A group of 13 conservation bodies, including Ulster Wildlife, known collectively as the Irish Sea Network*, is urging planners in all six nations bordering the Irish Sea to collaborate and cooperate, for the sake of nature. In a report out today, ‘Ecological Considerations for Marine Spatial Planning in the Irish Sea’, the Network calls for planners to work together strategically and ensure that wildlife is protected, as they review how the Irish Sea is used.

The Irish Sea, which is bordered by England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, is coming under significant and increasing pressure from damaging activities such as industrial fishing, aquaculture, offshore renewable energy development, shipping, military activity, recreational activity and pollution. All of these activities take their toll on marine species, that are already endangered by the impacts of climate change.

The Irish Sea Network reports that while over a third of the Irish Sea has been designated as Marine Protected Areas, as little as five per cent is actually managed for nature, and less than 0.01 per cent is fully protected from damaging activities. This leaves the Irish Sea’s wildlife and the habitats on which they depend at serious risk, with little chance for nature to recover. As well as its intrinsic value, people depend on healthy seas because they produce oxygen, sequester carbon on the seabed, provide food security, and livelihoods for local fishing and coastal communities, enable low-impact eco-tourism opportunities, and contribute to our well-being and culture.

Marine wildlife doesn’t respect borders – yet each Irish Sea nation is producing separate marine planning documents. Each plan will cover a huge range of uses of the Irish Sea, from rules about fishing and renewable energy to shipping and tourism. The Irish Sea Network says all planners and decision-makers must collaborate and cooperate better and with urgency, to consider the Irish Sea as a whole, and ensure that the nature and climate crises are at the forefront during this process.

Joan Edwards, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at The Wildlife Trusts says: “The Irish Sea is a special place, but decades of overexploitation and pollution have left wildlife here degraded and at risk. As our seas are increasingly industrialised, it’s vital nations work together to prioritise nature and the achievement of net zero. We need spatially explicit marine plans which aim to recover nature, ensure the sustainability of all activities and enable a just transition for sea users and communities around our coasts.”

Head of Marine at the North West Wildlife Trusts, Georgia de Jong Cleyndert says: “The Irish Sea is in a degraded state and under huge and increasing pressure from climate change and increasing levels of human activities.

“More than 15 million people live around the Irish Sea and many more visit for holidays, but not everyone realises the diverse wildlife that lives there and just how important it is for biodiversity and the environment. It’s home to a huge amount of amazing wildlife – giant basking sharks, leatherback turtles, beautiful starfish and jellyfish, dolphins, porpoises, seals and sharks, and internationally important seabirds like Manx shearwater and guillemots. Without protection and proper management, much of this wildlife faces an uncertain future - pollution, development and destruction of habitat could lead to a severe decline in biodiversity. But for protection to be effective, it must be done in a joined-up way.”

Georgia continues: “Marine species don’t respect borders or stick to lines drawn on maps - they show just how connected our Irish Sea is. For example, basking sharks migrate throughout the Irish Sea while cockles from all corners of the Irish Sea are genetically linked. Tracking data reveals Manx shearwaters from each breeding colony around the Irish Sea will travel long distances to a shared central feeding ground. Species are so interconnected, we believe strongly that the Irish Sea should be considered as a whole and urgent measures to protect nature should be taken at a cross-national level.”

All six Irish Sea nations are responding to the joint nature and climate crises by committing to protect and restore at least 30% of our seas by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2050. However, with all of the large-scale developments and numerous activities in the Irish Sea the Wildlife Trusts and its partners are highlighting the urgent plight of marine wildlife and the habitats they depend on. The Irish Sea Network is urging planners to ensure that environmental projects, such as wind farms, are sited in the right places using the right technology, i.e. not in marine protected areas, where underwater cables can damage fragile habitats and ecosystems on the seabed.

Georgia says: “It’s fantastic that all the Irish Sea nations have committed to protect 30% of their seas by 2030, but at the moment this commitment is not a reality. We need better governance, to ensure that our already fragile underwater ecosystems aren’t put in further jeopardy. Planners need to work together, to be more strategic. For example, using cable corridors, so that different cables from various wind farm developers can merge their cabling into one site, thus greatly reducing the harm to the seabed.

“Other key areas for collaboration include moving away from fishing in Highly Protected Marine Areas to other less fragile areas and replacing trawling methods with less damaging forms of fishing, such as using creels, as well as exploring the benefits of nature tourism. Local communities, as well as the economies of all six Irish Sea nations, will benefit from more strategic and joined-up planning of our seas, as well as benefitting the urgent nature and climate crises.”

Jennifer Fulton, CEO of Ulster Wildlife, says: “To overcome the impacts of biodiversity loss and climate change on the already busy Irish Sea, we urgently need a comprehensive cross-boundary strategy that has nature’s recovery at its core. Safeguarding and restoring marine ecosystems must be a priority for Marine Spatial Plans, which need to be strategic, spatially prioritised, and fit for purpose. Together, with a resilient and well-managed network of Marine Protected Areas, we can safeguard marine wildlife and the livelihoods of the many people who depend on the Irish Sea, now and into the future.”

The Irish Sea Network was set up in 2022 to improve understanding of conservation activities and pressures across the Irish Sea.

*The Irish Sea Network is a partnership of 10 Wildlife Trusts from around the Irish Sea (Manx Wildlife Trust, North Wales Wildlife Trust, North West Wildlife Trusts - Cumbria, Lancashire and Cheshire, The Wildlife Trusts, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Ulster Wildlife, Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales, and Wildlife Trusts Wales), Northern Ireland Marine Task Force, Irish Wildlife Trust, and the Sustainable Water Network (SWAN).