State of the Seas

From ResearchProfessional: (the report can be found here)

"Northern Ireland assembly environment minister Edwin Poots has unveiled the first official report into the marine environment around the northern Irish coast.

Northern Ireland State of the Seas was compiled jointly by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute. It covers 14 different aspects of the marine envi

ronment ranging from fish and foodwebs to marine litter and underwater noise.

“This is a key time in managing our marine environment. We have an extremely rich and varied coastline with the marine species in our seas contributing to over half the overall biodiversity in Northern Ireland. Other important marine resources include fisheries, tourism, shipwrecks and beaches. Our economy is reliant on sea transport and on our ports,” said Poots, in a statement. “There is great potential for the emerging marine renewables industry which could exploit the tidal, wave and offshore wind around our shores.”"