Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have to raise the issue of the impending missile testing due to take place off the west Cork coast by the Russian army. At this point I have to outline the devastating impact this missile testing will have on marine wildlife in the area. The area in question is known as the Porcupine Seabight. To describe the Porcupine Seabight, it is almost like a chunk taken out of the continental shelf. It is where the continental shelf eventually drops off into the deep. It is a rich and incredibly important area of biodiversity in the north-east Atlantic. It is important for whales, dolphins, fish species and other marine wildlife.

To give an example of how important it is, I will go through some of the species that can be encountered there. It is one of the most important areas in the north-east Atlantic for the blue whale. The blue whale is the biggest animal that has ever roamed this planet at well over 30 m long. This area is incredibly important for it. Blue whales, like all cetaceans, hunt acoustically. They use sound to hunt. The impact of the high decibel volume of missile launches and missile testing will have a huge impact on this beautiful species.

Another example, and perhaps an even better example of how it will impact wildlife, is the sperm whale. The Porcupine Seabight is one of the most important areas in the Atlantic for sperm whales. Sperm whales dive down to the depths to hunt where there is no light. It is completely dark. They use a high frequency click, like a sonar, to hunt and source their prey. As we can imagine, as the Russian military amass off the west coast of Cork it will be monitored. It will be monitored by NATO, the UK and the rest of Europe. Therefore, we can be absolutely assured there will be Russian submarines pinging sonar at a high rate and a high frequency. For a species like the sperm whale this is known to have a detrimental effect. We will have mass strandings.

Another species that is a good example is the long-finned pilot whale. The Porcupine Seabight is one of the most important areas of the sea for this species. When long-finned pilot whales were massacred in their thousands in the Faroe Islands, we in Ireland and the rest of Europe were astonished and absolutely shocked but now we propose to stand by and watch while the Russian army conducts missile tests that will have a devastating impact on a species such as the pilot whale that feeds at the deep. We will have mass strandings of pilot whales, sperm whales and other deep sea beaked whales. It will be an ecological disaster. We must do everything possible to stop it.

It is not just marine wildlife that will be impacted. It will also impact on livelihoods. We are all now well aware that a flotilla of 50 boats intends to go out to the Porcupine Seabight to peacefully protest this activity. I am firmly behind the fishers of west Cork and the rest of Ireland who will do this. The Porcupine Seabight, because it is such an important area for biodiversity, is one of the most important fishing grounds in Europe for species such as nephrops, prawns and blue whiting. It is incredibly important. Fishing is due to start in February but this cannot happen because the Russian army will be active there. This will impact coastal livelihoods as well as wildlife, which is why we need to intervene.

I have heard it said on a few occasions that there is no law we can invoke in Ireland to stop this happening. Paragraph 1(a) of Article 56 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea states that in the exclusive economic zone of the coastal state, the state has sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring, exploiting and conserving and managing the natural resources whether living or non-living. This is in the exclusive economic zone. Fish species are a living resource and this says to me that we have the rights to conserve them and if we see a threat we can invoke Article 56. I urge the Government to do so and to use our seat at the Security Council to do so and ensure there is not an ecological disaster on the Porcupine Seabight.

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