Climate change already impacting Irish waters
Research undertaken by the Marine Institute on harmful algae found it is becoming more abundant in Irish waters, and not just in warmer months, potentially harming ocean creatures such as shellfish. Picture: Denis Minihane
Climate change has already impacted Irish waters, new research has found, with the ocean off the southwest coast likely to become warmer and less salty by the year 2035, thereby harming everyday sea life.
Research undertaken by the Marine Institute on harmful algae found it is becoming more abundant in Irish waters, and not just in warmer months, potentially harming ocean creatures such as shellfish.
Algae are plant-like living organisms that have the ability to conduct photosynthesis — making food through sunlight; seaweeds such as kelp, pond scum or algal blooms in lakes would be forms that people would be familiar with.
While most microalgae in the sea are beneficial, the Marine Institute said, some species can produce chemicals that can be passed on via filter-feeding shellfish.
This can occasionally make these shellfish unfit for human consumption, it added.
These harmful algal blooms can therefore cause substantial damage to the shellfish industry through prolonged farm closures and loss of produce, the Marine Institute said.
The institute did reassure shellfish connoisseurs, however, saying that Ireland has a national monitoring programme in place to ensure that all Irish shellfish placed on the market are tested and safe for human consumption.
By investigating harmful algal bloom patterns in Irish marine waters from 1997 to 2016, Marine Institute scientists discovered that the timing of harmful algal blooms have changed.
Dr Caroline Cusack of the Marine Institute said: "By looking at the data on harmful algal blooms over the past two decades, we can see that climate change is already having an impact on our marine environment."
"As human-induced climate change continues to impact our ocean, we must remain vigilant to the stress and damage this is having on marine ecosystems."
The researchers also used computer modelling to investigate the regional oceanic climate off the southwest of Ireland, concluding that under projected greenhouse gas emissions, the ocean off southwest Ireland will become warmer and less saline by the year 2035.
The results of the ocean climate model are consistent with other European climate models and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate models, the Marine Institute said.
Director Mick Gillooly, said: “Our ocean and climate are inextricably linked. Small changes in the marine ecosystem, such as changing harmful algal bloom patterns, could have a big effect on our shellfish industry, economy and marine environment over the next decades.
“Adapting to a changing climate is one of the greatest challenges facing society, and scientific knowledge is essential to forecast changes in our oceans, so Ireland can effectively respond to, mitigate and adapt to those changes in our ocean and climate."
This research was carried out by the Marine Institute, as the project coordinator of the CoCliME Project, funded by the Irish Environmental Protection Agency, the European Commission and other European national funders.
The Marine Institute is the state agency responsible for marine research, technology development and innovation in Ireland.
CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB
