For Special Protection Areas (SPA),
Proposed Sites for Community Importance (pSCI),
Sites of Community Importance (SCI) and
for Special Areas of Conservation (SAC)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 1. SITE IDENTIFICATION
• 2. SITE LOCATION
• 3. ECOLOGICAL INFORMATION
• 4. SITE DESCRIPTION
• 5. SITE PROTECTION STATUS
• 6. SITE MANAGEMENT
• 7. MAP OF THE SITE

1. SITE IDENTIFICATION

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1.1 Type

B

1.2 Site code

IE0002265

1.3 Site name

Kingstown Bay SAC

1.4 First Compilation date

2001-08

1.5 Update date

2018-09

1.6 Respondent:

Name/Organisation:	National Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
Address:
Email:	datadelivery@chg.gov.ie

1.7 Site indication and designation / classification dates

Date site proposed as SCI:	2001-08
Date site confirmed as SCI:	No information provided
Date site designated as SAC:	2016-10
National legal reference of SAC designation:	525/2016

2. SITE LOCATION

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2.1 Site-centre location [decimal degrees]:

Longitude:	-10.126881
Latitude:	53.515641

2.2 Area [ha]

79.8889

2.3 Marine area [%]

99.9940

2.4 Sitelength [km] (optional):

No information provided

2.5 Administrative region code and name

NUTS level 2 code	Region Name
IE01	Border, Midland and Western

2.6 Biogeographical Region(s)

Atlantic

(0.00 %)

3. ECOLOGICAL INFORMATION

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3.1 Habitat types present on the site and assessment for them

Annex I Habitat types						Site assessment
Code	PF	NP	Cover [ha]	Cave [number]	Data quality	A|B|C|D	A|B|C
						Representativity	Relative Surface	Conservation	Global
1160			74.9551	0.00	M	A	C	A	A

• PF: for the habitat types that can have a non-priority as well as a priority form (6210, 7130, 9430) enter "X" in the column PF to indicate the priority form.
• NP: in case that a habitat type no longer exists in the site enter: x (optional)
• Cover: decimal values can be entered
• Caves: for habitat types 8310, 8330 (caves) enter the number of caves if estimated surface is not available.
• Data quality: G = 'Good' (e.g. based on surveys); M = 'Moderate' (e.g. based on partial data with some extrapolation); P = 'Poor' (e.g. rough estimation)

3.2 Species referred to in Article 4 of Directive 2009/147/EC and listed in Annex II of Directive 92/43/EEC and site evaluation for them

Species					Population in the site						Site assessment
G	Code	Scientific Name	S	NP	T	Size		Unit	Cat.	D.qual.	A|B|C|D	A|B|C
						Min	Max				Pop.	Con.	Iso.	Glo.

• Group: A = Amphibians, B = Birds, F = Fish, I = Invertebrates, M = Mammals, P = Plants, R = Reptiles
• S: in case that the data on species are sensitive and therefore have to be blocked for any public access enter: yes
• NP: in case that a species is no longer present in the site enter: x (optional)
• Type: p = permanent, r = reproducing, c = concentration, w = wintering (for plant and non-migratory species use permanent)
• Unit: i = individuals, p = pairs or other units according to the Standard list of population units and codes in accordance with Article 12 and 17 reporting (see reference portal)
• Abundance categories (Cat.): C = common, R = rare, V = very rare, P = present - to fill if data are deficient (DD) or in addition to population size information
• Data quality: G = 'Good' (e.g. based on surveys); M = 'Moderate' (e.g. based on partial data with some extrapolation); P = 'Poor' (e.g. rough estimation); VP = 'Very poor' (use this category only, if not even a rough estimation of the population size can be made, in this case the fields for population size can remain empty, but the field "Abundance categories" has to be filled in)

3.3 Other important species of flora and fauna (optional)

Species					Population in the site				Motivation
Group	CODE	Scientific Name	S	NP	Size		Unit	Cat.	Species Annex		Other categories
					Min	Max		C|R|V|P	IV	V	A	B	C	D
P		Aglaothamnion gallicum												X
P		Antithamnion cruciatum												X
P		Antithamnionella ternifolia												X
P		Boergeseniella fruticulosa												X
P		Chondria capillaris												X
P		Derbesia marina												X
P		Gelidiella calcicola												X
P		Lithophyllum dentatum												X
P		Lithophyllum fasciculatum												X
P		Lithothamnion corallioides												X
P		Spermothamnion strictum												X

• Group: A = Amphibians, B = Birds, F = Fish, Fu = Fungi, I = Invertebrates, L = Lichens, M = Mammals, P = Plants, R = Reptiles
• CODE: for Birds, Annex IV and V species the code as provided in the reference portal should be used in addition to the scientific name
• S: in case that the data on species are sensitive and therefore have to be blocked for any public access enter: yes
• NP: in case that a species is no longer present in the site enter: x (optional)
• Unit: i = individuals, p = pairs or other units according to the standard list of population units and codes in accordance with Article 12 and 17 reporting, (see reference portal)
• Cat.: Abundance categories: C = common, R = rare, V = very rare, P = present
• Motivation categories: IV, V: Annex Species (Habitats Directive), A: National Red List data; B: Endemics; C: International Conventions; D: other reasons

4. SITE DESCRIPTION

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4.1 General site character

Habitat class	% Cover
N01	73.00
N05	22.00
N10	5.00
Total Habitat Cover	100

Other Site Characteristics

Kingstown Bay is a small, narrow, bay situated about 7 km north-west of Clifden on the west coast of Ireland. It is an unusually shallow (approximately 1 m) bay that is about 3 km long, and 500m wide at the mouth. Its north-westerly aspect and the offshore islands of Omey, Inishturk and Turbot at the mouth afford shelter from Atlantic swells. Conditions become even more sheltered towards the head of the bay where the sediment is muddy. Currents can be moderately strong as the bay fills and empties with the rising and falling tide. The sublittoral sediments are dominated by mixed maerl-forming species and dense sea grass. Bedrock is metamorphic schist and gneiss. Hog Island, a small grassy island, is included in the site.

4.2 Quality and importance

The sublittoral sediment communities of Kingstown Bay are of extremely high conservation importance. They are composed of three maerl-forming coralline algal species: Lithothamnion corallioides, Lithophyllum dentatum and Lithophyllum fasciculatum. Lithothamnion corallioides is listed under Annex V of the EU Habitats Directive. Lithophyllum fasciculatum and Lithophyllum dentatum are not listed, perhaps because they are less common than Lithothamnion corallioides and therefore make a smaller contribution to maerl habitats. Whereas Lithophyllum fasciculatum is present in Ireland, the UK and Brittany, the status and distributional limits of Lithophyllum dentatum are uncertain. Lithophyllum dentatum at Kingstown Bay is fertile and currently under study. There are only three known sites in Ireland where these three species occur together (the other two being at Kilkieran slip and Kinvarra Bay, both also in Co. Galway. Of these three sites, Kingstown Bay is by far the best example, in terms of plant density and plant size. There are extensive seagrass beds in the bay that sometimes coincide with the maerl. The association of these two habitats appears to be unusual. Several epiphytic algae occur in the area that were not recorded by the BioMar survey. Of particular interest is Gelidiella calcicola, thought to be endemic to maerl, and the common coralline alga, Corallina officinalis, which grows in unattached balls at Kingstown Bay. The beaches, or 'Coral Strands', at Kingstown Bay are composed of dead maerl debris and are biologically and geologically very interesting. They have not been surveyed. The oyster, Ostrea edulis, is known to occur in Kingstown Bay. Sheltered rocky shores dominated by Ascophyllum nodosum add habitat diversity to the area. The structure and quality of the habitats is excellent.

4.3 Threats, pressures and activities with impacts on the site

The most important impacts and activities with high effect on the site

4.4 Ownership (optional)

No information provided

4.5 Documentation (optional)

Picton, B.E and Costello M.J. (eds). (1997). BioMar Biotope Viewer: a Guide to Marine Habitats, Fauna and Flora of Britain and Ireland (Ver. 2.0) Environmental Sciences Unit, Trinity College, Dublin. (Compact Disc).

5. SITE PROTECTION STATUS

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6. SITE MANAGEMENT

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6.1 Body(ies) responsible for the site management:

No information provided

6.2 Management Plan(s):

An actual management plan does exist:

	Yes
	No, but in preparation
X	No

6.3 Conservation measures (optional)

No information provided

 

7. MAP OF THE SITE

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INSPIRE ID:	IE.NPWS.PS.NATURA2000.SAC.IE0002265
Map delivered as PDF in electronic format (optional)
Yes X No

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SITE DISPLAY