Members from the local fishing community in the southeast of Ireland have noted a decline in the number of commercially important shellfish stocks in the Waterford Harbour and Estuary area.
Fisheries groups which include the National Inshore Fishermen’s Association (NIFA), said there was now concern amongst fishermen whose culture and livelihoods depend on operations in the estuary and inshore waters along the southeast of Ireland.
The General Secretary of NIFA Alex Crowley has said that a detailed scientific investigation is now required to determine what has caused the observed decline of commercially important species in the area. While speaking to WLR FM he mentioned that “The Waterford estuary supports important inshore fisheries for shrimp, whelk, lobster, velvet and green crab, and there is also pelagic trawling for sprat and herring and dredging for various bivalve species,”
The harbour has long been a crucial spawning ground for the Celtic Sea Herring stock which has been declared sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and is commercially important not just to the southeast but to the fishing communities across Ireland.
The most significant declines have been observed in commercially targeted species of shellfish which includes Whelk, Shrimp and Crab. Declines in natural seaweed beds have also been noted.
In 2019 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a report which concluded that Rivers and Estuaries in the SE of Ireland have seen a significant decline in environmental status.
The STREAM project will shed light on the causes of these declines by deploying state of the art sensors in the area that will continuously monitor environmental factors and report data live to scientists and organisations responsible for monitoring the environment in the SE of Ireland.
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