www.inshore-ireland.com €1.90/£1.50 Bi-Monthly
The Marine & Freshwater Environment Publication
National seafood awards page 4
Law and the environment page 15
Autumn 2016 Vol 12 Issue 4
ONLINE EDITION
You can now view the Summer issue on www.inshore-ireland.com or you can follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/inshore_ireland and Facebook www.facebook.com/InshoreIreland
Maritime spatial planning to energise Ireland’s blue economy Gery Flynn
“
Maritime spatial planning brings together multiple users of the marine space to make informed and co-ordinated decisions about how to use marine resources in a sustainable way through the production of a comprehensive plan,” is how Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Simon Coveney defined what he believes to be the single most important
government legislation for the past fifty years. The minister was addressing this year’s SeaFest in Galway prior to announcing that he had signed regulations to transpose the EU Directive on Maritime Spatial Planning into Irish law – a move that heralded major implications for Irish marine law. Harnessing our Ocean Wealth recognises that managing our ocean requires an over-arching MSP, underpinned by an efficient and robust planning and licensing framework,” he told SeaFest 2016. “Such an approach will provide a governance
structure and a blueprint for, regional and local planning of our ocean resources. I believe that implementing MSP will provide competitive advantage in our marine sectors and help realise the full benefit of our ocean wealth and assist with managing our resources effectively and sustainably. And ultimately that’s what this is about”.
Getting the sequencing right
Minister Coveney said that the various reports produced in the run up to this country having a functioning MSP had called for the same things:
»» a lead department to be responsible at a national level for marine spatial policy and legislation »» the national maritime spatial plan to cover Ireland’s marine waters to a broad strategic level, with more detailed plans being prepared subsequently at a sub-national level as required »» the maritime spatial plans to aim for sustainable and efficient use of marine space by maximising multiple uses and potentially zoning for preferred uses »» to have meaningful and
early participation in the process by all stakeholders – including the general public is essential “And we know what happens when that doesn’t happen. We know that people get suspicious and think there are agendas that maybe aren’t there. And then we get a whole frustrated process around confusion, lack of understanding, and ultimately objection, and in many cases, the projects are prevented that would otherwise have gone ahead.” »» page 16
Whaler Charles W Morgan at New Bedford, Massachusetts, on the eve of departure for her maiden whaling voyage in the Atlantic and Pacific, September 5, 1841. Painting by Austin Dwyer, Ships to Remember 1400 Years of Historic Ships, reviewed on page 28.