Balbriggan

The Irish Seal Sanctuary is proud to participate in worldwide celebrations for World Oceans Day on the 8th of June. World Oceans Day is an opportunity to celebrate our personal connection to the marine environment and to marine wildlife.

To celebrate the day, the Irish Seal Sanctuary will host a beach clean-up on Blackrock beach and King’s beach beside the Martello Tower in Balbriggan, North Co. Dublin, and in the evening, there will be a series of talks and slideshows with live ocean theme music in the Séamus Ennis Cultural Centre, The Naul, North Co. Dublin.

Staff from Google will join Irish Seal Sanctuary volunteers for a beach clean-up from 11am to highlight the problem of marine debris for marine wildlife. Fish, birds and mammals ingest plastic; whales ingest smaller pieces of plastic with krill which is their staple diet while sea turtles and dolphins ingest plastic bags, mistaking them for jellyfish. Seals and other marine mammals become entangled by marine debris such as fishing line and fragments of trawl netting, and the plastic ring-holders for six-packs of beer are lethal to seabirds. It has been estimated that more than a million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals die each year as a result of plastic rubbish and discarded fish nets.

The Black Sea is a dead zone, with another 150 dead zones worldwide and this number is growing. An area the size of the state of Texas in the mid Pacific Ocean is a vortex of plastic and other rubbish.

At 7pm on World Oceans Day, there will be short talks and slideshows organized by the Irish Seal Sanctuary in the Séamus Ennis Cultural Centre, The Naul, North Co. Dublin. ISS Education Officer Sarah Fields will introduce talks and slideshows on oiled marine wildlife by Pauline Beades from the ISS Oil Spill Advisory group, on sustainable fisheries by John Woodlock of the ISS Fisheries Advisory Group and on seal legends and folklore by Bairbre Ní Fhloinn, UCD Folklore Department. There will also be live music with an ocean theme throughout the evening.

With 90% of Ireland under water, the celebration of World Oceans Day presents an opportunity for the public to acknowledge and celebrate the marine environment and marine wildlife. The Irish Seal Sanctuary is currently campaigning for the development of a National Marine Conservation and Education Centre, with an official ‘Seal the Deal’ fundraising launch coming up on the 18th of September in the Séamus Ennis Cultural Centre, The Naul, North Co. Dublin.
For More Information:
The Irish Seal Sanctuary,
Pauline Beades, Director,
Phone: 086 3576220,
Email: Click to reveal email
www.irishsealsanctuary.ie