Dundalk Bay

Dundalk Bay
Dundalk Bay
Dundalk Bay

Dundalk Bay

  • Country: 
    Ireland
  • Site number: 
    834
  • Area: 
    4,768 ha
  • Designation date: 
    07-06-1996
  • Coordinates: 
    53°57'N 06°20'W
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Overview

A characteristic example of a marine and coastal wetland, this open sea bay includes sand and shingle shores, extensive saltmarshes, eelgrass beds, intertidal sand and mud flats encompassing the estuaries of the rivers. The intertidal flats support a rich fauna of bivalve molluscs, marine worms and crustaceans. These are the main food source for tens of thousands of birds, predominantly waders, gulls and waterfowl: the Site regularly hosts more than 50,000 wintering waterbirds, the largest concentration on Ireland’s east coast. The saltmarshes provide important habitat for waterbirds to build high-tide roosts. The Site supports more than one percent of the Northwest European/East Atlantic Flyway populations of the protected black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa). The Site is important for erosion protection and flood control and a popular area for recreation. Dredging for cockles (Cerastoderma edule) poses a threat, especially to benthic habitats.

Administrative region: 
Border Region (NUTS 3)

  • National legal designation: 
    • Bird Sanctuary - Ballymascanlan Estuary Wildfowl Sanctuary
    • Bird Sanctuary - Lurgan Green Wildfowl Sanctuary
  • Regional (international) legal designations: 
    • EU Natura 2000
  • Last publication date: 
    06-07-2022