Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan has today announced that the Basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) has been given the status of a ‘protected wild animal’ under the Wildlife Act.
"We are living in an age of mass extinction. There is an urgent responsibility on all of us to do everything we can to reverse that trend. By strengthening protections for the Basking Shark, Ireland will play its part in offering improved protection to an endangered species that depends on our territorial waters to survive and flourish," he said.
Where an animal is protected under Section 23 of the Wildlife Act, it is an offence to:
hunt a protected wild animal (unless under permission or licence granted by the department)
injure a protected wild animal (unless done while hunting in accordance with a licence or exemption cited above), or
wilfully interfere with or destroy the breeding or resting places of a protected wild animal
As the Basking Shark is a species of fish, under Section 23(3) of the Wildlife Act 1976, the Minister may only make such Regulations to protect it with the agreement and co-signature of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Minister McConalogue has concurred with the making of the Regulations and has co-signed the Regulations. The Regulations have legal effect from Monday 3 October 2022.
The Basking Shark is a globally threatened species which faces a high risk of extinction. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the Basking Shark as ‘endangered’ on its Red List of globally threatened species, with its status changing from Vulnerable to Endangered globally in 2019.
Irish waters constitute one of the most internationally important coastal regions for the species. “Protected wild animal” status will give Basking Sharks important additional protections and contribute to Ireland meeting its obligations under international law. As a further initiative, a Code of Conduct for the wildlife watching industry is currently being prepared by the National Parks and Wildlife Service to guide responsible and safe interaction with the Basking Shark in Irish waters. This Code will ensure that there is strong awareness of and accordance with best practice for operators and the public in observing or encountering marine wildlife such as Basking sharks and marine mammals.
Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, said:
“This measure is a first step in additional protections for vulnerable species in Ireland. My department is working to further strengthen our wildlife laws to ensure that natural habitats are protected and restored, and to provide a better balance of safeguards for both marine and terrestrial wildlife.”