Wexford Harbour and Slobs (612)
Ireland, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2009
National site name: Wexford Harbour and Slobs
Central coordinates: Latitude: 52.3167, Longitude: -6.4333
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 10
Area of KBA (km2): 77.78369
Protected area coverage (%): 98.03
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: An extensive shallow estuary at the mouth of the Slaney river, next to Wexford town, County Wexford. The site includes intertidal mud- and sandflats which are protected by Raven and Rosslare Points and behind which lie the north and south 'slobs'. These are two flat areas of farmland, mainly arable and pasture, empoldered behind 19th century sea-walls. There are partially afforested dunes at Raven and Rosslare Points. The main remaining intertidal areas are at Hopeland on the south shore and between Ferrybank and Ferrycarrig on the inner north shore. There is bottom culture of mussels Mytilus within the estuary. Parts of the site are heavily used for recreation. Compared to its listing in the previous pan-European inventory (Grimmett and Jones 1989), the site has now been extended to include Wexford Bay, a relatively long sandy strip bordered by shallow waters that stretches from the Raven Point north to Blackwater Harbour.
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: This is a wetland of international importance for several species of waterfowl, regularly holding over 20,000 wintering birds. It is one of the two most important sites in the world for wintering Anser albifrons flavirostris. The sea off Raven Point holds nationally important numbers of Melanitta nigra (one of the top wintering sites in Ireland) and divers Gavia. Many other species also occur in numbers of national importance, including wintering Anas penelope Anas crecca, Anas platyrhynchos, Haematopus ostralegus and Vanellus vanellus.
Habitats
Land use: agriculture (35%) | fisheries/aquaculture (50%) | forestry (5%) | nature conservation and research (20%) | urban/industrial/transport (10%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 35 | |
| Forest | 10 | |
| Marine Neritic | 28 | |
| Marine Intertidal | 28 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The site has been damaged due to the filling-in of 8 ha of intertidal mudflat at Ferrybank on the north shore, which was the subject of an official complaint to the European Commission from BirdWatch Ireland. Drainage and land-claim at Hopeland, a key part of this wetland and still not included within the Special Protection Area, is another threat.