Horticulture Minister Ciaran Cuffe has welcomed a trebling of the Marine Protected Areas in the North Atlantic Ocean, following a meeting of the OSPAR Convention in Norway last week.

Ministers at the OSPAR Convention, the intergovernmental body which works to protect the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic, decided to triple the Marine Protected Areas which give protection to threatened species and habitats within the North East Atlantic. The six protected zones will cover a total area of 185,000 square kilometres, where human activitiy should be limited, safeguarding a range of vulnerable deep-sea habitats and species.

A new report on the status of the marine environment in the North-East Atlantic, was also presented at the meeting. Minister Cuffe said:

“The Quality Status Report 2010 clearly shows that climate change effects are evident in the waters covered by OSPAR. It found higher sea surface temperatures, earlier production of phytoplankton and zooplankton, and changes in fish distribution and abundance. The nature and extent of human impact on the marine environment is laid bare in this report and many of the key findings make for uncomfortable reading.”

The report also showed that progress has been made in some areas. Minister Cuffe said:

“The evidence is there that concerted and co-ordinated action by the OSPAR parties can yield improvements in the marine environment. Discharges from nuclear installations are falling and pollution from oil and gas production has also fallen since the last report was published in 2000.”

Speaking following a meeting of the OSPAR Commission in Bergen last week, at which the report dominated the meeting, Minister Cuffe said the adoption of a new Strategy for the North-East Atlantic up to 2020 would help improve management systems in the ocean.

“This Strategy commits the OSPAR Convention countries to implementing an eco-system approach to the management of human activities. This will include setting clear environmental targets and improving the means of assessing the impacts of human activities.”

Ministers also approved a recommendation to reduce marine litter through the establishment of ‘fishing for litter initiatives’ in fishing harbours.

Minister Cuffe thanked the Irish Marine Institute for their contribution to the Quality Status Report 2010 and re-iterated Ireland’s commitment to working closely with other North Atlantic countries in protecting the surrounding marine environment.