Ocean Citizen Survey: Perceptions of the Irish public on priorities for the protection and sustainable use of the ocean

Abstract

The European Union (EU) has a bold and ambitious aspiration to restore European marine and freshwater ecosystems by 2030, by reducing human pressures on marine and freshwater environments, restoring degraded ecosystems and sustainably harnessing the essential goods and services they provide. A group of top EU experts have put forward an ambitious proposal for a “Mission Starfish”. This major flagship ‘mission’ for healthy ocean, seas, coastal and inland waters is to be funded by the EU under the forthcoming Horizon Europe Framework Programme (2021-2027) and will also need to be supported by other EU, national and regional funding programmes. To achieve its goal, the mission aims to raise awareness of the importance of healthy oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters among citizens and help develop solutions on a range of issues. Citizens are crucial to the design and accomplishment of the mission in helping to set objectives and targets and ensuring that missions like this one make a real difference in everybody’s lives. As part of the European Commission’s engagement with citizens across multiple EU countries on the mission, the Marine Institute developed a survey to consult Irish citizens and seek their views on what they believe are the top priorities for the health of the ocean and inland waters and how we can sustainably use and benefit from marine and aquatic resources. The survey was based around two areas of the proposed mission, namely: filling the knowledge and emotional gap, and; decarbonising our ocean, seas and waters. The survey was launched online on 13 August 2020 and was open for four weeks. This report presents the results of the survey summarising the opinions expressed by the 1013 respondents. The results provide an insight into people’s opinions and levels of awareness of our ocean, seas, coastal and inland waters and will inform the mission planning.