Ramsar Site
The Belfast Lough Ramsar site (wetlands of international importance designated under the Ramsar Convention), is 432.14 hectares in area, at Latitude 54 38 00 N and Longitude 05 54 00 W. It was designated a Ramsar site on 5 August 1998. The site contains the inner part of the lough including areas of intertidal foreshore, consisting of mudflats and lagoons, and land, both reclaimed and being reclaimed, which form important feeding/roosting sites for significant numbers of wintering waders and wildfowl. The outer lough is restricted to mainly rocky shores with some small sandy bays and beach-head salt marsh.
In the outer lough, the Ramsar boundary entirely coincides with that of Outer Belfast Lough Area of Special Scientific Interest but within the immediate harbour area the boundary has been redrawn to take into account permitted port related development and landfill which has taken place since the Inner Belfast Lough Area of Special Scientific Interest was declared in 1987. Marine areas below mean low water are not included. The Ramsar boundary entirely coincides with that of the Belfast Lough Special Protection Area. The site qualifies under Criterion 3c of the Ramsar Convention by regularly supporting internationally important numbers of Common Redshank in winter. The site also regularly supports nationally important numbers of Common Shelduck, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Purple Sandpiper, Dunlin, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Eurasian Curlew and Ruddy Turnstone.
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