Ten testing agencies keep an eye on Bantry Bay. Are they necessary? Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent, reports
Ten testing agencies and 29 parameters for determining water quality in one coastal area sounds like a waste of effort and public funds - and a recipe for confusion. But the work of all of the agencies involved is essential, according to a recently published study of Bantry Bay, Co Cork.
The study, undertaken by the Bantry Bay Coastal Zone Charter for Bantry, Beara and Sheep's Head, has been described as a unique work, in that it focuses on the methodology and overall approach to such regulation, rather than the final results.
Ten organisations co-operated as part of a commitment undertaken in the original charter. This was drawn up several years ago for the long narrow bay, which is sheltered by mountains and dotted with islands, including Bere Island, Dursey and Whiddy. The charter is now said to be the only functioning integrated coastal zone management initiative in the State.
The level of information for the Bantry Bay Water Quality Monitoring Report 2002 has not been collected for any other area. The report identifies details of all of the monitoring that takes place of both fresh and salt water, and represents both an overview of what is available in terms of data, and an invaluable index of where that information is kept.
The authors caution that the report relates only to those regulatory agencies that are required to conduct water quality monitoring, ranging from Cork County Council's environment department, to the Environmental Protection Agency, to the Southern Health Board, the South-Western Regional Fisheries Board, Coillte and Bantry Terminals Ltd.
The Marine Institute also plays a key role, in monitoring biotoxins in shellfish, and there is routine sampling of the water column at fish-farm sites by the Department of Marine.
The authors emphasise that the brief is not to address the current state of water quality in the Bantry coastal zone area. However, they conclude that there is no duplication of effort and no room for rationalisation. The quality issue is addressed in a separate report, also commissioned by Bantry Bay Charter and published simultaneously.
THE Bantry Bay Environmental Scooping Study was carried out last year by a team of scientists from Aberdeen University who were anxious to test a new approach to determining the health of sediments. While many studies have concentrated solely on an analysis of water quality, the team's view was that water quality was not an ideal indicator of the true health of a coastal system. The active flushing ability of the sea and the temporal nature of discharges could skew interpretation, they pointed out.
They focused on collecting marine sediment, and 16 samples were taken along a transect that extended from the inner bay towards its mouth. Water samples were also taken to measure a range of parameters relating to the nutrient status of the water, and the presence or otherwise of enteric bacteria.
The sediment was measured for a range of chemical parameters, with elemental analysis including total arsenic, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, manganese, nickel and zinc. Oil was also measured, and marine biocides were analysed.
Apart from chemical analysis, a range of biological tests were applied to assess environmental characteristics. The diversity of sediment dwellers (benthic infauna) was examined, while a bacterial test using a bioluminescent organism was also conducted to evaluate acute toxicity.
The conclusion was that no single side had a high concentration of a single pollutant. All of the samples had levels of contaminants below international levels of "concern". In the "chemical pollutant" context, Bantry Bay may be recognised as having good environmental quality.
It is expected that this scooping study will inform development of an overall baseline survey of the area.
The Bantry Bay Charter reports considerable national and international interest in the pieces of work, and copies of both are available from its office or on its project website at www.bantrybaycharter.ie