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

IE0002262

1.3 Site name

Valencia Harbour/Portmagee Channel SAC

1.4 First Compilation date

2001-04

1.5 Update date

2020-10

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:	2002-01
Date site confirmed as SCI:	No information provided
Date site designated as SAC:	2019-11
National legal reference of SAC designation:	608/2019

2. SITE LOCATION

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2.1 Site-centre location [decimal degrees]:

Longitude:	-10.316955
Latitude:	51.924483

2.2 Area [ha]

2699.7987

2.3 Marine area [%]

98.0610

2.4 Sitelength [km] (optional):

No information provided

2.5 Administrative region code and name

NUTS level 2 code	Region Name
IE02	Southern and Eastern

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
1140			122.646	0.00	M	A	C	A	B
1160			2629.41	0.00	M	A	B	A	A
1170			952.785	0.00	M	B	C	A	B

• 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
I		Aeolidiella glauca						R						X
I		Aglaophenia kirchenpaueri						C						X
I		Edwardsia delapiae						V						X
I		Haminoea navicula						R						X
I		Hymedesmia pansa						R						X
P		Lithothamnion corallioides						C						X
I		Paracentrotus lividus						C						X
I		Phoronis psammophila						V						X
I		Pycnoclavella aurilucens						C						X
I		Scolanthus callimorphus						R						X
I		Virgularia mirabilis						R						X
P		Zostera marina						C						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
N10	1.00
N02	2.00
N01	95.00
N05	2.00
Total Habitat Cover	100

Other Site Characteristics

Valencia Harbour and the Portmagee Channel is an inlet that is located on the south-west coast of Ireland in the lee of Valencia Island. Bedrock is Old Red Sandstone. The site is sheltered and shallow, and it contains a variety of sediments, which range from a mixture of cobbles, pebbles and gravel to very soft mud. Several small islands occur at the entrance to Portmagee Channel.

4.2 Quality and importance

The site contains important and good quality examples of large shallow inlets and bays, intertidal sand and mud flats, and reefs, and has several species of high conservation importance that do not occur in the rest of the country. There is a seagrass bed in the sublittoral fringe at the northern entrance to the Portmagee Channel. To the south of the seagrass bed, in the muddy sediments at the north mouth of the channel at approx. 5m BCD, is an extraordinary community: two important species of burrowing anemone occur in addition to two scarce nudibranch species, scarce and vulnerable sea pens and an echinoderm of conservation importance. Perhaps most noteworthy is the anemone Edwardsia delapiae, which was first described from Zostera marina beds on the shore at Valencia Island. It had not been recorded since its original description in 1928 until the BioMar survey rediscovered a small population occurring in fine mud. Other sediment communities in Valencia Harbour and the Portmagee Channel are characterized by the delicate seapen, Virgularia mirabilis. Additional important sediment communities are the maerl beds that occur where currents are stronger in the narrows at the south of the Portmagee Channel and the representative estuarine sediment community on the shore of the Valencia River. The reef communities within the site are also of importance. The littoral reefs have an unusually high number of community types (16). On the north coast of Valencia Island is a small population of the purple sea urchin, Paracentrotus lividus. The unusual hydroid, Aglaophenia kirchenpaueri is present in the infralittoral reefs of Valencia Harbour, and species richness there can be high (70 species) in the upper infralittoral reef west of Perch rock. The ascidian Pycnoclavella aurilucens is present in both infralittoral and circalittoral communities. Phoronis psammophila is a rare phoronid species that is not recorded from the British Isles, but was recorded by BioMar on three occasions, all of which were in the Valencia Harbour/Portmagee Channel area.

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)

Beaumont, W.I. (1900). The fauna and flora of Valencia Harbour on the west coast of Ireland. Part II.- the benthos (dredging and shore-collecting). IX. Report on the Lucernaridae. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Series III: 5: 806-811. Beaumont, W.I. (1900). The fauna and flora of Valencia Harbour on the west coast of Ireland. Part II.- the benthos (dredging and shore-collecting). VII. Report on the results of dredging and shore-collecting. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Series III: 5: 754-798. Beaumont, W.I. (1900). The fauna and flora of Valencia Harbour on the west coast of Ireland. Part II.- the benthos (dredging and shore-collecting). XII. Report on the opisthobranchiate Mollusca. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Series III: 5: 832-854. Beaumont, W.I. (1900). The fauna and flora of Valencia Harbour on the west coast of Ireland. Part II.- the benthos (dredging and shore-collecting). XI. Report on the Nemertea. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Series III: 5: 815-831. Browne, E.T. (1896). The medusae of Valencia Harbour, County Kerry. Irish Naturalist, 5: 179-181. Browne, E.T. (1897). The hydroids of Valencia Harbour. Irish Naturalist, 6: 241-246. Browne, E.T. (1900). The fauna and flora of Valencia Harbour on the west coast of Ireland. Part I.- the pelagic fauna. II. Report on the Medusae (1895-98). Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy,Series III: 5: 694-736. Browne, E.T. (1900). The fauna and flora of Valencia Harbour on the west coast of Ireland. Part I.- the pelagic fauna. I. Notes on the pelagic fauna (1895-98). Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Series III: 5: 667-693. Delap, M. and Delap, C. (1905). Notes on the plankton of Valencia Harbour, 1899-1901. Annual Report of Fisheries, Ireland, 1902-3, part II, app. 1(i): 3-19. Delap, M. and Delap, C. (1906). Notes on the plankton of Valencia Harbour, 1902-05. Fisheries, Ireland, Scientific Investigations, 1905, part VII(i): 141-159. Delap, M.J. (1924). Further notes on the plankton of Valentia Harbour 1906-1923. Irish Naturalist, 33: 1-6. Gamble, F.W. (1900). The fauna and flora of Valencia Harbour on the west coast of Ireland. Part I.- the pelagic fauna. IV. The Chaetognatha. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Series III: 5: 745-747. Gamble, F.W. (1900). The fauna and flora of Valencia Harbour on the west coast of Ireland. Part II.- the benthos (dredging and shore-collecting). X. Report on the Turbellaria. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Series III: 5: 812-814. Gamble, F.W.C. (1896). Notes on a zoological expedition to Valencia Island, Co. Kerry. Shore collecting and dredging. Irish Naturalist, 5: 129-136. Herdman, W.A. (1900). The fauna and flora of Valencia Harbour on the west coast of Ireland. Part I.- the pelagic fauna. V. The pelagic Tunicata. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Series III: 5: 748-751. Hill, S., Burrows, M. and Hawkins, S. (1998). Intertidal reef biotopes: an overview of dynamic and sensitivity characterstics for conservation management of marine SACs. Picton, B.E. (1985). Anthozoans (Coelenterata: Anthozoa) new to Ireland and new records of some rarely recorded species. Irish Naturalists' Journal, 21: 484 - 488. 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). Thompson, I.C. (1900). The fauna and flora of Valencia Harbour on the west coast of Ireland. Part I.- the pelagic fauna. III. Report on the free-swimming Copepoda (1895-98). Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Series III: 5: 737-744. Weiss, F.E. (1900). The fauna and flora of Valencia Harbour on the west coast of Ireland. Part II.- the benthos (dredging and shore-collecting). VIII. Report on the Algae. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Series III: 5: 799-805.

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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Map delivered as PDF in electronic format (optional)

Yes X No

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