Criticism of the EU Bathing Water Directive is one of the main findings of a comprehensive scientific report which finds the State's marine environment to be generally healthy.
The 388-page study, which was published by the Marine Institute yesterday after presentation to the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods, and the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, found that the most common coastal pollutants were nutrients from municipal sewage and agricultural fertilisers, along with high loadings of degradable organic material from sewage and industry.
Low levels of contaminants traced offshore in the tissues of predatory birds and mammals may come partly from "remote" sources, borne atmospherically or by sea. It found that the most widespread biological changes in offshore areas were the result of commercial fishing activities.
The study, which was given a preliminary airing at the Year of the Ocean conference in Dublin last December, says the current EU Bathing Water Directive needs revision, as it allows too much discretion for measurements of salmonella and enteroviruses, and does not take into account advances in scientific knowledge since it was introduced in 1975. A proposed new directive is currently before the European Parliament.
Generally, the quality of bathing water here is good, with 96.5 per cent of seawater areas in 1997 complying with minimum mandatory standards laid down in the directive, the study found.
It noted the increasing pressure on the coastline, which would have an impact on the marine environment. Although measures to reduce inputs of nutrients, heavy metals and man-made substances have improved significantly, the study says it may take decades before levels of some of the more persistent pollutants in the food chain will show a decline of any consequence.
The quality status report, entitled Ireland's Marine and Coastal Areas and Adjacent Seas: an Environmental Assessment, is the State's contribution to a regional study, conducted for the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR Convention, 1992). It draws on existing information, and notes the important gaps in the current information base.
Ireland and Britain are currently preparing a joint report on the area known as the Celtic Seas, extending from the west coast of Britain to the edge of the Continental Shelf to a depth of 200 metres. It will be published next year.
