Announcements: Archive

Conference Year of the dolphin in Europe 2007

Keynotes and download of the presentations

Berrow, Simon

The Irish sanctuary and other marine protected areas for cetaceans

Site designation:

• The status of a MPA can vary considerably but they can have a very significant impact on political and public perceptions.
• For mobile marine species, such as cetaceans, MPA site designated can be se-lected for practical management criteria as well as ecological criteria.
• Linkages between MPA internationally can increase the effectiveness of each MPA.

Management issues:

• Management objectives should be clearly stated and monitoring protocols in place to ensure these objectives are met or if not why not.
• If control of commercial fisheries is the remit of a different government department to that which designates the site, early consultation on management issues is es-sential.

Management Plan:

• Consultation with stakeholders during preparation of Management Plan is essen-tial, not after draft plan has been produced.
• Local communities and stakeholders should be informed on why the site is desig-nated and about the management objectives.
• Managers should aspire to implement international best practice in MPA.
• Notifiable actions or those activities which are managed within MPA should apply equally to public, private and state bodies.

Presentation: 10-Simon_Berrow.pdf