Birdwatch Ireland has welcomed a decision to extend marine protection for a North Atlantic sea area outside of Ireland’s exclusive economic zone.
The seafloor of the North Atlantic Current and Evlanov Sea Basin (NACES) has been given marine protected area (MPA) designation by 15 governments, including Ireland, which are signatories to the OSPAR convention.
The 600,000 km2 area is east of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and north of the Azores.
“The NACES MPA is a vital wintering ground for the globally threatened Atlantic puffin, a species in rapid decline and one which also breeds in Ireland during the summer and is much loved,” Birdwatch Ireland marine policy and advocacy officer Sinead Loughran said.
She described the decision is “an incredibly important first step to ensure that this biodiversity hotspot in the North Atlantic high seas” can continue to support an “ abundance and diversity of marine life”.
The sea basin which is the size of continental France, was designated in 2021, after research by BirdLife International showed that five million seabirds, including puffins breeding on Skellig Michael, use it every year.
The extension to protect the seafloor was agreed by OSPAR signatories in Oslo, Norway, last week.
This is due to the location’s significance for a “multitude” of marine species and the value of its seabed habitats.
Evidence gathered over the last two years also shows the NACES MPA is key marine habitat for blue and fin whales, leatherback and loggerhead turtles, basking sharks, European eels and Atlantic bluefin tuna.
The MPA’s seafloor habitat includes over 30 seamounts, with vulnerable marine ecosystems, such as deep-sea sponges and coral gardens, serving as “crucial pillars for supporting a wide array of vibrant ecosystems”.
Over 16,400 people had supported a petition by BirdWatch Ireland and BirdLife International for better protection of the site.
The organisations say it is now “essential that OSPAR develops a management plan for the site”.
The 1992 OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic involves Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Britain, along with the EU.