“I am determined to develop a response which fully matches our responsibility under the Habitats Directive…”

With the Northern Ireland Fisheries Minster, Sinn Féin’s Carál Ní Chuilín, displaying Helleresque logic in her efforts to avoid European Commission fines over the Executive’s failure to act to conserve atlantic salmon stocks, BBC NI’s environment correspondent, Mike McKimm, has an update on the NI Executive’s continuing inaction over environmental vandalism at Strangford Lough – a designated Special Area of Conservation, an Area of Special Scientific Interest and a Ramsar (protected wetland) site.  From the BBC report Unless the departments can persuade the European Commission otherwise, they …

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Strangford Lough: “It is not as if the two departments did not know what needed to be done.”

It’s worth stating at the beginning that the European Commission haven’t, yet, imposed a fine for the Northern Ireland Executive’s failure to protect and restore a special habitat, of [protected species] horse mussel beds, in Strangford Lough – a designated Special Area of Conservation, an Area of Special Scientific Interest and a Ramsar (protected wetland) site. But, BBC NI environment correspondent, Mike McKimm’s latest report suggests it won’t be long coming… Agriculture implement fishing regulations and controls in Strangford Lough. Environment tries to …

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