SAVE OUR SPRAT
@saveoursprat.bsky.social
SAVE OUR SPRAT is a local community *including fishermen* campaign for a ban on all industrial sprat trawling in Bantry Bay, West Cork, until the species recovers.
https://www.saveoursprat.ie/
https://www.saveoursprat.ie/
Pinned
SAVE OUR SPRAT
@saveoursprat.bsky.social
· May 31
We here at Save Our Sprat want to stop the indiscriminate fishing of Sprat in Bantry Bay to ensure its future as a key link in the food chain on which our marine life and the people around the Bay are dependent on.
www.saveoursprat.ie
Industrial scale trawling threatens the complete collapse of sprat populations on which the incredibly rich marine ecosystem of Bantry Bay depends.
SAVE OUR SPRAT is campaigning for a moratorium on all such activity until the species recovers.
Please join or support us!!
www.saveoursprat.ie
SAVE OUR SPRAT is campaigning for a moratorium on all such activity until the species recovers.
Please join or support us!!
www.saveoursprat.ie
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
At NSW Parliament, Aboriginal Sea Country leaders, scientists, and industry came together to call for urgent action on urchin overgrazing and kelp forest loss along the Great Southern Reef.
Read the full story and the Sea Country Alliance’s plan greatsouthernreef.com/nsw-sea-country-alliance
Read the full story and the Sea Country Alliance’s plan greatsouthernreef.com/nsw-sea-country-alliance
November 11, 2025 at 11:20 PM
At NSW Parliament, Aboriginal Sea Country leaders, scientists, and industry came together to call for urgent action on urchin overgrazing and kelp forest loss along the Great Southern Reef.
Read the full story and the Sea Country Alliance’s plan greatsouthernreef.com/nsw-sea-country-alliance
Read the full story and the Sea Country Alliance’s plan greatsouthernreef.com/nsw-sea-country-alliance
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
EU Fisheries Ministers have ignored science again.
2026 Baltic quotas breach the #CommonFisheriesPolicy and the multiannual plan for the Baltic, risking collapse of herring, sprat & cod.
Short-term profits are being prioritised over long-term sustainability. ⤵️
2026 Baltic quotas breach the #CommonFisheriesPolicy and the multiannual plan for the Baltic, risking collapse of herring, sprat & cod.
Short-term profits are being prioritised over long-term sustainability. ⤵️
Fisheries Ministers Risk Breaking EU Law, Jeopardising Baltic Sea Recovery
Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the Baltic Sea Multiannual Plan (MAP), prioritising short-term interests over long-term ecosystem recovery.
europe.oceana.org
October 28, 2025 at 1:18 PM
EU Fisheries Ministers have ignored science again.
2026 Baltic quotas breach the #CommonFisheriesPolicy and the multiannual plan for the Baltic, risking collapse of herring, sprat & cod.
Short-term profits are being prioritised over long-term sustainability. ⤵️
2026 Baltic quotas breach the #CommonFisheriesPolicy and the multiannual plan for the Baltic, risking collapse of herring, sprat & cod.
Short-term profits are being prioritised over long-term sustainability. ⤵️
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
"Industrial fishing can extract in a day what a small boat might take in a year"
Coastal fishing now involves very few fish and very few young people. If this is to change we need to say goodbye to industrial fishing.
theconversation.com/governments-...
Coastal fishing now involves very few fish and very few young people. If this is to change we need to say goodbye to industrial fishing.
theconversation.com/governments-...
Governments can protect marine environments by supporting small-scale fishing
Nearly 30 per cent of the world’s population lives in coastal areas. A changing climate and biodiversity loss represent an unprecedented threat to these ecosystems.
theconversation.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:58 PM
"Industrial fishing can extract in a day what a small boat might take in a year"
Coastal fishing now involves very few fish and very few young people. If this is to change we need to say goodbye to industrial fishing.
theconversation.com/governments-...
Coastal fishing now involves very few fish and very few young people. If this is to change we need to say goodbye to industrial fishing.
theconversation.com/governments-...
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
Planet’s first catastrophic climate tipping point reached, with coral reefs facing ‘widespread dieback’
Unless global heating is reduced to 1.2C ‘as fast as possible’, warm water coral reefs will not remain ‘at any meaningful scale.’
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Unless global heating is reduced to 1.2C ‘as fast as possible’, warm water coral reefs will not remain ‘at any meaningful scale.’
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Planet’s first catastrophic climate tipping point reached, report says, with coral reefs facing ‘widespread dieback’
Unless global heating is reduced to 1.2C ‘as fast as possible’, warm water coral reefs will not remain ‘at any meaningful scale’, a report by 160 scientists from 23 countries warns
www.theguardian.com
October 14, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Planet’s first catastrophic climate tipping point reached, with coral reefs facing ‘widespread dieback’
Unless global heating is reduced to 1.2C ‘as fast as possible’, warm water coral reefs will not remain ‘at any meaningful scale.’
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Unless global heating is reduced to 1.2C ‘as fast as possible’, warm water coral reefs will not remain ‘at any meaningful scale.’
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
Half of Ireland’s rivers, lakes and estuaries in unhealthy state as standards slide again.
Successive governments have "engaged in rhetoric around restoring rivers and lakes to health rather than implementing real measures to prevent decline." - SWAN
www.irishtimes.com/environment/...
Successive governments have "engaged in rhetoric around restoring rivers and lakes to health rather than implementing real measures to prevent decline." - SWAN
www.irishtimes.com/environment/...
Half of Ireland’s rivers, lakes and estuaries in unhealthy state as standards slide again
Agriculture, sewage, chemicals and physical damage all threatening nature’s waterways
www.irishtimes.com
October 14, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Half of Ireland’s rivers, lakes and estuaries in unhealthy state as standards slide again.
Successive governments have "engaged in rhetoric around restoring rivers and lakes to health rather than implementing real measures to prevent decline." - SWAN
www.irishtimes.com/environment/...
Successive governments have "engaged in rhetoric around restoring rivers and lakes to health rather than implementing real measures to prevent decline." - SWAN
www.irishtimes.com/environment/...
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
The biggest global gathering of nature organisations, scientists and governments, which takes place every 4 years, has just concluded. Once again, there was no representative from the Irish government - why have we opted out of participating in these events?
iucn.org/press-releas...
iucn.org/press-releas...
IUCN World Conservation Congress concludes in Abu Dhabi with ambitious vision for nature conservation
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 15 October 2025 (IUCN) – The IUCN World Conservation Congress closed today in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, setting the vision for nature conservation for the next ...
iucn.org
October 18, 2025 at 12:47 PM
The biggest global gathering of nature organisations, scientists and governments, which takes place every 4 years, has just concluded. Once again, there was no representative from the Irish government - why have we opted out of participating in these events?
iucn.org/press-releas...
iucn.org/press-releas...
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
Hunted at sea, sold worldwide: Inside the global shark trade. 🦈
Humans kill an estimated 100 million sharks annually.
That's almost 274,000 sharks every day, 11,000+ sharks every hour & 3 sharks per second.
www.fairplanet.org/story/hunted-at-sea-sold-worldwide-inside-the-global-shark-trade/
Humans kill an estimated 100 million sharks annually.
That's almost 274,000 sharks every day, 11,000+ sharks every hour & 3 sharks per second.
www.fairplanet.org/story/hunted-at-sea-sold-worldwide-inside-the-global-shark-trade/
Hunted at sea, sold worldwide: Inside the global shark trade | FairPlanet
A rare look inside one of Southeast Asia’s largest - and most controversial - shark markets.
www.fairplanet.org
October 3, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Hunted at sea, sold worldwide: Inside the global shark trade. 🦈
Humans kill an estimated 100 million sharks annually.
That's almost 274,000 sharks every day, 11,000+ sharks every hour & 3 sharks per second.
www.fairplanet.org/story/hunted-at-sea-sold-worldwide-inside-the-global-shark-trade/
Humans kill an estimated 100 million sharks annually.
That's almost 274,000 sharks every day, 11,000+ sharks every hour & 3 sharks per second.
www.fairplanet.org/story/hunted-at-sea-sold-worldwide-inside-the-global-shark-trade/
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
Counting down the 10 final days of our shore survey, we want to inspire you until the very end! Plan a survey in your local area now, and explore the complex varieties of seaweeds on your shores! Book your survey unit today! Coastwatch.org
(Images via iNaturalist and Seaweed.ie)
(Images via iNaturalist and Seaweed.ie)
October 5, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Counting down the 10 final days of our shore survey, we want to inspire you until the very end! Plan a survey in your local area now, and explore the complex varieties of seaweeds on your shores! Book your survey unit today! Coastwatch.org
(Images via iNaturalist and Seaweed.ie)
(Images via iNaturalist and Seaweed.ie)
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
@swanireland.ie @saveoursprat.bsky.social
Friends in Koksilah watershed Vancouver island ask us to share&sign and support please. Sign the Open Letter to Mosaic logging company www.koksilahwatershedgroup.org/open-letter-... Stop Proposed Mines Road Logging Activity in the Koksilah Watershed
Friends in Koksilah watershed Vancouver island ask us to share&sign and support please. Sign the Open Letter to Mosaic logging company www.koksilahwatershedgroup.org/open-letter-... Stop Proposed Mines Road Logging Activity in the Koksilah Watershed
Sign the Open Letter to Mosaic
Stop Proposed Mines Road Logging Activity in the Koksilah Watershed
Dear Jimmie Hodgson,
We, the undersigned members of the Koksilah Watershed community, urge you to halt Mosaic’s proposed loggin...
www.koksilahwatershedgroup.org
September 1, 2025 at 12:22 PM
@swanireland.ie @saveoursprat.bsky.social
Friends in Koksilah watershed Vancouver island ask us to share&sign and support please. Sign the Open Letter to Mosaic logging company www.koksilahwatershedgroup.org/open-letter-... Stop Proposed Mines Road Logging Activity in the Koksilah Watershed
Friends in Koksilah watershed Vancouver island ask us to share&sign and support please. Sign the Open Letter to Mosaic logging company www.koksilahwatershedgroup.org/open-letter-... Stop Proposed Mines Road Logging Activity in the Koksilah Watershed
Be part of our fun event on Sunday in Bantry! We'll collect near the bay for a group drone shot of the letters 'Save Our Sprat', followed by a free viewing of Ocean, the new Attenborough film. TD Jennifer Whitmore will tell us about her proposed bill.
Please come along, and please share!!!
Please come along, and please share!!!
September 10, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Be part of our fun event on Sunday in Bantry! We'll collect near the bay for a group drone shot of the letters 'Save Our Sprat', followed by a free viewing of Ocean, the new Attenborough film. TD Jennifer Whitmore will tell us about her proposed bill.
Please come along, and please share!!!
Please come along, and please share!!!
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
Collapse of critical Atlantic current (AMOC) is no longer low-likelihood, study finds.
Scientists say ‘shocking’ discovery shows rapid cuts in carbon emissions are needed to avoid catastrophic
fallout.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Scientists say ‘shocking’ discovery shows rapid cuts in carbon emissions are needed to avoid catastrophic
fallout.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Collapse of critical Atlantic current is no longer low-likelihood, study finds
Scientists say ‘shocking’ discovery shows rapid cuts in carbon emissions are needed to avoid catastrophic fallout
www.theguardian.com
September 1, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Collapse of critical Atlantic current (AMOC) is no longer low-likelihood, study finds.
Scientists say ‘shocking’ discovery shows rapid cuts in carbon emissions are needed to avoid catastrophic
fallout.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Scientists say ‘shocking’ discovery shows rapid cuts in carbon emissions are needed to avoid catastrophic
fallout.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
"If you had a Marine Protected Area, you'd see more fish coming, more marine life and they'll get bigger and more abundant" - Ivan Donoghue of Wexford Sub Aqua Club.
#FairSeas
#FairSeas
September 2, 2025 at 12:03 PM
"If you had a Marine Protected Area, you'd see more fish coming, more marine life and they'll get bigger and more abundant" - Ivan Donoghue of Wexford Sub Aqua Club.
#FairSeas
#FairSeas
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
"Thousands of dolphins probably dying off Irish coast every year - but no research to find out why"
Hardly a mystery why, when the French limited supertrawler activity the dolphin death count dropped significantly
www.irishtimes.com/environment/...
Hardly a mystery why, when the French limited supertrawler activity the dolphin death count dropped significantly
www.irishtimes.com/environment/...
Thousands of dolphins probably dying off Irish coast every year - but no research to find out why
Undersea cameraman Ken O’Sullivan has spent 20 years among the charismatic mammals
www.irishtimes.com
August 25, 2025 at 7:24 AM
"Thousands of dolphins probably dying off Irish coast every year - but no research to find out why"
Hardly a mystery why, when the French limited supertrawler activity the dolphin death count dropped significantly
www.irishtimes.com/environment/...
Hardly a mystery why, when the French limited supertrawler activity the dolphin death count dropped significantly
www.irishtimes.com/environment/...
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
🚨 UK seas have undergone the warmest start to any year since records began, putting our marine habitats & wildlife under immense stress. Marine heatwaves should be rare but they're now terrifyingly common. This is not normal. Time for a green future, NOW. www.cmscoms.com?p=44926
Surge in sea temperatures drives dramatic changes in UK marine ecosystems - Ocean and Coastal Futures
Ocean and Coastal Futures - We’re all about connecting people – organising events, creating communications and promoting job opportunities.
www.cmscoms.com
August 13, 2025 at 8:50 AM
🚨 UK seas have undergone the warmest start to any year since records began, putting our marine habitats & wildlife under immense stress. Marine heatwaves should be rare but they're now terrifyingly common. This is not normal. Time for a green future, NOW. www.cmscoms.com?p=44926
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
A team of scientists investigating a large area of the Pacific Ocean have found an astonishing 5,000 new species living on the ocean floor. 🐙
We must refrain from #deepseamining to avoid huge environmental damage and yet another human-made disaster: blueplanetsociety.org/deep-sea-min...
We must refrain from #deepseamining to avoid huge environmental damage and yet another human-made disaster: blueplanetsociety.org/deep-sea-min...
Deep sea mining is a recipe for certain disaster - Blue Planet Society
A team of scientists investigating a large area of the Pacific Ocean known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone have found an astonishing 5,000 new species living on the ocean floor. The species they logged...
blueplanetsociety.org
July 28, 2025 at 9:13 AM
A team of scientists investigating a large area of the Pacific Ocean have found an astonishing 5,000 new species living on the ocean floor. 🐙
We must refrain from #deepseamining to avoid huge environmental damage and yet another human-made disaster: blueplanetsociety.org/deep-sea-min...
We must refrain from #deepseamining to avoid huge environmental damage and yet another human-made disaster: blueplanetsociety.org/deep-sea-min...
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
The ban on inshore trawling will not result in benefits for wildlife without proper regulation of this zone - something the government can do unilaterally (i.e. without EU approval unlike the offshore area), but will they?
www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/ou...
www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/ou...
Large trawler restrictions welcome but careful management still needed
It has been a long road to get to this point, but will it finally result in pressure being lifted on important ecosystems and in particular the small whale populations that have abandoned the south co...
www.irishexaminer.com
July 29, 2025 at 8:54 AM
The ban on inshore trawling will not result in benefits for wildlife without proper regulation of this zone - something the government can do unilaterally (i.e. without EU approval unlike the offshore area), but will they?
www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/ou...
www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/ou...
GREAT NEWS!!!
As Pádraic rightly says, the fight for inshore ecosystems goes on, but this is an important victory for Irish marine life!
As Pádraic rightly says, the fight for inshore ecosystems goes on, but this is an important victory for Irish marine life!
It appears that a ban on boats over 18m within 6mn of the coast is to come into effect next year while a quota will apply to sprat. This doesn't go far enough as we need to end all trawling and dredging but this is progress so good news!
July 22, 2025 at 8:06 PM
GREAT NEWS!!!
As Pádraic rightly says, the fight for inshore ecosystems goes on, but this is an important victory for Irish marine life!
As Pádraic rightly says, the fight for inshore ecosystems goes on, but this is an important victory for Irish marine life!
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
Rethinking Marine Protected Areas – why current practices are failing ❌
We're told that 30% of the ocean 🌊 will be protected by 2030. But only 8.4% of our blue planet is protected and just 2.8% is effectively protected.
✊Real change is needed #30x30
blueplanetsociety.org/rethinking-m...
We're told that 30% of the ocean 🌊 will be protected by 2030. But only 8.4% of our blue planet is protected and just 2.8% is effectively protected.
✊Real change is needed #30x30
blueplanetsociety.org/rethinking-m...
Rethinking Marine Protected Areas - why current practices are failing - Blue Planet Society
We keep hearing that 30% of the ocean will be protected by 2030. But only 8.4% of our blue planet is protected, and just 2.8% is effectively protected. We need drastic change to achieve the 30% target...
blueplanetsociety.org
July 22, 2025 at 7:42 AM
Rethinking Marine Protected Areas – why current practices are failing ❌
We're told that 30% of the ocean 🌊 will be protected by 2030. But only 8.4% of our blue planet is protected and just 2.8% is effectively protected.
✊Real change is needed #30x30
blueplanetsociety.org/rethinking-m...
We're told that 30% of the ocean 🌊 will be protected by 2030. But only 8.4% of our blue planet is protected and just 2.8% is effectively protected.
✊Real change is needed #30x30
blueplanetsociety.org/rethinking-m...
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
🐬 With a dolphin pod threatened by noise pollution, fishing gear & boats, campaigners on an island off South Korea are lobbying to extend legal status to the vulnerable animals. Can giving these dolphins the same legal rights as humans help save them? www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Could giving this pod of dolphins the same legal rights as humans help keep them safe?
With a bottlenose population threatened by fishing gear, boats and pollution, campaigners on South Korea’s Jeju island are lobbying to extend legal status to the vulnerable cetaceans
www.theguardian.com
July 15, 2025 at 5:22 PM
🐬 With a dolphin pod threatened by noise pollution, fishing gear & boats, campaigners on an island off South Korea are lobbying to extend legal status to the vulnerable animals. Can giving these dolphins the same legal rights as humans help save them? www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
I was on Newstalk earlier trying to explain why Ireland has been so hopeless in protecting our marine environment.
Listen back 📻 ⤵️
www.newstalk.com/podcasts/hig...
Listen back 📻 ⤵️
www.newstalk.com/podcasts/hig...
Why Ireland is failing with marine preservation | Newstalk
There are calls for the government to follow through on the promises made to ensure marine preser...
www.newstalk.com
July 14, 2025 at 6:15 PM
I was on Newstalk earlier trying to explain why Ireland has been so hopeless in protecting our marine environment.
Listen back 📻 ⤵️
www.newstalk.com/podcasts/hig...
Listen back 📻 ⤵️
www.newstalk.com/podcasts/hig...
This is why our community is fighting to save wild sprat, and will never give up.
They're the crucial bedrock on which entire natural ecosystems are built.
They're the crucial bedrock on which entire natural ecosystems are built.
Breakfast! Lots of food coming in for hungry Pufflings on the Isle of May…the chick of this parent is being well fed! A combination of Sandeels and a large sprat
July 19, 2025 at 5:36 AM
This is why our community is fighting to save wild sprat, and will never give up.
They're the crucial bedrock on which entire natural ecosystems are built.
They're the crucial bedrock on which entire natural ecosystems are built.
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
Great to see this bill by Deputy Whitmore.
Sprat is a key food source for much of our marine wildlife🐳🐬🦭
Yet it has been fished intensively without a quota or plan. A moratorium is needed to collect & process the data to support a sustainable quota.
www.socialdemocrats.ie/whitmore-int...
Sprat is a key food source for much of our marine wildlife🐳🐬🦭
Yet it has been fished intensively without a quota or plan. A moratorium is needed to collect & process the data to support a sustainable quota.
www.socialdemocrats.ie/whitmore-int...
Whitmore introduces emergency Bill to protect sprat stocks - Social Democrats
Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore will introduce a Bill in the Dáil today proposing a moratorium on commercial sprat fishing in Irish waters, citing urgent concerns for marine biodiversity and the...
www.socialdemocrats.ie
July 18, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Great to see this bill by Deputy Whitmore.
Sprat is a key food source for much of our marine wildlife🐳🐬🦭
Yet it has been fished intensively without a quota or plan. A moratorium is needed to collect & process the data to support a sustainable quota.
www.socialdemocrats.ie/whitmore-int...
Sprat is a key food source for much of our marine wildlife🐳🐬🦭
Yet it has been fished intensively without a quota or plan. A moratorium is needed to collect & process the data to support a sustainable quota.
www.socialdemocrats.ie/whitmore-int...
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
Whale-watching tours forced to close down because the whales have been starved out of our waters due to the overfishing of sprat by Irish trawlers.
No scapegoating of the EU this time the responsibility rests squarely in Clonakilty and Casteltown-Bear. share.google/plNfKhjzuaxx...
No scapegoating of the EU this time the responsibility rests squarely in Clonakilty and Casteltown-Bear. share.google/plNfKhjzuaxx...
‘The whales have moved on’ – Cork businessman forced to abandon whale-watching tours
A Cork businessman has been forced to abandon taking people out on whale watching tours around West Cork’s marine wildlife due to a lack of sprat which is a food source for whales.
share.google
June 21, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Whale-watching tours forced to close down because the whales have been starved out of our waters due to the overfishing of sprat by Irish trawlers.
No scapegoating of the EU this time the responsibility rests squarely in Clonakilty and Casteltown-Bear. share.google/plNfKhjzuaxx...
No scapegoating of the EU this time the responsibility rests squarely in Clonakilty and Casteltown-Bear. share.google/plNfKhjzuaxx...
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
‘Save Our Sprat’ West Cork ⬇️.
Join/support this campaign to stop this lunacy that is sprat fishing.
Join/support this campaign to stop this lunacy that is sprat fishing.
July 7, 2025 at 4:31 PM
‘Save Our Sprat’ West Cork ⬇️.
Join/support this campaign to stop this lunacy that is sprat fishing.
Join/support this campaign to stop this lunacy that is sprat fishing.
Reposted by SAVE OUR SPRAT
🚨 Do not believe the government spin that providing for MPAs in amendments to an existing law will be just as effective as a standalone law! 🚨
Huge work has gone into the creation of the MPA bill, a draft of which was first published in 2022. There was a public consultation and a report from a...🧵
Huge work has gone into the creation of the MPA bill, a draft of which was first published in 2022. There was a public consultation and a report from a...🧵
July 4, 2025 at 11:23 AM
🚨 Do not believe the government spin that providing for MPAs in amendments to an existing law will be just as effective as a standalone law! 🚨
Huge work has gone into the creation of the MPA bill, a draft of which was first published in 2022. There was a public consultation and a report from a...🧵
Huge work has gone into the creation of the MPA bill, a draft of which was first published in 2022. There was a public consultation and a report from a...🧵