Marine Pollution Bulletin 58 (2009) 16571663

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Marine Pollution Bulletin

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Dissolved oxygen levels in estuarine and coastal waters around Ireland

Shane OBoyle a,*, Georgina McDermott b,1, Robert Wilkes b,1
a
Environmental Protection Agency, Aquatic Environment, Richview, Clonskeagh Road, Dublin 14, Ireland
b
Environmental Protection Agency, Aquatic Environment, John Moore Road, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, Ireland

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Keywords: This paper presents the status of summer oxygen conditions in estuarine and coastal waters around Ire-
Dissolved oxygen land between 2003 and 2007. Of the 95 water bodies surveyed, 85 had oxygen levels sufcient to support
Environmental quality standard aquatic life. This corresponds to a surface area of 3125 km2 or 99.4% of the total area assessed. Ten water
Irish waters bodies, representing a surface area of 20.2 km2, were decient in oxygen but still capable of supporting
Water Framework Directive
most aquatic life. No evidence of hypoxia (<2.0 mg/l O2) or anoxia (<0.2 mg/l O2) was found. Dissolved
oxygen conditions in a number of estuaries continue to improve, probably due to improved municipal
waste water treatment. The implementation of measures contained in both the Nitrates and Urban Waste
Water Treatment Directives, together with those of the Water Framework Directive, should ensure areas
of oxygen deciency are eliminated from Irish waters.
2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction This paper presents the most comprehensive overview to date

The ability of oxygen to scavenge electrons from other mole-
cules in key biological processes is of fundamental importance to
life on Earth and as such the presence of oxygen in the aquatic
environment has always been a key indicator of water quality. In
the marine environment chronic and acute oxygen deciency oc-
curs when levels fall between 2.0 and 6.0 mg/l O2 and below
2.0 mg/l O2, respectively (OSPAR, 2005). Anoxic or no-oxygen con-
ditions occur when levels fall below 0.2 mg/l O2. These low oxygen
levels can have adverse effects on marine organisms including
slower growth rates, elevated stress levels, impaired reproductive
capacity and in severe cases mortality (Baden et al., 1990; Breit-
burg, 1992; Davis, 1975; Gray et al., 2002; Marcus et al., 2003).
The development of oxygen decient zones as a result of nutri-
ent enrichment has become a persistent feature of many coastal
seas and estuarine systems. Declining dissolved oxygen levels
and the development of seasonally persistent hypoxic zones have
been reported from the Black Sea, Baltic Sea, Kattegat, northern
Adriatic Sea, Cheasapeake Bay and northern Gulf of Mexico (Breit-
burg, 1992; Breitburg et al., 1997; Diaz and Rosenberg, 1995; Gray
et al., 2002; Justic et al., 1987; Pavela et al., 1983; Rabalais and
Turner, 2001), with a recent study suggesting that the number of
hypoxic zones globally has doubled each decade since the 1960s
(Diaz and Rosenberg, 2008).
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +353 1 2680100; fax: +353 1 2680199.
E-mail addresses: s.oboyle@epa.ie (S. OBoyle), g.mcdermott@epa.ie (G. McDer-
mott), r.wilkes@epa.ie (R. Wilkes).
1
Tel.: +353 94 9048400; fax: +353 94 9021934.
of oxygen conditions in Irish estuarine and nearshore coastal
waters and assesses if the global increase in the spread of hypoxia
is also apparent in Irish waters. It also discusses what measures
need to be put in place to ensure that the occurrence of oxygen
deciency, where it exists as a result of human activity, is elimi-
nated from these waters.
2. Materials and methods
A total of 533 monitoring stations located in 95 water bodies
around Ireland were sampled monthly in summer between 2003
and 2007 (Fig. 1). The combined surface area of the water bodies
surveyed was just over 3145 km2. These observations were carried
out as part of the Irish Environmental Protection Agencys national
estuarine and coastal waters monitoring programme. A number of
more remote locations were sampled on board the national re-
search vessel Celtic Voyager in August 2003 and 2004.
Dissolved oxygen (DO) measurements together with tempera-
ture, salinity and depth were recorded using a Hydrolab minisonde
CTD. Samples for the analysis of biochemical oxygen demand
(BOD) were collected using 2-l Ruttner bottles. DO measurements
were taken near the surface and 0.5 m above the seabed, and
where practicable, at high and low water to take account of tidal
variation.
DO measurements were calibrated on a daily basis using the
water-saturated air method. Salinity measurements were cali-
brated against KCL standards of known conductivity. Salinities
were determined on the practical salinity scale (UNESCO, 1978)

0025-326X/$ - see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2009.07.002
1658 S. OBoyle et al. / Marine Pollution Bulletin 58 (2009) 16571663
Fig. 1. Location of water bodies surveyed in summer between 2003 and 2007.
and are hereafter quoted without units. BOD5 was measured
according to Standard Methods (21st Edition).
The range of dissolved oxygen values observed in each water
body over the sampling period was presented statistically using
5 (lower) and 95 (upper) percentiles. The use of percentiles helps
to reduce the potential effects of outliers in the data array.
3. Results
The distribution of dissolved oxygen saturation (%) and concen-
tration (mg/l) in each water body is shown graphically in Fig. 2 and
numerically in Table 1. Of the 95 water bodies surveyed, 85
(89.5%), had normal oxygen conditions with values ranging be-
tween 6.0 and 10.0 mg/l O2, with the remaining ten water bodies
(10.5%) all falling into the oxygen deciency category with values
ranging between 4.7 and 6.0 mg/l O2. No hypoxic (<2.0 mg/l O2) or
anoxic (<0.2 mg/l O2) conditions were observed in any of the water
bodies surveyed. The lowest dissolved oxygen concentrations were
recorded in the lower Lee Estuary (4.7 mg/l O2) in Cork city, in
Broad Lough (4.8 mg/l O2) in Co. Wicklow, the Broadmeadow Estu-
ary (5.2 mg/l O2) in Co. Dublin, the upper Liffey Estuary in Dublin
city (5.4 mg/l O2) and the Avoca Estuary (5.4 mg/l O2) in Co. Wick-
low. In terms of surface area, 99.4%, or 3125 km2 of waters sur-
veyed had normal oxygen conditions with only 0.6%, or 20.2 km2
of waters displaying oxygen deciency (Table 2).
Oxygen supersaturation (values > 130%), which can indicate
elevated phytoplankton photosynthesis, was evident in 14 water
bodies (Table 1) representing a surface area of 105.5 km2. The pres-
ence of supersaturation during daylight hours can result in deoxy-
genation during the hours of darkness as a result respiration in the
absence of photosynthesis. Further investigation of these 14 water
bodies is therefore required to conrm their true oxygen status. It
is unlikely, though, that the levels of supersaturation present in
these waters (which range between 132.8% and 162.4%) would re-
sult in the development of hypoxic or anoxic conditions during the
hours of darkness.
The presence of extreme diurnal variation in oxygen saturation
levels, as commonly observed in nutrient enriched waters, high-
lights that relying solely on oxygen concentration can give a mis-
leading picture of oxygen conditions. For example, in the
Broadmeadow Estuary, a concentration of 10.9 mg/l O2 (Table 1)
would on its own suggest favourable oxygen conditions, however
the corresponding saturation value of 139%, would suggest en-
hanced phytoplankton activity which is likely to lead to oxygen
deciency during the hours of darkness.
The environmental quality standards (EQSs) for dissolved oxy-
gen in estuarine (transitional) and coastal waters established un-
der the EU Water Framework Directive are set out in the EC
Environmental Objectives (Surface Waters) Regulations S.I. 272
of 2009. These standards are based on percent saturation rather
than simply concentration, with lower and upper values being
set for both oxygen undersaturation and supersaturation, respec-
tively. For example, in estuarine waters, to meet the EQS for dis-
solved oxygen, 95% of measurements must have oxygen
saturation values that fall between a lower and upper value of
70% and 130% saturation, respectively. The use of standards based
on saturation, rather than concentration, has an added advantage
in that the value of the standard does not have to be adjusted to
take into account changes in salinity or temperature which
have a profound effect on oxygen solubility and hence
concentration.
It has been argued that saturation values should not be used as
a standard as they can give a misleading interpretation of the
 S. OBoyle et al. / Marine Pollution Bulletin 58 (2009) 16571663 1659

Fig. 2. Summer distribution of minimum (5) and maximum (95) dissolved oxygen saturation (a and b) and concentration (c and d) levels in estuarine and coastal waters
around Ireland between 2003 and 2007.

amount of oxygen available for marine life (Best et al., 2007). For
example, as water temperature increases, the amount of oxygen
it is capable of holding decreases (i.e., its solubility decreases),
which means at high water temperature fully saturated oxygen
conditions can potentially occur at relatively low concentration
levels. This is unlikely to be an issue in Irish waters as water tem-
peratures are rarely high enough or persist long enough to be prob-
lematic. For instance, the range in maximum (as a 95)
temperatures in summer in the waters surveyed was 15.1
22.5 C, corresponding to oxygen concentration levels at 100%
1660 S. OBoyle et al. / Marine Pollution Bulletin 58 (2009) 16571663

Table 1
Temperature (median), salinity (median), dissolved oxygen minimum and maximum (5 and 95) saturation and concentration levels and surface area (km2) of each water
body. Water bodies in bold indicate the occurrence of oxygen deciency. Water bodies in bold and italicised indicate water bodies where supersaturation was observed.

No. Location Salinity Temp 5 95 5 95 Surface area

(C) (%) (%) (mg/l) (mg/l) km2
1 Castletown Estuary 25.1 15.8 67.2 118.8 5.7 10.1 1.9
2 Inner Dundalk Bay 32.3 15.7 88.3 111.5 7.2 9.1 33.3
3 Outer Dundalk Bay 33.7 14.8 91.2 112.4 7.5 9.2 63.7
4 Boyne Estuary 21.6 15.3 81.0 112.4 7.1 9.9 3.2
5 Boyne Estuary Plume Zone 33.6 14.4 86.9 101.8 7.2 8.4 4.6
6 Northwestern Irish Sea 34.0 14.4 90.9 108.1 7.5 8.9 115.0
7 Rogerstown Estuary 33.9 16.1 93.0 114.3 7.5 9.2 3.0
8 Broadmeadow Estuary 32.5 17.9 66.3 139.4 5.2 10.9 3.3
9 Malahide Bay 33.9 15.2 92.8 106.8 7.6 8.7 2.3
10 Tolka Estuary 32.2 15.3 95.0 103.0 7.8 8.5 3.6
11 Liffey Estuary (Upper) 0.3 15.1 53.9 131.5 5.4 13.1 0.2
12 Liffey Estuary (Lower) 33.2 14.8 84.2 101.0 6.9 8.3 4.8
13 Dublin Bay 34.0 14.1 93.8 105.2 7.8 8.8 48.1
14 Southwestern Irish Sea Killiney Bay 34.1 13.6 95.5 104.9 8.0 8.8 87.3
15 Broad Lough 29.0 14.4 56.7 118.1 4.8 10.1 0.8
16 Avoca Estuary 5.4 15.6 55.9 97.6 5.4 9.4 0.2
17 Southwestern Irish Sea 33.4 18.4 90.9 117.1 7.0 9.0 123.6
18 Upper Slaney Estuary 0.0 15.9 83.3 105.9 8.2 10.5 0.8
19 Lower Slaney Estuary 21.4 18.3 90.4 149.6 7.5 12.4 18.4
20 Wexford Harbour 28.7 18.3 81.3 154.8 6.4 12.3 19.8
21 Nore Estuary 0.0 15.1 88.0 138.0 8.8 13.9 1.3
22 Upper Barrow Estuary 0.0 16.5 93.5 129.1 9.1 12.6 1.1
23 Barrow Nore Estuary (Upper) 0.2 16.9 86.2 126.1 8.3 12.2 0.6
24 New Ross Port 15.8 17.0 84.0 102.6 7.4 9.0 6.7
25 Upper Suir Estuary 0.0 15.4 85.6 140.7 8.6 14.1 1.1
26 Middle Suir Estuary 4.4 16.7 63.0 117.0 6.0 11.1 7.0
27 Lower Suir Estuary 15.7 16.3 78.6 96.0 7.0 8.6 3.5
28 Barrow Suir Nore Estuary 28.3 16.5 86.5 106.0 7.1 8.7 28.2
29 Waterford Harbour 33.2 16.0 94.0 114.0 7.6 9.2 33.4
30 Colligan Estuary 32.3 17.5 84.0 116.0 6.6 9.1 10.0
31 Dungarvan Harbour 33.8 17.6 86.8 147.0 6.8 11.4 22.8
32 Blackwater Estuary (Upper) 0.1 15.6 76.5 138.3 7.6 13.7 0.7
33 Blackwater Estuary (Lower) 3.5 15.9 75.0 139.0 7.2 13.4 12.1
34 Youghal Bay 34.2 13.4 84.8 112.9 7.2 9.5 46.8
35 Lee (Cork) Estuary Upper 0.1 16.5 56.5 129.5 5.5 12.6 0.3
36 Lee (Cork) Estuary Lower 27.3 15.7 56.2 114.9 4.7 9.7 0.9
37 Glashaboy Estuary 0.2 15.4 78.7 112.0 7.9 11.2 0.1
38 Lough Mahon (Harpers Island) 0.1 15.0 69.6 114.4 7.0 11.5 2.0
39 Lough Mahon 30.2 15.3 77.9 122.5 6.5 10.2 12.2
40 North Channel Great Island 32.0 15.6 89.1 132.8 7.3 10.9 8.0
41 Owenacurra Estuary 24.1 15.5 77.9 132.8 6.7 11.4 1.1
42 Cork Harbour 33.3 14.0 82.9 118.6 6.9 9.9 27.8
43 Outer Cork Harbour 34.4 13.7 88.7 115.6 7.4 9.7 31.4
44 Upper Bandon Estuary 11.0 17.7 83.4 162.4 7.4 14.5 0.4
45 Lower Bandon Estuary 27.5 15.9 84.3 160.6 7.0 13.4 5.7
46 Kinsale Harbour 34.7 13.9 82.8 114.0 6.9 9.5 14.8
47 Argideen Estuary 17.8 15.1 80.0 119.9 7.2 10.8 9.3
48 Ilen Estuary 29.5 14.9 79.9 107.6 6.7 9.1 9.7
49 Roaring Water Bay 35.1 16.2 84.0 108.7 7.0 8.6 189.6
50 Inner Kenmare River 29.6 15.5 84.5 109.5 7.0 9.1 3.8
51 Kilmakilloge Harbour 31.0 15.3 73.5 110.9 6.1 9.2 5.9
52 Outer Kenmare River 35.1 15.9 77.6 108.6 6.5 8.3 188.8
53 Castlemaine Harbour 0.2 15.0 74.3 107.4 7.5 10.8 6.4
54 Cromane 30.0 15.3 94.1 121.2 7.8 10.1 50.9
55 Lee (Tralee) Estuary 5.8 16.0 75.3 109.6 7.2 10.4 3.1
56 Inner Tralee Bay 33.6 17.2 90.7 112.0 7.1 8.8 15.6
57 Upper Feale Estuary 0.2 17.4 66.6 112.7 6.4 10.8 0.4
58 Cashen 13.2 16.7 68.0 106.8 6.1 9.6 2.7
59 Limerick Dock 0.2 18.2 82.2 102.6 7.7 9.6 2.5
60 Maigue Estuary 0.3 17.1 76.4 116.9 7.4 11.3 3.2
61 Upper Shannon Estuary 5.9 17.6 80.4 98.9 7.4 9.1 39.5
62 Deel Estuary 9.8 17.3 84.7 128.5 7.7 11.6 3.0
63 Fergus Estuary 19.0 17.2 74.0 98.4 6.4 8.4 64.8
64 Lower Shannon Estuary 29.3 16.9 86.1 96.0 7.0 7.8 123.1
65 Mouth of the Shannon 32.2 16.0 86.0 106.0 7.0 8.6 334.1
66 Kinvarra Bay 31.0 16.7 79.5 102.4 6.4 8.3 5.7
67 Corrib Estuary 31.3 15.9 78.0 104.0 6.4 8.5 9.7
68 Outer Galway Bay 34.6 16.7 99.2 106.4 7.8 8.4 136.7
69 Inner Galway Bay North 32.4 15.8 80.9 102.4 6.6 8.3 37.4
70 Camus Bay 29.4 17.4 88.8 134.9 7.1 10.8 10.7
71 Kilkieran Bay 31.9 17.6 96.5 123.2 7.6 9.7 82.5
72 Erriff Estuary 0.3 15.2 97.4 101.0 9.8 10.1 0.4
73 Killary Harbour 15.3 15.8 90.3 102.5 8.2 9.3 12.7
 S. OBoyle et al. / Marine Pollution Bulletin 58 (2009) 16571663 1661

Table 1 (continued)

No. Location Salinity Temp 5 95 5 95 Surface area

(C) (%) (%) (mg/l) (mg/l) km2
74 Westport Bay 32.1 16.9 87.2 100.9 6.9 8.0 15.3
75 Newport Bay 30.1 16.1 90.1 101.6 7.4 8.3 9.3
76 Inner Clew Bay 34.0 15.9 88.7 99.9 7.1 8.0 65.2
77 Clew Bay 34.8 16.5 97.7 102.5 7.8 8.2 198.4
78 Tullaghan Bay 23.0 16.5 90.9 124.6 7.7 10.6 17.2
79 Sruwaddacon Bay 25.7 16.0 93.2 112.8 7.9 9.5 8.4
80 Blacksod Bay 34.8 16.2 95.0 97.3 7.6 7.7 240.9
81 Moy Estuary 10.7 16.3 84.3 110.7 7.7 10.2 7.4
82 Killala Bay 34.6 15.8 95.5 112.0 7.6 9.0 81.4
83 Ballysadare Estuary 0.8 16.0 83.8 115.0 8.2 11.3 8.3
84 Ballysadare Bay 32.6 15.3 91.4 111.0 7.5 9.1 8.3
85 Garavoge Estuary 27.9 16.6 77.1 108.3 6.3 8.9 8.8
86 Sligo Harbour 32.9 16.0 86.7 110.4 7.0 8.9 8.1
87 Sligo Bay 34.0 14.8 84.8 105.7 7.0 8.7 81.8
88 Erne Estuary 7.6 16.7 83.3 106.2 7.7 9.9 2.6
89 Inner Donegal Bay 22.9 16.3 83.0 122.7 7.1 10.5 8.1
90 Killybegs Harbour 34.3 16.0 68.2 120.5 5.5 9.6 2.8
91 McSwynes Bay 34.7 15.4 68.8 109.5 5.6 8.9 3.0
92 Gweebarra Estuary 21.5 15.9 87.9 101.8 7.6 8.8 8.3
93 Gweebarra Bay 34.7 13.9 91.4 106.8 7.6 8.9 34.7
94 Swilly Estuary 32.5 17.0 80.9 129.4 6.4 10.3 59.4
95 Lough Swilly 34.4 15.6 92.5 109.9 7.5 8.9 97.7

Table 2 representing a substantial surface area of 105.5 km2, have levels of

Proportion of water bodies in each DO category by number and surface area. Based on
minimum (5) dissolved oxygen levels.
Category Anoxic Hypoxic Decient
Value 00.2 0.22.0 2.06.0
Unit (mg/l)
Number (n) 0 0 10
(%) 0 0 10.5
Surface area (km2) 0 0 20.2
(%) 0 0 0.6
saturation of 9.2 and 7.6 mg/l (at salinity 15.0), respectively. These
levels would be considered adequate to support even the most vul-
nerable forms of marine life such as sh larvae (Davis, 1975).
4. Discussion
A key objective of the European Union Water Framework Direc-
tive (EP and CEU, 2000) is to ensure that the individual compo-
nents of the physico-chemical environment (dissolved oxygen is
one, others include temperature, salinity, transparency and nutri-
ents) are capable of supporting aquatic ecosystems. This assess-
ment has shown that the majority of Irish waters, 89.5% by
number and 99.4% by surface area, have satisfactory oxygen condi-
tions capable of supporting most forms of aquatic life. Further-
more, no direct evidence of acute oxygen deciency, in terms of
anoxia or hypoxia, was found. This assessment has shown that
oxygen conditions in Irish waters are generally of a satisfactory
nature and compare favourably with other sea areas in the North
East Atlantic region (OSPAR, 2008). Furthermore, a recent claim
(Diaz and Rosenberg, 2008) that coastal pollution has created 20
dead zones (due to the presence of hypoxia) around the Irish
coast is in no way supported by the observations presented here.
If anything, this assessment indicates that oxygen conditions in Ir-
ish estuarine waters, when compared to previous studies (Lucey
et al., 1999; McGarrigle et al., 2002; Toner et al., 2005; Clabby
et al., 2008), have improved in recent years most probably as a re-
sult of improved waste water treatment, licensing of industrial
emissions and the closure of older more polluting industries.
Nevertheless, the assessment did show that 10 areas represent-
ing a surface area of 20.2 km2 are decient in oxygen and 14 areas,
oxygen supersaturation that could potentially result in the devel-
opment of oxygen deciency during the hours of darkness. It fol-
Sufcient lows therefore that a number of water bodies will fail to meet at
6.010.0
least one or both of the oxygen based environmental quality stan-
dards established by the European Communities Environmental
85 Objectives (Surface Waters) Regulations. Furthermore, a substan-
89.5 tial portion of estuarine waters will also fail to meet the EQS for
3125.0 biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), which has been set at a value
99.4 of 4 mg/l O2 (as a 95). The distribution of BOD in waters around
Ireland is shown in Fig. 3.
Waters that fail to meet their respective environmental quality
standards will require measures to be applied to ensure that these
waters meet their environmental objectives not later than 22
December 2015. The programmes of measures required to address
non-compliance in an EQS will be identied in river basin manage-
ment plans. The measures most likely to result in improved oxygen
conditions in estuarine and coastal waters around Ireland are cur-
rently being put in place through the implementation of the Urban
Waste Water Treatment Directive (CEC, 1991a) and Nitrates Direc-
tive (CEC, 1991b).
Ireland has seen a substantial investment in waste water treat-
ment infrastructure in recent years with over 80% of discharges
arising in 2006 receiving at least secondary treatment (EPA,
2008). This represents a signicant improvement from the period
20002001, when only 21% of discharges received secondary treat-
ment, and 41% of discharges received only primary treatment (EPA,
2007). These increased levels of treatment appear to have resulted
in improved oxygen conditions in a number of estuarine waters
including the Castletown Estuary (Dundalk), Lee Estuary and Lough
Mahon (Cork city) and the Liffey Estuary in Dublin city (Clabby
et al., 2008). In the lower Liffey Estuary, for instance, BOD levels
are now in compliance with the EQS for this parameter having pre-
viously been in exceedance of the standard ever since systematic
monitoring began in the estuary in 1994. Improved oxygen condi-
tions in estuaries in other countries following the reduction of
point source pollution have also been reported from the Thames
Estuary in the United Kingdom (Andrews and Rickard, 1980) and
in the Hudson Estuary in the United States (Clark et al., 1995).
Nevertheless, a recent report has shown that in 2006 a quarter
of discharges to Irish surface waters from agglomerations with a
population equivalent of 500 persons or greater, received no
1662 S. OBoyle et al. / Marine Pollution Bulletin 58 (2009) 16571663
Fig. 3. Summer distribution of BOD levels (95) in estuarine and coastal waters between 2005 and 2007.
treatment or only very basic treatment (EPA, 2008). The report
goes onto state that 28 of the 158 agglomerations requiring
secondary treatment did not have the required level of treatment
in place and were non-compliant with the requirements of the
Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations (S.I. 254 of 2001 and
S.I. 440 of 2004). Furthermore, of those receiving secondary
treatment, the quality of the treated efuent did not always meet
the relevant standards.
The situation is expected to improve signicantly following the
introduction of the Waste Water Discharge (Authorisation) Regula-
tions S.I. 684 of 2007. These regulations establish an authorisation
system for all local waste water discharges. The authorisation pro-
cess provides for the competent authority (in this case the EPA) to
place the necessary conditions to prevent and control water pollu-
tion. The regulations which are being introduced on a phased basis,
starting with the larger cities and towns, will set specic deadlines
to meet both national and European efuent standards for all
waste water discharges.
The other main impact on oxygen conditions in Irish waters
comes from diffuse sources, chiey from the loss of nitrogen and
phosphorus from land. These nutrients are washed into surface
waters where they fuel excessive phytoplankton growth that can
lead to deoxygenation through respiration or following their even-
tual decomposition by bacteria. This is particularly evident in the
large river estuaries of the south and southeast of Ireland where
elevated nitrogen levels in the inowing rivers sustain extensive
marine plant growth (e.g., Toner et al., 2005; Clabby et al., 2008).
The types of measures required to reduce losses of nitrogen and
phosphorus from agricultural land are contained in the European
Communities (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters)
Regulations S.I. 378 of 2006. These measures which are collectively
known as the Nitrates Action Programme (NAP), include the provi-
sion of storage facilities for organic waste, restrictions on the time
of year when organic fertiliser can be spread, demarcation of buffer
zones around vulnerable watercourses and limits on livestock num-
bers. Irelands entire land area has been designated a Nutrient Vulner-
able Zone and as such the conditions specied in Irelands Nitrates
Action Programme will apply to the entire territory. The respective lo-
cal authority will enforce the measures given in the Good Agricultural
Practice for Protection of Waters Regulations. The effectiveness of the
NAP in improving the quality of surface waters will be assessed
through the interpretation of data collected from national and local
monitoring programmes and mini-catchment studies.
5. Conclusions
The implementation and enforcement of the measures con-
tained in the Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations and the
 S. OBoyle et al. / Marine Pollution Bulletin 58 (2009) 16571663
Nitrates Action Programme should go a very long way to ensuring
that oxygen conditions in Irish waters are sufcient to support
even the most oxygen-sensitive marine organisms, assuming, of
course that the other physico-chemical components, e.g. nutrients,
are within acceptable levels. If there are instances, where these
measures fail to improve or indeed maintain favourable oxygen
levels, then supplementary measures may need to be applied. In
some cases, investigative monitoring may be required to identify
the source of pollution before the most appropriate measure can
be applied.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the contribution to the
water quality surveys of their colleagues at the EPA Laboratories
at Dublin, Kilkenny, Castlebar, Cork and Monaghan and the Regio-
nal Hydrometric Ofces. The authors would like to thank Larry Sta-
pleton, Michael Neill, Pat Duggan, Jim Bowman and John Lucey for
their comments, which greatly improved the quality of this manu-
script. Finally we would like to thank the staff of the Marine Insti-
tute and the crew of the national research vessel Celtic Voyager for
their support and assistance during the August surveys carried out
in 2003 and 2004.
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