Cork Harbour Hotspots
1. Ballybranigan
Beach fishing for bass, coalfish, cod, dogfish, flounder and turbot.
2. Inch
Beach fishing for Bass, cod and flounder.
3. Roches Point
Beach fishing for bass, conger, dogfish, mackerel, pollock, rockling, ballan wrasse and trigger fish.
4. White Bay
Fishing for Bass, cod, and flounder.
5. Aghada Pier
Pier fishing for Bass, dogfish, flounder, thornback ray and golden grey mullet.
6. Gold Point
Fishing for bass, dogfish, flounder, thornback ray and golden grey mullet.
7. Brown's Island
Fishing for bass, dogfish, flounder, plaice and thornback ray.
8. Lynch's Quay
Fishing for coalfish, cod, dab, dogfish, flounder, thornback ray, rockling and whiting.
9. Deepwater Quay
Fishing for coalfish, cod, dab, dogfish, flounder, thornback ray, rockling and whiting.
10. Monkstown
Fishing for cod, conger, dab, dogfish, flounder, thornback ray, rockling and whiting.
11. Paddy's Point
Fishing for bass, dab, flounder and thornback ray.
Cork Harbour Bait
A. Rostellan
Lugworm and ragworm
B. Jamesbrook
Lugworm
Cork Harbour Slipways
Gyleen
A good slip
Rostellan
A good slip
Cobh
A good slip
Passage West
A good slip
Crosshaven
A good slip
|
|
|
|
Cork Harbour
One of the most visible indicators of environmental quality within the Harbour is water quality. Water quality is threatened by a number of factors, most significantly by nutrient loading of phosphorous and nitrogen from agricultural runoff, sewage and industrial discharges. Excessive nutrient loading from the River Lee is an ongoing problem especially in Spring and Summer, leading to algal blooms which can have detrimental effects on the condition of fish stocks within the harbour. The eutrophication (the process by which a body of water becomes excessively rich in dissolved nutrients resulting in increased primary productivity that can lead to a deficiency in dissolved oxygen) is mainly due to the intensive farming that is practiced in the large catchment of the River Lee.
Expected improvements in the water quality of the upper Harbour regions will be derived from the completion of the Cork Main Drainage Scheme, (initiated in response to the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive), one of the largest engineering and environmental projects undertaken by a local authority in Ireland. Nevertheless, threats to water quality remain a concern in Cork Harbour, where careful monitoring and regulation is needed to control effluents arising from the Harbour industries.
The potential for conflict between the different plans for Cork Harbour is epitomized by a proposal to build a hazardous waste incinerator in Ringaskiddy. Many residents feel that the location of such a facility would conflict with plans to embrace the redevelopment and restoration of the Lower harbour as an outstanding natural amenity. Implementation of this vision has commenced with the location of the new National Maritime College at Ringaskiddy which emphasises the importance of the Lower Harbour as a hub of maritime expertise and activity. Further planning challenges exist with the recent closure of ISPAT (formerly Irish Steel) in Ringaskiddy and Irish Fertiliser Industry in Marino Point. The remediation and future treatment of these brownfield sites has the potential to influence the future character of the Lower Harbour.
Natural variation
The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has presented the most generally accepted scientific argument that climate change is occurring, with predictions of a global temperature increase of between 1.4 and 5.8 degrees by 2100. Sea levels will rise as a consequence of the melting Arctic and Antarctic ice caps and thermal expansion associated with warmer water temperatures. However, studies indicate that increased impacts from storminess are likely to be of greater immediate significance for Ireland. If sea level rises occur in tandem with greater and more frequent storms, the implication for increased coastal flooding and erosion will be clear. Problems will be exacerbated by estimated increases in winter rainfall of up to 15%, with potentially greater volumes of freshwater discharge into Cork Harbour from the five main freshwater influences, including the River Lee.
Although Cork Harbour is sheltered from the full impact of Atlantic swell, wave and storm activity, the soft coastline dominated by unconsolidated sediments, remains vulnerable to the impacts of storm activity which is predicted as a result of future climate change scenarios. While a number of measures have been set in place at a national level to deal with the issue of climate change, little has been done to take the implications of climate change into consideration at the regional or local planning levels. There is a need for the development of models to simulate potential coastal change scenarios, and for information gleaned through research to be made available to local planners for incorporation into a long term strategic plan for Cork Harbour and it’s surrounding environment.
The Challenge of Change
The coastal ecosystem of Cork Harbour is highly productive containing rich biological diversity and fishery resources. Cork Harbour also supports a diverse array of related industries (e.g. pharmaceuticals, tourism and shipping industries), which provide enormous economic productivity. However, urbanisation and uniform agricultural and industrial developments have considerably reduced the biological diversity and cultural distinctness of the coastal landscape. Development pressures have resulted in the loss of natural habitats along the shoreline and the depletion in the quality of the coastal environment. Along with these problems, recent research has shown that climate change could involve a rise in sea level of several millimetres per year, and an increase in the frequency and intensity of coastal storms. Depending on where they occur, the combined effects of these two phenomena will have serious repercussions, such as causing major flooding events and altering the coastal zone. As a result, citizens of the 21st centuary are challenged with the implementation of Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) ensuring the sustainable development of coastal environments for future generations.
These issues are pertinent from the global level down to the local level and are as relevant to coastal communities, such as the stakeholders living and working in Cork Harbour, as they are to coastal communities living near marine parks of international significance such as the Great Barrier Reef.
It is clear that Cork Harbour supports a diverse range of activities, ranging from urban and industrial to natural and rural in character. Many of these activities are potentially conflicting. The dynamic nature of both human and natural influences on the harbour will ensure that the social, economic and physical fabric of the harbour will be subject to change. Thus, the challenge for decision makers will be:
- To provide a policy environment where sustainable development can become a reality, and
- To develop a management framework that is prepared to deal with change and to direct it towards change for the better.
In order to make this possible, an integrated approach to coastal management should be adopted for Cork Harbour. This approach should involve all responsible agencies (Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resource; Department of Environment; Cork County Council, Cork City Council, The Port of Cork, etc.) and stakeholders within the harbour area to develop a long-term strategic plan for Cork Harbour and to tackle the Challenge of Change.
|
|
