Seas off Cork a 'marine desert' due to overfishing of sprat, says owner of whale-watching business
Humpback whale: 'It’s devastating to see what were once rich fishing grounds become so barren because of the unregulated fishing of keystone species like sprat by just a handful of trawlers.'
Pictures: Pádraig Whooley/ Cork Whale Watch
Government apathy and inaction towards fish conservation has led to parts of the ocean becoming lifeless marine deserts, a respected whale watching expert has said.
Skipper Colin Barnes, who has spent more than half a century monitoring Irish waters and who gave up commercial fishing in 2001 to set up one of Ireland’s first whale-watching businesses, said the whales have left his search area of ocean off Cork because the sprat they feed on has been fished to near extinction in that area.
