SAVE OUR SPRAT BANTRY BAY

Drowning in plain sight: Thousands of sharks, skates, seals and dolphins are dying in tangle nets Critically endangered species are being killed in a rapidly expanding crayfish fishery, and the State has known the risks for decades, writes Pádraic Fogarty.

Seas around Ireland are virtually emptied of marine life
And what remains is
drowning in plain sight Thousands of sharks, skates, seals and dolphins are dying in tangle nets

And Ireland does nothing to stop total annihilation of marine life off its coast
www.thejournal.ie/readme/fishe...

Drowning in plain sight: Thousands of sharks, skates, seals and dolphins are dying in tangle nets Critically endangered species are being killed in a rapidly expanding crayfish fishery, and the State has known the risks for decades, writes Pádraic Fogarty.

Critically endangered species are being killed in a rapidly expanding crayfish fishery, and the State has known the risks for decades, writes Pádraic Fogarty.

jrnl.ie/6968217

The issue remains though. There should be no corporations given seaweed harvesting rights in Ireland my.uplift.ie/petitions/st...

Thank you to Jennifer Whitmore TD, who invited our Chairman Dolf D'hondt, @whittledaway.bsky.social and others to join a panel on Rewilding Our Seas at the recent Social Democrats Annual Conference.

For a rep. from Save Our Sprat Bantry to speak at an event, please email us at info@saveoursprat.ie.

Acadian Seaplants, a massive Canadian corporation and owner of Arramara Teoranta, has put in an application to harvest tens of thousands of tons of wrack from huge swathes of the west coast.

Is your area affected? Get in touch to start a local campaign ✊️

my.uplift.ie/petitions/st...

It literally takes one minute to sign this petition to stop mass harvesting of seaweed from the west coast of Ireland without proper public consultation. I signed and it’s at 12,222 out of 15,000 rn — please sign:

Sharks on brink of extinction caught in tangle nets in protected Irish waters Seals also among the animals killed as by-catch of growing crayfishing industry

Thousands of sea animals needlessly killed as bycatch of crayfishing industry in practice Dr Nick Payne of @tcddublin.bsky.social says is shameful
www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

Great panel discussion at the @social-democrats.bsky.social national conference on rewilding the sea. Thank you to TD Jennifer Whitmore and Cllr Joan Hopkins for the invitation 🐟

"Protected"

When words become worse than meaningless: a cover for just continuing to kill off whatever little nature is left.

Stop a Canadian corporation harvesting huge forests of seaweed from the west coast There should be a public consultation on this plan opening soon but lets gather signatures to demonstrate the fact that up and down the west coast, thousands of people don't want our seaweed rights gi...

''Acadian Seaplants, a massive Canadian corporation and owner of Arramara Teoranta, has put in an application to harvest tens of thousands of tons of wrack from huge swathes of the west coast.''

Sign the petition and lets stop this from happening ✊️

#SpeirGorm

my.uplift.ie/petitions/st...

UN treaty to protect ‘extraordinary’ marine life due to come into force World-first pact aims to protect 10 million species from threats like climate change, overfishing and deep-sea mining.

A big day for the sea as the treaty to allow for the creation of Marine Protected areas on the high seas comes into force today!

www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/...

These unearthly whale songs helped save humpbacks from extinction Once at risk of being wiped out, humpback whales charted a remarkable comeback thanks to their songs. In 1979, National Geographic issued a record-breaking album of those tunes alongside a story about...

How whale song helped save humpbacks from extinction. 🐋

www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

So often, a judicial review has been the only way communities can defend their local ecosystems, like the wild native kelp forests in Bantry Bay, West Cork.

Now the government wants to put that avenue out of reach.

Please tell them you're totally against this disgraceful step.

Session Three: Harnessing stakeholder involvement for better MPA outcomes | FairSeas The potential positives of MPAs, the potential negatives for stakeholders and how would you like to be involved in the MPA process?

2023 Fair Seas Conference recap...
Session Three: Harnessing stakeholder involvement for better MPA outcomes

Registration for the 2026 conference is now open. 

https://fairseas.ie/2023/06/27/session-three-harnessing-stakeholder-involvement-for-better-mpa-outcomes/

#FairSeas

10,000 shark fins worth over $11M seized in major wildlife trafficking bust in Peru The bust, in the port outside of Peru's capital, Lima, led to the arrest of three men tied to a transnational criminal network involved in illegal fishing and wildlife smuggling, according to the U.S....

10,000 shark fins worth over $11M seized in major wildlife trafficking bust in Peru

www.cbsnews.com/news/peru-sh...

Fishermen Lodge New Appeal Over 6 Mile Trawling Ban Legal review proceedings have been lodged by over 20 Fishing Vessel owners against the 6 Mile Trawling Ban of 2025.

It's a shame to see this challenge, though probably not surprising

theskipper.ie/fishermen-lo...

The devastating trail supertrawlers leave behind - Blue Planet Society Have you heard of supertrawlers? There are currently eight Europe-registered supertrawlers licensed to fish in British waters.

Supertrawlers are massive trawlers, up to 144m long, using huge nets up to 1km long to target pelagic fish.

Capable of catching thousands of tonnes of fish per trip, with disgusting levels of #bycatch, these marine ecosystem destroyers must be stopped.
blueplanetsociety.org/the-devastat...

Why are our marine 'protected' areas still nothing more than lines on maps? Blanket bans on certain activities, such as towing trawls and dredges across the seafloor, or fixing nets for long periods, or even prohibiting all kinds of fishing or extractive activities from some ...

A leaked draft of legislation for MPAs that nearly passed in 2024 indicates that the government is taking a minimalist approach with low ambition for restoration of marine life.

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

5,018 as we write this message!!!

Wow!! That's 5,018 concerned people who want to stop the overfishing of sprat in Irish coastal waters. Thank you for your support.

Please share our petition further and let's put the pressure on our government to listen!!
share.google/sH692K8MMeHS...

Calls on government to take legal action over EU fish quotas | RadioKerry.ie Councillor is calling on the government to take legal action over next year's EU fish quotas, agreed on Saturday | Radio Kerry News

Maybe we can sue the fish for not showing up?

www.radiokerry.ie/news/kerry-c...

We are SO proud of our member Dolf, who received a Commendation in the Outstanding Individual Award Category from the Environmental Forum, recognising his unwavering commitment to safeguarding West Cork's marine environment, from kelp forests and sprat to sea grass beds.
👏 👏 👏

Change starts here Join over 500,000,000 people creating real change in their communities.

Presumably change.org haven't updated their system.

Anyway, it's nothing to do with us!

I don't mind puffins taking their daily ration of sprats.
But I do object to harvesting small fish just to feed to salmon kept in atrocious conditions in fish farms.
bsky.app/profile/trif...

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/...

@irishwildlifetrust.bsky.social
@fairseas.ie
@irishrainforest.bsky.social
@whittledaway.bsky.social
@seanronayne.bsky.social
@antaisce.bsky.social
@swanireland.ie
@coastwatch-ire.bsky.social

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??