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Explore Your Shore! Dataset Update

The National Biodiversity Data Centre has released an update to the Explore Your Shore! dataset, adding 3,792 new coastal and intertidal biodiversity records from volunteer observations across Ireland. These new records strengthen our understanding of species found along Ireland’s shores and support ongoing efforts to monitor change in coastal ecosystems.

Explore Your Shore!

Explore Your Shore! is a national survey of marine and coastal biodiversity to create a robust baseline dataset for intertidal plant and animal species in Ireland, explore intertidal species as bio-indicators of climate change and water quality, and highlight the issues of climate change and water quality to the public. The survey is funded by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Biodiversity Maps

The latest Explore your Shore dataset and records are now visible on the Biodiversity Maps platform, where you can explore species distributions, coastal survey points and updated activity hotspots.

Map showing the Explore Your Shore dataset update with new coastal biodiversity records across Ireland.

View the updated dataset: Explore Your Shore – Detail – Biodiversity Maps

Learn more

Explore Your Shore! – Ireland’s Marine Citizen Science Movement

About author

EPA Catchments Unit

Administrator

The EPA Catchments Unit is based in Dublin, and the team is involved with catchment science, chemistry, ecology, hydromorphology, modelling, Geographic Information Systems and planning. We work with the wider EPA, all of our local authorities, the Local Authority Waters and Communities Office, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, and other public bodies and Departments to ensure we have the best available data and information about our catchments.

Who is involved?
Quite simply, everyone in Ireland has a role to play. This can be from something as simple as making sure you don’t pollute your local stream, or a local community working together to establish a Rivers Trust to enhance the rivers and lakes in their area, to a Government Department or Agency helping a Minister implement a new policy to help protect and enhance all our water bodies.

This website has been developed and is maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency, and is a collaboration between the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Local Authority Waters Programme.

Local Authority Waters Programme

The Local Authority Waters Programme coordinates the efforts of local authorities and other public bodies in the implementation of the River Basin Management Plan, and supports local community and stakeholder involvement in managing our natural waters, for everyone’s benefit.

Environmental Protection Agency

The EPA is responsible for coordinating the monitoring, assessment and reporting on the status of our 4,842 water bodies, looking at trends and changes, determining which waterbodies are at risk and what could be causing this, and drafting environmental objectives for each.

Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Department is responsible for making sure that the right policies, regulations and resources are in place to implement the Water Framework Directive, and developing a River Basin Management Plan and Programme of Measures to protect and restore our waters.