Four-part series looks beneath the waves off Ireland
Ireland’s Ocean is a major new four-part ocean wildlife series for RTÉ One television beginning Sunday June 22 which explores diverse creatures from dolphins and sharks to plankton and the myriad of tiny colourful creatures that live in offshore and shallow waters around Ireland.
The seas around Ireland are rich in marine and plant life. Photo George Karbus www.emerald-vision.com
The series looks at the history of man’s relationship with and response to the sea, and exams common perceptions of dolphins and sharks:
Are dolphins highly intelligent, sensitive creatures capable of healing sick children? Why are worrying numbers of dolphins washing up dead on our Atlantic coast? Are sharks terrifying animals waiting below the sea surface to eat us?
The truth transpires to be quite a surprise and leaves the viewer with considerable food for thought.
The series also embarks on a journey into the wild and the colourful underwater world, and encounters an abundance of exotic creatures, many documented for the first time.
Throughout the series is a strong sense of the interconnectedness of life and natural balance within this world, as creatures depend on each other’s presence to sustain life.
The first programme on June 22 at 18.30 studies some of the 27,000 common dolphins living in Irish waters, with scientists Dr Joanne O’Brien and Dr Simon Berrow. The second programme on June 29 gets up close with some of the 40 shark species and 30 ray species living in Irish waters with Dr Maurice Clarke at the Marine Institute. It also follows the conservation efforts of Dr Edward Farrell, Irish Elasmobranch Group placing satellite tags on porbeagle sharks off Donegal, in a Marine Institute research programme.
Programme three focuses on life in the shallow seas which are some of the most fertile on Earth. Storms churn up nutrients from the sea floor that combine with sunlight to create a fertile and abundant ecosystem. The final programme looks at Ireland’s ocean habitats.
