Alex Easton MLA and Councilor Wesley Irvine today visited the Marine Task Force at Bangor Marina to see the conservation efforts to bring back Oysters to Belfast Lough.
Speaking today Alex Easton MLA said:
“A healthy ocean is vital for life on earth as we know it. Yet Marine ecosystems are being degraded and biodiversity is being lost at an alarming waters We know longer have a sustainable natural system that can provide reliable supplies of clean water, regulate our climate, or secure our food supplies. In Belfast lough we see the damage that has been done and It is quite clear that due to commercial fishing in Belfast Lough over many years has decimated many types of fish and wildlife within the Lough. Having spoken to anglers they no longer catch many of the different species they once did due to over fishing by commercial fishing, an example of this is the Thornback Ray which was once abundant in Belfast Lough and is now extinct due to commercial fishing and also Oysters which are very difficult to find. I was delighted to see the efforts by the Marine Taskforce to be making efforts to establish an Oyster Reef and to see the hundreds of Oysters they are growing in our own Bangor Marina. Oysters are an important part of our eco system as they are able to remove carbon from our seas. I would urge more conservation efforts so that we can protect our seas”
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