Muc Mhara Ireland's Smallest Whale - Marine Institute Open Access ...

HARBOUR PORPOISE CONSERVATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
David O Lyons
National Parks and Wildlife Service
Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
The Plaza Offices, Headford Road, Galway,
National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and
Local Government is the statutory body responsible for nature conservation in Ireland. The
principal functions of NPWS include inter alia co-ordinating the implementation of Irish and
European legislation, and international agreements relating to wildlife conservation. It also has the
primary role in collecting and collating data relating to the conservation status of harbour porpoise
to ensure effective management.
Cetaceans have had some protection in Irish waters since the Whale Fisheries Act, 1937 which
limited the whales that could be targeted by commercial fisheries. In 1976, the introduction of the
Wildlife Act made it an offence to hunt, injure or wilfully interfere with, or destroy, the breeding
place of all cetaceans. In 1991, the Irish Government declared all Irish waters a whale and dolphin
sanctuary with the purpose of prohibiting all forms of hunting or capture of these species. The
amendment to the Wildlife Act in 2000 further made it an offence to interfere with the resting place
of cetaceans.
In addition to national legislation, Ireland must also implement European Community law. Council
Directive 92/43/EEC, more commonly known as the Habitats Directive, has a major role in
protecting harbour porpoise in Irish waters. This Directive was framed to provide a common
conservation strategy for threatened species and habitats on a Community wide basis. One of the
principal methods of achieving this objective is to designate protected areas called Special Areas of
Conservation (SAC) for habitats and species (including harbour porpoise). According to Article 6
of the Directive, developments within or adjacent to those designated sites must be assessed to
ensure there is unlikely to be an impact on listed habitats or species. Where the likelihood of an
adverse impact can not be excluded, permission for such applications must only be granted if there
is over-riding health and safety or socioeconomic reasons. Under Article 12 of the Directive, all
species of cetacean are afforded a strict level of protection in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone.
The Directive requires that the protection afforded to harbour porpoise and conservation status of
this species are monitored both within and outside designated areas. Every six years, the
information collected from this monitoring forms an Article 17 report on the status of this species
from each Member State. Article 18 of this Directive also requires that research is undertaken in
order to fulfil the mandated conservation requirements. This legislation has been transposed into
Irish law by the European Communities (Natural Habitats) Regulations (SI 94/1997).
Several other legal instruments and international agreements are relevant to harbour porpoise
conservation in Ireland. A recent European regulation (Council Regulation (812/2004)) has been
designed to reduce the level of by-catch of small cetaceans in fishing gear. It requires the use of
acoustic deterrent devices (pingers) on some vessels and provides for the monitoring and reporting
of by-catch to the European Commission. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species (CITES), transposed into European law by Council Regulation (EC) No. 338/97 and into
Irish law by the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000, limited or prohibited the trade of cetacean
specimens and products. The Convention on Migratory Species, or Bonn Convention, protects
species considered to have an unfavourable conservation status and encourages regional cooperation
between signatory states. Migratory species that need or would significantly benefit from
international co-operation are listed in Appendix II of the Convention (including harbour porpoise).
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) requires Parties to integrate as far as possible and
as appropriate the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity into relevant sectoral or
cross-sectoral plans and programmes. The OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine
Environment of the Northeast Atlantic (1992) seeks to provide a framework to protect the quality of
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Proceedings of the 2 nd IWDG International Whale Conference: Muc Mhara - Ireland’s smallest whale
40