The Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (DCHG) is responsible for the conservation of natural habitats and species and the protection of biological diversity in Ireland.
The Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) is the most widespread and abundant cetacean species found in Irish waters. It has been recorded off all Irish coasts and is thought to be most abundant off the southwest and in the Irish Sea. The species is listed on Annex II of the EU Habitats Directive and thus Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) are required in order to protect it. There are three SACs in Ireland, (Blasket Islands SAC, Roaringwater Bay and Islands SAC and Rockabill to Dalkey Island SAC) with Harbour porpoise as a qualifying interest (QI).
As part of Ireland’s obligations under the EU Habitats Directive there is a significant requirement for the surveillance of Harbour porpoise range, distribution, habitat and population status, as well as threats or pressures acting on the species.  The overall conservation status of Harbour porpoise in Ireland is favourable. The natural range of Harbour porpoise in Irish waters, and marine waters covered by the EU Habitats Directive, is a small component of the species’ wider North Atlantic range, while ongoing evidence from repeated high quality surveys continues to confirm the species’ occurrence in Irish waters in all seasons with no evidence of decline in distribution/range in the recent past. Harbour porpoise’s are exposed to a number of pressures, commercial shipping-d or vessel-d activities, which may act on a temporary and/or regional scale with some likely to continue to act as pressures into the future, however, none are considered to be of sufficient magnitude to cause adverse impact on populations in Irish waters.
NPWS now invites tenders for the provision of statistical modelling and power analysis of NPWS Harbour Porpoise monitoring data.