We are a group of like - minded people living in the Bantry Bay area who are extremely concerned about the reckless, indiscriminate, and unprecedented exploitation of the local sprat species on industrial scale by a few trawler operators.
We have founded Save Our Sprat to stop the indiscriminate industrial-scale fishing of sprat in Bantry Bay. Our mission is to prevent the imminent collapse and potential extinction of the Bantry Bay sprat upon which the entire marine environment is dependent. In this way, we can ensure the future food supply for the marine life and the livelihoods of smaller fishermen and local tourist boat operators.
Our vision is to have a healthy and vibrant Bantry Bay where marine life can flourish. :: You can also follow our Facebook page.
Listen to our founding members John and Dolf!
You can get involved by following our educational blog, where we share insights into these crucial topics. We also offer regular events to bring our community together in support of Bantry Bay's marine life.
We believe that by understanding the beauty of our bay's inhabitants, people will be inspired to protect them.
The Irish sprat is a small fish living in the coastal waters of Ireland. It is a vitally important species, playing a crucial role in the marine food web of our island and is considered a ‘KEYSTONE SPECIES’. This means that the role they play in the marine ecosystem is disproportionately large as they are a primary source of food for many other species, including cod, humpback whales, dolphins and porpoises.
The abundance and distribution of our native sprat populations underpin the stability and abundance of our ENTIRE marine ecosystem - and alongside it, all of the local communities and industries which are dependent upon a healthy, thriving maritime environment.
When a keystone species such as the Irish sprat collapses, it causes significant disturbance in, and the potential collapse of, the entire ecosystem of which they are a part.
For such a little, unassuming fish, our native sprat is of significant importance!
Help us get to 10,000 signatures.
Please sign our petition NOW!
Scan this code with your smart phone or click here to sign the petition for an immediate moratorium on sprat fishing!
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Key species must receive strict protection under the EU Directive e.g. no disturbance and no destruction of breeding grounds. But from 10th October 2026 we saw pair trawling around the seals in Glengarriff Harbour, almost daily! Glengarriff Harbour and Woodland Special Area of Conservation (SAC) in County Cork protects key species under the EU Habitats Directive.
A team from Save Our Sprat Bantry Bay met with young artist Lucia Revuelta González who was the 2025 Junk Couture World Culture Couture Winner on Thursday 17th September. We talked about our initiative and shared the documentary “Ocean" by Sir David Attenborough with the students at Elphin Community College in Co. Roscommon. We connected over Lucia's ‘Miss Mares’ design – a design that highlights how we need to protect our oceans and stop overfishing.
We were proud & pleased that Blue Hare Films got nominated for a 2026 Working with Nature Award for their film making for the Save Our Sprat Campaign. The SOS team were at the event to support Mark McClean from Blue Hare. It was great to meet so many amazing people doing so much work to protect nature and support nature recovery in their communities all across the Island. Thank you to the Powerscourt Estate for recognising all this valuable work 👏 It would give you hope!
Between 2018 and 2024, sprat landings have increased by 375%. These little silvery fish are harvested during their spawning season when they come into our bays to breed over autumn and winter. The inshore ban was ruled out in 2023, and 2024 saw total landings of sprat hit over 17,000 tonnes. As they are considered a forage fish with little economic value, there are no legal quotas. While no laws are being broken, our system certainly is.
Our Sprat Bantry Bay were delighted to be part of #fairseas Ocean Conference in Cork where Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) were high on the agenda. Our Taoiseach acknowledged the importance of management of these areas as we aspire to have 30% by 2030 and Global Ocean Policy Director, IUCN, Minna Epps stated that designation without management is an aspiration and not protection. (3rd June 2026)
Thank you to Jennifer Whitmore, TD who invited our Chairman, Dolf D’hondt to join a panel at the recent Social Democrats Annual Conference. Dolf is seen here with Jennifer (left) and Padraic Fogarty (Ecologist) & Cllr Joan Hopkins (Fingal East) (Right). Coming soon, we will share some short clips from the discussion.
Thank you Meabh Harrington! Dolf D'hondt, Chairperson, Save Our Sprat Bantry Bay presents Meabh Harrington with a gift for her support & commitment to saving the sprat in our bay. We asked Meabh about her motivation for signing:
Just over 1 year ago we started our campaign to Save Our Sprat in Bantry Bay and in all our coastal waters. We thank you for all the support. We will continue our work in 2026 and look forward to having you all with us. We started small but our voice is growing all along our coast.
We are so proud of our Group member Dolf, who received a Commendation in the Outstanding Individual Award Category from The Environmental Forum. This Award recognises Dolf's unwavering commitment to safeguarding the local marine environment in West Cork. From campaigns such as Save Our Sprat and Help the Kelp to promoting the importance of local sea grass beds and creating awareness in the community of the diversity beneath the waves, Dolf goes the extra mile to protect our seas. Congratulations to Dolf for all his hard work. (12 Dec 2025)
Today in Bantry Bay and in the Special Area of Conservation (SAC) around Garinish Island, two under 18m vessels have been pair trawling. While they are most likely fishing for sprat and that’s not illegal for these trawlers, we have three key questions for the Government:
At a recent reading in Hamburg, renowned nature writer Robert Macfarlane (“The Wild Places”) was approached by Save Our Sprat supporter Sandra Boettcher, who attended in her SOS attire. Macfarlane, who was introducing his new book “Is A River Alive?”, took interest in the SOS campaign and encouraged the Bantry Bay activists: “Keep on fighting!”
As the week draws to an end, we want to wish our new President all the best for her time in office and we thank her for her support. Catherine Connolly TD, as she was then, joined us back in May at the West Lodge Hotel in Bantry for our first Public Meeting.
