Safeguarding ocean life ‘will squeeze’ wind farms, fishing 

A government study on identifying marine protected areas off the east coast has said there would be “significant spatial squeeze” if both offshore wind farms and commercial fishing are excluded from sensitive habitats.

The analysis for Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien has recommended a list of 40 sensitive species and habitats in a sea area targeted for extensive offshore wind farm development.

The study, led by Professor Tasman Crowe, director of University College Dublin’s Earth Institute, was given four months to come up with an ecological analysis that would inform new legislation on marine protected areas (MPAs).

The group was asked to focus on the sea area extending from Carlingford Lough to Carnsore Point, where a number of offshore wind farms will be built.

Wind Energy Ireland has said at least seven offshore wind farms will have to be in operation off the Irish coast by 2030 if climate-related renewable energy targets are to be achieved.

But the Government has committed to designating 30pc of Ireland’s “blue fields” as MPAs by 2030 in line with EU commitments, and a bill is before the Oireachtas.

The new report acknowledges the challenges of overlapping competing interests, given that the western Irish Sea is a key area for commercial fishing of the Dublin Bay prawn, whelk and herring.

Angel shark, basking shark, tope, American plaice and the European eel are among 40 species and habitats identified for MPA designation, along with the blonde ray, cuckoo ray, edible sea urchin and short-snouted seahorse.

Among the 40 listed, 18 species are already on protected lists by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) or the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic.

The European eel and angel shark are “red-listed” or critically endangered under the IUCN.

The pink sea fan and Icelandic cyprine are among invertebrates on the list, along with two habitats – ross worm reefs and burrowing megafauna communities.

Carbon-rich muddy habitats are included, due to their potential contribution to carbon sequestration or carbon capture to mitigate the impact of climate change.

The barrel jellyfish is listed, as it provides food for species of commercial or conservation importance.

Sub-tidal mussel beds are included among four “features of ecological importance”.

Native or European flat oysters, which were fished to extinction in the Irish Sea, are listed as being “suitable for restoration”.

​The report says the Irish Sea has a “long history of exploitation and human influence” and is “far from pristine”, but says there are more than 1,700 species in the western Irish Sea and it is a “biocultural hotspot”.

It stresses its importance for birdlife, including migratory species, and says it has some “rare and unusual habitats”.

Among these are the Wicklow Reef, built by the honeycomb worm Sabellaria alveolata at a depth of 12-30 metres.

The 132-page report identifies broad “suitable areas” for potential protection in the western Irish Sea, but says not all existing activities would have to be restricted within them.

Irish South and East Fish Producers’ Organisation chief executive John Lynch, who has warned of potential conflict between fishing and offshore wind farms, welcomed the report as being very comprehensive.

“It shows the sea is a very busy place, and there is still a job of work to do,” he said.