Castlemaine Harbour (592)
Ireland, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2009
National site name: Castlemaine Harbour
Central coordinates: Latitude: 52.1167, Longitude: -9.9167
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 10
Area of KBA (km2): 96.30546
Protected area coverage (%): 84.99
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: A large, shallow, tidal estuary at the head of Dingle Bay in County Kerry. Sheltered from the open sea by sand- and shingle-spits on the north and south sides, the estuary supports extensive intertidal mudflats with beds of eelgrass Zostera and fringes of saltmarsh. Inch spit on the north side supports the most extensive and intact dunes in the region, while on the south side, a smaller spit with a dune system occurs. Since the previous IBA inventory (Grimmett and Jones 1989), the site has been extended to include the feeding areas of Melanitta nigra in the open part of the Bay immediately to the west of the sand-spits.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that was identified using previously established criteria and thresholds for the identification of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and for which available data indicate that it does not meet global KBA criteria and thresholds set out in the Global Standard.
Additional biodiversity: An important wetland for wintering birds, with numbers exceeding 20,000 individuals in most years. It is also the most important wintering site in Ireland for Gavia stellata (230 birds, 1996) and Melanitta nigra (5,000 birds, 1996). Many other species occur in numbers of national importance, including Anas penelope (4,093 birds, 1996), Haematopus ostralegus (1,173 birds, 1995), Pluvialis apricaria (2,300 birds, 1995), Calidris alpina (1,350 birds, 1995) and Tringa totanus (270 birds, 1995).
Habitats
Land use: agriculture (20%) | fisheries/aquaculture (60%) | not utilised (20%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Grassland | 20 | |
| Marine Intertidal | 40 | |
| Marine Neritic | 40 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Potential threats to the site are pollution of the wetland due to agricultural run-off, degradation of the dunes by a possible golf-course development, and erosion of the dunes by natural processes. The site overlaps with a proposed candidate Special Area for Conservation (Castlemaine Harbour; area not known).
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Marine & freshwater aquaculture | Industrial aquaculture | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents | Type Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Human intrusions & disturbance | Work & other activities | Ongoing | |
| Human intrusions & disturbance | Recreational activities | Ongoing | |
| Natural system modifications | Other ecosystem modifications | Ongoing |