5.9 Biodiversity

DAFM’s Statement of Strategy includes actions to support the ecosystem in inshore waters and promote environmental sustainability in Irish waters to protect fishers and fish stocks into the future. This involves ensuring that sea-fishing activities, which can include a variety of fishing gears, are conducted in a manner that avoids the deterioration of designated features of Natura 2000 sites and the significant disturbance of protected species within those sites. Management measures can be introduced as a result of an Appropriate Assessment or Risk Assessment depending on the context of the sea-fishing activity, and particularly where an assessment determines that a fishing activity may pose a threat to a protected habitat and/or species. Such scientific assessments include Appropriate Assessments for the mussel seed and Dundalk cockle fisheries, and Risk Assessments on fishing activities in the Irish Sea and south

and west coasts and their potential interactions with Natura 2000 sites. A suite of management tools can be put in place to facilitate co-existence between commercial sea-fishing activities and protected habitats and species. For example, the opening of fisheries for limited periods, restricting areas where fishing can take place in certain circumstances and limiting outtake or landings from a particular fishery as deemed necessary.

In November 2022, DAFM received a draft Fisheries Natura Plan (FNP) prepared on behalf of industry in respect of seed mussel fishing in the Irish Sea for 2023-2027. The Marine Institute has commenced screening of the draft FNP for appropriate assessment purposes, and if necessary, the Marine Institute will prepare an Appropriate Assessment report as required under S.I. No. 290 of 2013.

DAFM actively engages with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in relation to the expansion of Ireland’s network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and in respect of the General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill. Well-managed MPAs can foster healthy marine ecosystems and help address biodiversity loss which can benefit the seafood sector. Careful management and collaboration with the seafood sector is required to ensure that the expansion of Ireland’s MPA network is successful.