork, University College Dublin, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and universities and research institutes in England, Scotland and Norway.
Extensive surveys were carried out and tracking data collated to piece together the most up-to-date picture of the places our seabirds depend on for survival.
The public will be able to check out the areas and birds for themselves when Birdwatch Ireland launches an interactive map on its website today.
It stressed the initiative is not just critical for Ireland's wildlife but for global biodiversity, as some of the sites host some of the most significant colonies of species in the world.
The initiative comes as concern grows over the fate of Government promises to designate 30pc of Ireland's seas as marine protected areas (MPAs). Just 10pc is designated so far and practical protections have not been put in place.
Legislation to formally create MPAs has been delayed and Environment Minister Darragh O'Brien indicated this week that he may change tack.
