Kilkenny Minister welcomes groundbreaking report into oceans

Minister for State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan has welcomed the launch of the most comprehensive assessment ever undertaken of the environmental status of the North-East Atlantic. 

OSPAR’s Quality Status Report (QSR) 2023 highlights how a loss of marine biodiversity, pollution and climate change continue to affect the North-East Atlantic. Among a myriad of findings the report concludes that climate change and ocean acidification, which is caused by the sea’s increased uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and which impacts the ability of organisms to form shells and skeletons, are important drivers of change in the North-East Atlantic, in turn threatening marine biodiversity. It also presents further evidence that the state of marine food webs is changing. Improvements in relation to human activities have however been recorded in a number of areas, such as the prevention of pollution by radioactive substances and a reduction in negative impacts from oil and gas activities.

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Commenting on the ground-breaking report and its findings, Minister Noonan said:

As living witnesses to a changing Atlantic, it’s crucial that we regularly and rigorously gather the science and present the evidence that tells us how our marine environment is doing, and that we do that in concert with our neighbours in the UK, mainland Europe and our Nordic and Icelandic partners. OSPAR and the QSR 2023 provide that platform, to work together for our shared marine environment and to point out where decisive action is needed to protect it and restore it.

For Ireland, the QSR 2023 assessments indicate how the comparatively lower level of urbanisation and industrial activity around our coasts and in our seas has so far afforded us a relatively clean, healthy, diverse and productive marine environment. However, it’s clear that the identified wider and growing challenges posed by climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, including marine litter, and the ongoing poor status of many marine species and habitats demonstrate a clear need for further coordinated action by OSPAR Contracting Parties. 

The Marine Institute commented:

"Our seas and our ocean are simply priceless to us as an island nation. They are part of our daily lives and activities, of our weather and our climate, and of our economy, our health and wellbeing. The OSPAR Quality Status Report helps us to better understand the current state of the marine environment surrounding Ireland and provides us with a necessary evidence base to inform policy and future action to protect our seas."

Eimear Cotter, Director of the Office of Evidence and Assessment of the Environmental Protection Agency said:

"The EPA is delighted to have contributed to this report alongside national and international OSPAR partners. This report provides the scientific facts, gathered over more than a decade from over 400 international experts, to bring us the most comprehensive report dealing with the North-East Atlantic area. This report will be valuable for all of the countries in the area, including Ireland, as we continuously monitor and report on the marine environment nationally to support clean, healthy and biologically diverse oceans."

Encompassing many years of work by 16 parties to the OSPAR Convention, including Ireland, the report sets out the evidence to inform important international and national decisions on how to improve this vital environment. The QSR 2023 results from the combined efforts of over 400 experts, scientists, data analysts and policy colleagues, supported by contributions from OSPAR observers coming from industry, environmental non-governmental organisations and international partner organisations.