Lancashire Wildlife Trust at heart of new vision to save 'degraded' Irish Sea

What’s it all about?

The Irish Sea is considered to be in a ‘degraded’ state, and is under significant and increasing pressure from climate change and activities like fishing, aquaculture, development, shipping, aggregates, military activity, recreational activity and pollution.

Together with the Manx Wildlife Trust, North Wales Wildlife Trust, the North West Wildlife Trusts, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Sustainable Water Network (Ireland), The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales and Ulster Wildlife, Lancashire Wildlife Trust hope to find solutions to the challenges nature is facing.

They have formed the Irish Sea Network and have produced a review, laying down their vision and calls to action.

Aims

Among their aims are:

- A well-managed and ecologically coherent network of Marine Protected Areas and truly sustainable fisheries across the Irish Sea.

- Putting ecosystems at the heart of planning decision making

- Ensuring the Irish Sea and all its inhabitants are protected.

While 36 per cent of the Irish Sea is designated as a Marine Protected Area, only approximately five per cent has any management in place and less than 0.01 per cent is fully protected.

>>>Click here to read the full action statement

“Forgotten Sea”

Head of Marine at the North West Wildlife Trusts, Georgia de Jong Cleyndert said: “Working together is essential. Wildlife does not adhere to lines drawn on maps, so we need to think at an Irish Sea scale. Whilst there are some protection measures in place for the Irish Sea, management is weak."

Tom Burditt CEO of Lancashire Wildlife Trust said: “We often describe the Irish Sea as the Forgotten Sea, because it gets less attention than other parts of the British and Irish coastline, and because despite millions of people living and holidaying along its shores, very few of us get to see and experience either the wealth of life living in it, or the damage being done to that special wildlife by inappropriate and unregulated activities.

"This new partnership, vision, and review is an important next step at addressing that. But it will only work if we now use it to work in partnership with the communities and businesses living and working on, in and alongside this fabulous marine ecosystem.”