Over the years Irish citizens have shown time and time again that they support stronger marine protection. We are an island nation with the majority of us having a strong emotional connection to the sea. Many of rely on the sea for livelihoods, fitness and mental health benefits.
Ocean Literacy is defined as, ‘having an understanding of your influence on the ocean and its influence on you’. This decade has been hailed as the ‘Ocean Decade’ by the United Nations, stating that research and efforts to reverse the decline in ocean health must be accelerated. Garnering stakeholders worldwide and increasing ocean literacy is one of the actions to be taken. In Summer 2023 Fair Seas commissioned an Ocean Literacy Survey with expert Dr.Emma McKinley. A total of 1293 people provided their views on the state of Ireland’s seas, as well as what the oceans mean to them and what concerns them.
Some of the main findings from this survey were:
- 99% of people indicated that protecting the marine environment was important or very important to them.
- 76% of people stated that a lack of political will to protect/manage the ocean effectively is the biggest threat to the ocean.
- 98% of people support Marine Protected Area (MPA) designation to some degree.
Fast forward a year to Summer 2024 and two European marine NGO’s, Seas at Risk and Oceana, commissioned an independent survey across 7 EU Member States (Ireland, Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Germany and Denmark) asking citizens their views on marine conservation.
Out of 1001 people surveyed in Ireland:
- 91% of respondents said that MPA’s were either very or somewhat necessary to conserve marine biodiversity.
- 86% of Irish citizens would either moderately or strongly support stricter legislation in favour of MPAs.
- 88% think politicians should give higher priority to marine biodiversity.
- Only 31% of Irish citizens think that current legislation in Ireland effectively protects the ocean.
The results from these two separate surveys conducted a year apart show that the Irish people care deeply about the state of our seas and want to see them effectively protected. This issue will not be forgotten about by the Irish people.
However, some people may argue that people only care about conservation issues as long as it doesn’t have an impact on other aspects of their lives by negatively affecting the economy. Studies have shown that protecting the ocean through effectively managed MPAs offers numerous socio-economic benefits. Tourism and fisheries are key sectors that can benefit from proper MPA management, with zero evidence showing a negative impact to fisheries. Read more in our blog ‘Benefits of marine protected areas for fishing and coastal communities’.
The Irish Government has committed to protecting 30% of Ireland’s seas by 2030, that’s less than 6 years away. We currently have only 9.4% of our waters designated as protected, under EU law. Although, these areas known as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs), are not effectively managed to ensure their conservation objectives are being met.
Over 3,000 emails have been sent to the Government Ministers from the Irish public asking them to publish the Marine Protected Areas Bill without delay. Almost 60,000 people worldwide signed our petition asking for the Government to effectively protect Ireland’s Seas. Yet there is still no sign of the promised legislation needed to do so.
With huge public support, global promises and scientific evidence showing the importance of protecting our seas, what more will it take for the MPA bill to be progressed?
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