Legislation to protect the basking shark in Irish waters has been welcomed by the Social Democrats but the party has called for a protection plan for the fish.
As reported by Afloat, the protective measures for basking sharks under the Wildlife Act were signed into law by Minister for Marine Charlie McConalogue and Minister of State for Heritage Malcolm Noonan.
Social Democrats climate spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore had introduced her own legislation to protect Ireland’s basking sharks last year.
“For too long, Ireland has lagged behind other countries when it comes to protecting these beautiful creatures,” she said.
“I am delighted my first Dáil Bill has laid the basis for legal protections for the basking shark,” Whitmore, a former marine biologist, said.
“. However, it has taken the guts of two years for the government to make it this far, an incredibly slow turnaround time when it comes to biodiversity governance,” she said.
“Not only do we need to enhance biodiversity, we need to protect what we have - and treasure out natural heritage, our biodiversity and our own iconic species,” she said.
“Ireland has been an international outlier for some time in not protecting basking sharks. It is therefore vital that this statutory instrument addresses the huge gap in protections that Ireland affords these magnificent creatures,” she said.
“While I welcome steps to put this species on the red list, it is essential these new protections are implemented with sufficient resources to ensure the population of basking sharks is not only protected but afforded the potential of increasing in numbers and thriving in Irish waters,” Whitmore added.
“As it stands, they continue to be under threat from boat strikes, harassment by recreational boat users and habitat alteration through the development of large-scale infrastructure,” she said.
“I would urge the Minister for Heritage to proceed, as a matter of urgency, to develop a protection plan with the necessary resources to proactively protect and enhance basking shark populations off our coast,” she said.
The two ministers said a code of conduct for the wildlife watching industry is currently being prepared by the National Parks and Wildlife Service to “guide responsible and safe interaction with the basking shark in Irish waters”.
This code “will ensure that there is strong awareness of and accordance with best practice for operators and the public in observing or encountering marine wildlife such as basking sharks and marine mammals”, they said.
