SAVE OUR SPRAT BANTRY BAY

Sprat are small members of the herring family, and are the basis of whole marine ecosystems. Yet they're being hoovered up by pair-trawlers to feed fish farms.

Please sign our petition calling for a pause on sprat trawling until we have more data.

Thank you!
www.change.org/p/save-our-m...

Chinese fishing firm Kaichuang reports nearly 200 percent increase in krill catch, aligning with nationwide ambitions Shanghai Kaichuang Marine International has largely expanded its krill catch in 2025, causing its profits to soar.

Chinese fishing firm Kaichuang reports nearly 200% increase in krill catch in Antarctica
with profits jumping 270%
Absolutely disgusting they are taking essential food from the whales and penguins and leaving them to starve

www.seafoodsource.com/news/supply-...

EBFA Meets Commissioner to Discuss Future of Bottom Fishing in Europe - The Fishing Daily - Irish, UK and European Fishing Industry News The EBFA met with Commissioner Costas Kadis to discuss the future of bottom fishing in Europe waters following concerns about its future

The fishing industry is lobbying hard to maintain business as usual even as their members stare into the abyss.

Most fishermen want a change in direction!

thefishingdaily.com/latest-news/...

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We continue to call for a moratorium (pause) on all sprat fishing within the 6 nautical mile zone and baselines, to allow the stocks to recover, thereby protecting the livelihoods of the fishermen and ensuring food for our marine life.

3. Are the SFPA monitoring all catches from such vessels and also from the over 18m trawlers that have been spotted in Cork and Kerry in recent weeks?

2. With an ICES recommended annual limit on sprat fishing of 2,240 tonnes, and a quota of 2,000 tonnes already fished by larger vessels, do you really believe the ban goes far enough to save the collapse of this species??

1. Why are industrial vessels like these allowed pair trawl in our Special Areas of Conservation??

Today in Bantry Bay and in a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) around Garinish Island, two under 18m vessels have been pair trawling.

While they are most likely fishing for sprat, and that's not illegal for these trawlers, we have 3 key questions for the government ...
🧵

That was the case, for example, when the government granted a private company a licence to rip out *1,860 acres* of wild kelp forest here in Bantry Bay.

Only through judicial review was that prevented. Once this legislation goes through, the only option left to communities will be direct action.

YouTube video by Irish Wildlife Trust IWT Webinar: Trawling & Sprat Protection in Ireland’s Inshore Area

While welcoming the ban on boats over 18m long inside 6 miles, we don't believe it'll protect sprat populations, or the ecosystems that depend on them.

Find out why in this great @irishwildlifetrust.bsky.social webinar with our Dolf D'hondt and the IWT's Grace Carr.
youtu.be/o1HbD934bjM?...

Underwater Forests Return to Life off the Coast of California, and That Might be Good News for the Entire Planet Wondrous kelp beds harbor a complex ecosystem that’s teeming with life, cleaning the water and the atmosphere, and bringing new hope for the future

Wondrous kelp forests harbor a complex ecosystem that’s teeming with life, cleaning the water and the atmosphere, and bringing new hope for the future.
share.google/Z2S1xWnxict3...

At NSW Parliament, Aboriginal Sea Country leaders, scientists, and industry came together to call for urgent action on urchin overgrazing and kelp forest loss along the Great Southern Reef.

Read the full story and the Sea Country Alliance’s plan greatsouthernreef.com/nsw-sea-country-alliance

Fisheries Ministers Risk Breaking EU Law, Jeopardising Baltic Sea Recovery Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the Baltic Sea Multiannual Plan (MAP), prioritising short-term interests over long-term ecosystem recovery.

EU Fisheries Ministers have ignored science again.

2026 Baltic quotas breach the #CommonFisheriesPolicy and the multiannual plan for the Baltic, risking collapse of herring, sprat & cod.

Short-term profits are being prioritised over long-term sustainability. ⤵️

Governments can protect marine environments by supporting small-scale fishing Nearly 30 per cent of the world’s population lives in coastal areas. A changing climate and biodiversity loss represent an unprecedented threat to these ecosystems.

"Industrial fishing can extract in a day what a small boat might take in a year"

Coastal fishing now involves very few fish and very few young people. If this is to change we need to say goodbye to industrial fishing.

theconversation.com/governments-...

Planet’s first catastrophic climate tipping point reached, report says, with coral reefs facing ‘widespread dieback’ Unless global heating is reduced to 1.2C ‘as fast as possible’, warm water coral reefs will not remain ‘at any meaningful scale’, a report by 160 scientists from 23 countries warns

Planet’s first catastrophic climate tipping point reached, with coral reefs facing ‘widespread dieback’

Unless global heating is reduced to 1.2C ‘as fast as possible’, warm water coral reefs will not remain ‘at any meaningful scale.’

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Half of Ireland’s rivers, lakes and estuaries in unhealthy state as standards slide again Agriculture, sewage, chemicals and physical damage all threatening nature’s waterways

Half of Ireland’s rivers, lakes and estuaries in unhealthy state as standards slide again.

Successive governments have "engaged in rhetoric around restoring rivers and lakes to health rather than implementing real measures to prevent decline." - SWAN

www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

IUCN World Conservation Congress concludes in Abu Dhabi with ambitious vision for nature conservation Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 15 October 2025 (IUCN) – The IUCN World Conservation Congress closed today in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, setting the vision for nature conservation for the next ...

The biggest global gathering of nature organisations, scientists and governments, which takes place every 4 years, has just concluded. Once again, there was no representative from the Irish government - why have we opted out of participating in these events?

iucn.org/press-releas...

Hunted at sea, sold worldwide: Inside the global shark trade | FairPlanet A rare look inside one of Southeast Asia’s largest - and most controversial - shark markets.

Hunted at sea, sold worldwide: Inside the global shark trade. 🦈

Humans kill an estimated 100 million sharks annually.

That's almost 274,000 sharks every day, 11,000+ sharks every hour & 3 sharks per second.
www.fairplanet.org/story/hunted-at-sea-sold-worldwide-inside-the-global-shark-trade/

Counting down the 10 final days of our shore survey, we want to inspire you until the very end! Plan a survey in your local area now, and explore the complex varieties of seaweeds on your shores! Book your survey unit today! Coastwatch.org
(Images via iNaturalist and Seaweed.ie)

Sign the Open Letter to Mosaic Stop Proposed Mines Road Logging Activity in the Koksilah Watershed Dear Jimmie Hodgson, We, the undersigned members of the Koksilah Watershed community, urge you to halt Mosaic’s proposed loggin...

@swanireland.ie @saveoursprat.bsky.social
Friends in Koksilah watershed Vancouver island ask us to share&sign and support please. Sign the Open Letter to Mosaic logging company www.koksilahwatershedgroup.org/open-letter-... Stop Proposed Mines Road Logging Activity in the Koksilah Watershed

Be part of our fun event on Sunday in Bantry! We'll collect near the bay for a group drone shot of the letters 'Save Our Sprat', followed by a free viewing of Ocean, the new Attenborough film. TD Jennifer Whitmore will tell us about her proposed bill.

Please come along, and please share!!!

Collapse of critical Atlantic current is no longer low-likelihood, study finds Scientists say ‘shocking’ discovery shows rapid cuts in carbon emissions are needed to avoid catastrophic fallout

Collapse of critical Atlantic current (AMOC) is no longer low-likelihood, study finds.

Scientists say ‘shocking’ discovery shows rapid cuts in carbon emissions are needed to avoid catastrophic
fallout.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

"If you had a Marine Protected Area, you'd see more fish coming, more marine life and they'll get bigger and more abundant" - Ivan Donoghue of Wexford Sub Aqua Club. 

#FairSeas

Thousands of dolphins probably dying off Irish coast every year - but no research to find out why Undersea cameraman Ken O’Sullivan has spent 20 years among the charismatic mammals

"Thousands of dolphins probably dying off Irish coast every year - but no research to find out why"

Hardly a mystery why, when the French limited supertrawler activity the dolphin death count dropped significantly

www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

Surge in sea temperatures drives dramatic changes in UK marine ecosystems  - Ocean and Coastal Futures Ocean and Coastal Futures - We’re all about connecting people – organising events, creating communications and promoting job opportunities.

🚨 UK seas have undergone the warmest start to any year since records began, putting our marine habitats & wildlife under immense stress. Marine heatwaves should be rare but they're now terrifyingly common. This is not normal. Time for a green future, NOW. www.cmscoms.com?p=44926

Deep sea mining is a recipe for certain disaster - Blue Planet Society A team of scientists investigating a large area of the Pacific Ocean known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone have found an astonishing 5,000 new species living on the ocean floor. The species they logged...

A team of scientists investigating a large area of the Pacific Ocean have found an astonishing 5,000 new species living on the ocean floor. 🐙

We must refrain from #deepseamining to avoid huge environmental damage and yet another human-made disaster: blueplanetsociety.org/deep-sea-min...

Large trawler restrictions welcome but careful management still needed It has been a long road to get to this point, but will it finally result in pressure being lifted on important ecosystems and in particular the small whale populations that have abandoned the south co...

The ban on inshore trawling will not result in benefits for wildlife without proper regulation of this zone - something the government can do unilaterally (i.e. without EU approval unlike the offshore area), but will they?

www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/ou...

GREAT NEWS!!!

As Pádraic rightly says, the fight for inshore ecosystems goes on, but this is an important victory for Irish marine life!

Rethinking Marine Protected Areas - why current practices are failing - Blue Planet Society We keep hearing that 30% of the ocean will be protected by 2030. But only 8.4% of our blue planet is protected, and just 2.8% is effectively protected. We need drastic change to achieve the 30% target...

Rethinking Marine Protected Areas – why current practices are failing ❌

We're told that 30% of the ocean 🌊 will be protected by 2030. But only 8.4% of our blue planet is protected and just 2.8% is effectively protected.

✊Real change is needed #30x30
blueplanetsociety.org/rethinking-m...