At a time when other EU countries are moving to protect coastal regions and to integrate their maritime policies, this Government has abandoned any pretence at coherent planning and has divided responsibility for implementation and enforcement between five separate departments. It is a recipe for official neglect and for the continuing destruction of our natural resources.
Since the general election, key functions from the old Department of the Marine have been allocated to agriculture, transport, energy, environment and community affairs. Because of over-lapping responsibilities, accountability for decision-making has become a distant prospect. And developer-led pressure on the coastline will increase now that the legal obligation to protect the environment under the Foreshore Act has been fragmented.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has no obvious interest in marine matters. Back in 2002, he dropped the name of the department, before eventually including it under Communications and Natural Resources. This time, clear lines of responsibility and integrated planning have gone. At a time when the EU Commission is promoting the establishment of coastal zone management policies and drafting a Maritime White Paper, this administrative change by Government is short-sighted and damaging.
Coastwatch Ireland has advocated the establishment of marine parks around the coast in order to protect nursery areas for fish and shellfish, as part of a long-term sustainable fishery. The inshore fleet would gain in the medium and long term because catches would be higher on the periphery of protected areas. Such initiatives would benefit from local support and strict enforcement by the Navy. They would also need integrated planning.
Marine parks can invoke a blanket ban on certain commercial activities. But they are flexible instruments in that sea angling, diving and tourism development may be promoted, subject to strict conditions and in designated areas. Such adaptability is capable of delivering a win-win situation to a variety of local interests. However, the concept needs to be promoted.
Irish fishermen recognise the benefits that can flow from protected nursery areas. Designated marine parks have been established in Australia, Canada and in a number of EU coastal States to safeguard and enhance threatened fish populations. And while the mission statement of a truncated Marine Department speaks of assisting in the development of an integrated coastal zone management strategy, not a single marine protected area has been established here. It is time that changed and the decline in fish and shellfish stocks was arrested.