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FROM SEALS, TO lobsters, to octopuses and more – Dublin Bay has a whole host or marine life people may not be familiar with.
Dublin Bay Biosphere Partnership and the Irish Underwater Council wanted to raise awareness of marine life living in Dublin Bay.
They ran an underwater photography competition to encourage photographers to share their images of marine life.
Photographs range from the 1980s all the way up to 2017.
Here are some of the best.
“Dalkey Seal” by Nigel Motyer
This shot came first place in the fish or mammal category.
Octopus at Night by Nigel Motyer
Nigel also scooped the top place in the worm/mollusc category with this image.
Brittlestars in Dalkey Sound by Dave Wall
This image came second the crustacean/echinoderm category
“Goldsinny Wrasse” by Damien McGuirk
This photo came number one in the compact camera or action camera image category.
“Nudis” by Maja Stankovski
This shot picked up second place in best photo of a worm or mollusc category.
You can view the rest of the winning images here.
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Ireland has some of the most fertile of waters which result in the most incredible animals and wildlife, shame to say I didn’t even know you could spot the likes of sperms whales, pilot whales, dolphins and the Holy grail of animals.. The Blue whale! Ken O’ sullivan done a fantastic two part series on Irelands deep Atlantic! Well worth the watch if you haven’t already seen it, also fabulous photos folks! Hopefully a good summer is ahead for more incredible wildlife pics.
@Acedeuce: Hi Mate if you think you have all this beautiful Underwater Flora, take a look around Malta in the Med?
All photo entered are old over the last 5 years or so. Scuba divers have been unable to dive in Dublin bay in 2018. Just go and have a look the water is dark brown and filthy. Dublin Port have been dredging and then dumping their waste into Dublin Bay virtually continuously since last September, they claim it had no effect on the water, look and see for yourself. What a more the EPA has given them permission to dump up to 2021. As said earlier we are blessed with such a resource only to have it take away from us by dumping. They dump just off the Bailey light and if they went out just 1 more Km we would not have the problem.
@Peadar Farrell: You never use K’s at Sea, it is always without exception “Nautical Miles as Speed at Sea is always in Knots”, no change even for the Irish, ask anyone who uses the Sea,in Aussie I was in on Subs, so perhaps I know a little more than you,and don’t let me being from “Downunder” fool you as we are a Canny Bunch!
@Dave Alexander: O, I see your K less!
@Dave Alexander: it always amazes me how little it takes for some people online to get snooty. If this is the same PF I met in CSAC years ago, then I can assure you he’s been diving off the Irish coast and abroad i.e. ‘using the sea’ for several decades now and he’s probably picked up a thing or two in that time.
Yup Peadar knows his stuff alright. Mon 3 instructor if I’m not mistaken??
@Peadar Farrell: there’s no proof the dredging is causing the siltiness, Dublin bay has always been silty under certain weather conditions. Personally I believe all this action against Dublin Port has been encouraged by a rival port company who do not want to see Dublin increase its share of the cruise liner business. That’s my personal opinion from looking at all the parties involved. I notice there have been no protests about the rival company’s plan to expand? Why is that I wonder…
We really are so lucky!
See Protect Dublin Bay on Facebook.
The photo of the seal is my favorite one. Great shot!
@Journal.ie
I encourage you please to do an actual unbiased piece on the current practice of dumping in the Bay. The location for dumping and indeed the fact they are dumping in the first place is completely economic based and against the Environmental principals that projects are supposed to be managed. The stuff that is being dreged is sediment collected over the years from an area of heavy industry and traffic and is likely to be quite contaminated. It is currently being dumped in a UNESCO site. If the ships going out could just travel a bit further at small cost or indeed come up with an extraction technique to take the sediment on land, the destruction of important habitat would be avoided!
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