Much of this legislation is a direct result of the Convention on biological diversity and the subsequent attempts to implement this convention by instruments such as Ireland's National Biodiversity plan. In Ireland the protection of our coastal environment is legislated for by the Wildlife Act, 1976 as amended by the Wildlife (Amendment) Act, 2000 and the European Communities (Natural Habitats) regulations, 1997.

Ireland's coastline covers some 7,500 kilometres and contains a wide variety of habitats and species. Unfortunately much of our marine biodiversity is poorly known due to a lack of survey effort to ascertain the biodiversity of the habitats and species that are contained within our coastal waters. The BioMar survey (1997) was one of the only surveys aimed at documenting the extent of Irish marine biodiversity. As pressures, such as fishing, aquaculture and increased coastal zone development further impact on Ireland's marine biodiversity it is becoming increasingly important that surveys and monitoring of our marine environment are undertaken.

MERC Consultants can provide a full service to survey marine habitats, to include both epifaunal and infaunal analysis. We can provide you with a highly experienced and qualified scientific diver survey team and the necessary vessels and equipment to carry out this work.