Irish Sea Pilot Project

The UK Government Review of Marine Nature Conservation set up the Irish Sea Pilot project in 2002 to test the potential for an ecosystem approach to managing the marine environment at a regional sea scale.

The Irish Sea Pilot project has now completed its research and has reported to Defra making 64 recommendations. The Final report and other outputs from the Pilot project are now available and may be accessed by clicking on the relevant entry in the left hand column. The final report, The Irish Sea Pilot: Marine Nature Conservation and Sustainable Development has been published and can be obtained from:

Defra Publications
Admail 6000
London SW1A 2XX
Telephone: 08459 556000

The advice and involvement from the Governments of Ireland and the Isle of Man as well as the Devolved Administrations of the UK and many Irish Sea stakeholders have contributed to the Pilot project.

The Objectives of the Irish Sea pilot project were to:

test ways of integrating nature conservation into key sectors in order to make an effective contribution to sustainable development on a regional basis
test the framework proposed by the paper "An implementation framework for the conservation, protection and management of nationally important marine wildlife in the UK"
determine the potential of existing regulatory and other systems for delivering effective marine nature conservation, and identify any gaps
recommend measures to fill the gaps identified.

The Irish Sea area was selected for the Pilot because it was considered to be one of the most ecologically-distinct regional seas around the UK. With its semi-enclosed geography and range of stakeholders and activities, it is perhaps the most recognisable and distinct of the regional seas.