Posted on junio, 28 2005

Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland – WWF welcomes the annoucement by the Irish goverment to protect the country’s cold-water coral reefs. 

The announcement was made by Irish Marine Minister Pat the Cope Gallagher as Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) met at their annual meeting.

"This is an important step that will serve to protect Ireland’s marine treasures and will be of long-term benefit to the fishing industry," said Stephan Lutter, Director of WWF's North-East Atlantic Marine Ecoregion Programme. 
 
According to the minister, Ireland plans to conserve the cold-water coral reefs by nominating four sites in Irish waters as marine protected areas, and by preventing harmful fishing practice in three others in international waters.
 
“This should be considered a win-win situation for environmentalists and fishermen," added Lutter.
 
"Careful management of human activities at these vulnerable deep-water habitats will protect the marine food web and help ensure the long-term survival of fish stocks in Irish waters.”  

Ireland’s cold-water coral reefs, situated off its western coast, are home to a recorded 1,300 species of invertebrates and fish, including the commercially important redfish. These unique habitats – which take thousands of years to form and have very poor recovery rates once damaged – are similar to the coral reefs found in warmer and shallower waters, such as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

“In certain areas of the North-East Atlantic, an estimated 30–50 per cent of coral habitats have been smashed to smithereens and lost in the past," said Lutter. "The ongoing destruction must be halted.”  

Norway and Sweden have already made bold moves to close reefs in their waters to bottom trawling. In the UK waters, the Darwin Mounds north-west of Scotland were saved from fishing impacts. However, other countries such as France and Portugal have so far failed to put such measures in place despite having committed, in 2003, to take immediate steps to protect the reefs, and to nominate marine protected areas in their waters before the end of 2005.

WWF fears that most countries will miss this deadline. 

END NOTES: 
• The OSPAR Convention is the legal framework to protect the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic from land-based pollution and human impacts at sea. There are 16 Contracting Parties sharing the maritime and/or catchment area: Belgium, Denmark, the EC, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In addition, the maritime area includes international waters.

• The OSPAR Commission is the governing body to adopt decisions, recommendations and/or other agreements under the Convention on an annual basis.

• WWF, along with other NGOs, has observer status to OSPAR and its committees and working groups.  
 
For further information: 
Sara McClintock, Communications Officer
WWF Northern Ireland
Tel: +44 28 9335 5166
Email: smcclintock@wwf.org.uk