Last week I was in Dingle where I took part in a discussion with the leader of the local fishing organisation about the future of fishing and the declaration, two years ago, of a new national park in the waters around the Blasket Islands, Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara.
I also dropped by the Magharees which looks out on Tralee Bay, also known as "the Bay of Angels" as it may be the last refuge of critically endangered angel sharks.
Local fishermen use tangle nets to catch crayfish and it has been documented that this method of fishing drowns huge numbers of threatened and protected species including seals and angel sharks.
Tangle netting should be banned but I can see why fishermen would be angry with such a move.
What's needed is a broader recovery plan for marine waters, one that does away with harmful fishing methods (not just netting but also bottom trawling and dredging), the creation of some 'no take' areas, and careful management of low impact fishing.
Alongside this, there needs to be funding for fishermen to help in the transition so they can take short term pain so that there is a long term future for fishing in these areas.
There is some hope as the Independent Advisory Committee on the Nature Restoration Law has made this recommendation to the government while legislation for the creation of Marine Protected Areas has also been promised. Will the government deliver?
They have been very slow so far.
Check out this podcast where I get to talk about how sheep and conifer plantations have largely been responsible for the collapse of nature on our hills and how things could be different.
I also talk about the recent report to the government on nature restoration and how politicians show little sign of responding to the biodiversity crisis.
Wrapping up two talks in Dingle as part of the Féile na Bealtaine festival looking at eco-issues on land and sea following the declaration of Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara two years ago.
It's good to talk, and it was good to get engagement with the local @npwsireland staff as well as @nifa.nifo in relation to fishing at sea, tangle netting and possible Marine Protected Areas coming down the line.
It's clear that 'declaring' a National Park two years ago, with no staff, no resources, no consultation, no communication and zero planning was a mistake.
The two years that have passed have produced nothing on any of these fronts and people I've spoken to in Dingle know nothing about the Park or what is planned for it.
Nevertheless change is in the air. There were discussions this weekend about sheep and uplands, the dire state of the sea, and the need for more resources for nature protection that would have been unheard of 5 or 10 years ago.
Thanks to @peadardingle for the invitation 🐬
Minister @christopher_o_sullivan_td today launched the report from the Independent Advisory Committee on Ireland's nature restoration plan saying that the plan will be funded... "no doubt about that", and that "now is the time for action".
Fine words but there's still no clear path for funding and little visibility as to the level of ambition in the plan, a draft of which will go to the European Commission later this year.
New research from @enricsala highlights the enormous cost of bottom trawling - up to €16 billion every year across Europe.
The emissions of CO2 from bottom trawling is substantial but not accounted for in our annual accounting. "Bottom trawling in European waters is not just an environmental disaster, it's an economic failure".
Nearly half of all bottom trawling in Irish waters is done by Irish boats and there are few areas of seabed which escape the destruction. Bottom trawling is even allowed to occur in many of our so-called "protected areas".
If there is to be a future for fishing and a recovery of marine life, it has to come with the ending of bottom trawling.
The last thing the sea needs is another monster trawler to ravage marine life. Yet this 115m beast claims to be "eco-efficient" and "environmentally responsible".
Nobody needs these boats. They make a tiny number of people rich at great expense to the rest of us. Every one of them should be banned from pillaging our seas.
Many countries around the world are getting on with creating effective Marine Protected Areas in their waters to restore nature and to support small-scale fishing.
The formula is simple - get rid of the industrial trawlers and most damaging fishing gear and allow some areas to be 'no take' to allow the fullest recovery possible.
Yet Ireland remains the odd one out. Ministers @timmydooleytd and @christopher_o_sullivan_td seem to specialise in making promises about doing something about MPAs but in reality what is happening? 🤷♂️
I'll be in Dingle over the May Bank Holiday weekend for two talks related to Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara. One talk is on the land (with the NPWS) and one is on the sea (with local fisherman Eddie Moore). It's part of the Féile na Bealtaine which includes all kinds of cultural and artistic events. I can't wait!
The destructive power of bottom trawling was apparent when it first became widely deployed in the late 1800s. In fact, at this time, it was fishermen who were most widely opposed to it. It was even banned in parts of Ireland for a time.
Since then, bottom trawling has expanded to practically everywhere and it's no coincidence that this has been mirrored by a collapse in fish catches.
Today there are few places where bottom trawling is prohibited and authorities continue to allow it even in so-called 'protected areas'.
Banning bottom trawling has been central to fisheries recovery elsewhere, so why are authorities so slow to catch on?
Important progress reported by @iucn_official regarding marine protection.
However, only four years remain to meet the globally agreed target of 30% protection by 2030.
In Ireland, we have nominal protection for ~10% of our seas but actual protection from harmful fishing and other practices remains a distant prospect.
And while the government has agreed to meet the 30% goal by 2030 there is still no sign of long-promised legislation that would allow this to be put in place.
