A large swathe of ocean off the southwest coast of Ireland has been added to a list of 'Hope Spots' by the global marine conservation movement, Mission Blue, led by legendary oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle.
Three million hectares of Ireland's seas will be protected. Minister Malcolm Noonan TD announced the creation of two new Special Areas of Conservation while on his way to the COP15 UN Biodiversity Conference in Montréal, Canada.
Fair Seas has signed the European Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030” which brings together member states, regions and a wide range of stakeholders with the common goal of making our oceans healthy again
The new law will set legally binding targets for nature restoration both on land and at sea.
The research shows that 31% of people believe that Irish seas are healthy and that 67% of people believe the health of Irish seas has worsened in the past ten years.
Fair Seas has welcomed a decision by the European Commission to close parts of the Northeast Atlantic to bottom fishing but says more action is needed.