IRELAND’S marine life is being threatened by man’s exploitation of the seas. A report to be published this week by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) shows that 13 out of the 16 species surveyed by its scientists are in decline in the seas surrounding Ireland and Britain.

Species that may disappear include the leatherback turtle, the native oyster and the pink sea fan, an anemone-like creature formed from a colony of tiny polyps.

The study suggests that the food chain from shark to prawn is under threat. Basking sharks are being literally “run over” by ships in busy shipping lanes while deep-water mud habitats found in sea lochs are being targeted to put scampi on restaurant plates.

The decline in cod has been well publicised, but skate have also been hit. Not a single example of the species was uncovered in the survey.

However, the WWF is most worried that habitats which are the basis of marine life are being destroyed. It blames inadequate planning and poor management by the authorities.

Overfishing, the dredging of the seabed for minerals and the increased traffic in shipping lanes are all taking a heavy toll beneath the surface.

Oil and gas exploration, fish farming and the development of coastal areas are also adding to a man-made shockwave hitting the ecological system.

Noel Dempsey, the minister for the marine, is anxious to hold talks with his British counterparts on a new “ecosystem approach” to marine conservation in the Irish Sea. In Britain, a new marine bill is likely to create an agency with powers to crack down on illegal fishing.

The WWF report highlights the adverse effects on the seas around Ireland and Britain and their marine life of coastal development and “aquaculture”.

The majority of damage to habitats is caused by trawling, dredging and sand or gravel excavation from the bottom of the sea. Horse mussel beds create a habitat for about 100 other species, but they are being destroyed by scallop dredging.

Surveys carried out in Strangford Loch in Northern Ireland show an area of these beds covering almost 2Å square miles has been lost in the past decade.

The WWF says there are only a few locations around Britain where fan mussels remain undisturbed.

Dredging for scallops is also damaging maerl beds, which are made up of calcified seaweed and provide an important nursery ground for species essential to commercial fishing.

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