A post by Ireland’s Wildlife founder and West Cork based Wildlife and Birding Guide Calvin Jones highlighting the huge gulf between our Government’s positive international rhetoric on ocean conservation, the patent lack of action at home, and how the simple act of protecting Sprat would be a great start in redressing the balance.
Speaking to delegates at the 3rd UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Niece on 09 June, the Taoiseach, Micheàl Martin TD acknowledged that: “The protection of our marine environment and its biodiversity is paramount,” and reiterated Ireland’s commitment to having 30% of our sea designated as protected by 2030.
Yet for all the Government’s bluster abroad, action at home to back up that commitment has been at best lacklustre. Less than four and a half years out from that 2030 deadline, just 10% of Ireland’s waters are designated as protected, with serious question marks over how effectively that protection is implemented. Here on Ireland’s south coast, there is scant evidence that the government views protection of our marine environment and biodiversity as “paramount” in the slightest.
A marine environment in catastrophic decline
Coastal waters off the coast of West Cork, once the jewel in Ireland’s marine wildlife crown, are now all but lifeless. A few short years ago, the stretch of the Wild Atlantic Way between Mizen Head and Kinsale was teeming with marine life: seabirds, all kinds of fish, seals, dolphins, and whales, were abundant. Today, in contrast, our inshore waters are practically barren, and coastal communities are feeling the pinch.
I saw my first Minke Whale of 2025 from shore this morning, on Wednesday 18 June. That’s the latest I can remember and is a sorry indictment on just how scarce marine wildlife has become.
I have been living along and watching wildlife off the West Cork coast since late 2002, and have been running guided birding and wildlife experiences, sharing our incredible coastal and marine wildlife with visitors, through Ireland’s Wildlife, since 2013. 2025 is the first year since their inception that I will not be running our signature Discover Wildlife Weekends based out of Rosscarbery. A variety of factors contributed to that decision, but one of the key drivers was the lack of marine wildlife to show guests. It has been getting harder and harder in recent years.
Not long ago, from April through to November or even December, whenever conditions were right, you could pretty much guarantee seeing large aggregations of feeding seabirds, with dolphins and often whales feeding beneath them, from coastal vantage points right along the West Cork coast.
Sadly, those days are gone, and if things don’t change soon, they may be gone for good. Today, you are lucky if you can spot half a dozen Gannets, the occasional small pod of dolphins, or a lone Minke Whale.
No Sprat, No Wildlife
The cause of this sudden dearth of marine megafauna in West Cork’s coastal waters is almost certainly the catastrophic decline of a small but critically important forage fish species called Sprat.
Sprat sits at the foundation of the marine food chain and is vital to the survival of everything above it. Off Ireland’s south coast, Sprat populations have crashed, undermining the viability of the marine ecosystem they underpin. With their primary food source in short supply, the fish, seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales that rely on Sprat must move on or starve.
While there are undoubtedly several contributing factors to this decline, the biggest pressure on Sprat populations is the systematic targeting of the species by industrial pair trawlers when the fish gather in sheltered bays to spawn every autumn. Working in pairs, these large Irish owned vessels use sophisticated sonar gear to pinpoint huge shoals of Sprat with lethal accuracy, then, dragging a massive, small-mesh net between them, they effectively scoop out the entire shoal before the fish ever get the chance to breed.
It is an unbelievably destructive practice that eliminates not just the current generation of Sprat, but also the next, offering little chance of escape or recovery. And for what? Sprat caught in Ireland is not destined for human consumption. It is sold almost exclusively to processing plants, where it is ground into fish meal and turned into pellet food for farmed salmon.
Legal Ecological Genocide
Perhaps the most shocking thing about this fishery, which is tantamount to ecological genocide, is that it is completely unregulated in Ireland and, as things stand, perfectly legal. These boats are not breaking any laws, and are free to remove every last sprat out of the sea with impunity. The Irish Government, which extols “the protection of our marine environment and its biodiversity” as “paramount” when on the international stage, stands idly by and allows these large boats to undermine the foundation of the marine ecosystems on which Ireland’s coastal communities depend.
The issue was brought to the fore recently in the national and international media when one of Ireland’s most experienced whale watching skippers, Colin Barnes of Cork Whale Watch, shut the doors of the business he has operated out of Reen Pier near Union Hall since 2001.
In a post on his Facebook page announcing the closure of his business, Colin noted:
“Sadly, our world class whale watching is now a thing of the past. A small number of greedy fishermen with huge trawlers have over-fished the sprats to the point of near extinction. There is nothing left for the whales to prey upon, so they have moved on in search of prey elsewhere. All we have now in our search area is just a few minke whales and small groups of dolphins, and over the last couple of years our trips have become totally disappointing.
“In this light I am truly sad to say we are closing down for good.”
Colin’s announcement was picked up by The Irish Times, RTÈ, The Irish Examiner and The Guardian (UK) as well as other media outlets. You can read his full announcement on his Facebook page.
No Sprat, No Jobs
It is not just marine ecotourism businesses that are suffering. Angling Charter skippers and inshore fishers operating smaller boats are also struggling, as the species their livelihoods depend on also rely on sprat for food. The inevitable decline in economic activity resulting from an impoverished marine ecosystem trickles through to onshore businesses too, extending far beyond the shoreline to affect the entire region.
These were the catalysts that led to the formation of Save Our Sprat West Cork: Kinsale to Mizen Head. Our aim is to extend and augment the great work being done by similar groups in Bantry Bay and Kenmare, galvanise support, encourage other concerned citizens to set up groups around the country and to demand our Government puts the health of our oceans and the viability of our coastal communities ahead of the blatant profiteering of a few.
SOS West Cork area
No Action, No Sprat
It is time for the Taoiseach and his ministers to stop showboating, and make good on the promises they make so freely on the world stage. We need our leaders to follow through and prioritise the protection of our marine environment and biodiversity while there is still time.
And there’s no better place to start than Saving Our Sprat!
Find out how you can help Save Our Sprat here.