The Waters of the Irish Coast
Gaia Ocean
From the sunlit surface off Ireland’s shores, down through the continental shelf to the dark floor of the deep Atlantic.
0 – 40 m
The Irish Coast
The bright, cold waters along Ireland's shores. Sunlight fills the shallows over kelp forests and rocky reefs, home to some of the Atlantic's most charismatic life.
Atlantic Grey Seal
Halichoerus grypus · 1.8 to 2.6 m
Curious and playful, grey seals patrol Ireland's rocky shores and sea caves, twisting through the cold clear shallows in search of fish.
Ireland is home to a large share of the world's grey seals — you'll find them hauled out on rocks all along the coast.
Common Dolphin
Delphinus delphis · 1.7 to 2.4 m
Fast, social and beautifully marked with a golden hourglass on their flanks, common dolphins are among the most-loved visitors to Irish waters.
Pods of hundreds of common dolphins are a familiar sight off the Irish coast, often riding the bow waves of boats.
Compass Jellyfish
Chrysaora hysoscella · 20 to 30 cm
A common summer drifter in Irish bays, the compass jellyfish pulses slowly through the shallows, its long trailing tentacles glowing amber in the sunlight.
Its bell is marked with 16 brown V-shapes radiating out like the points of a compass — hence the name.
Atlantic Puffin
Fratercula arctica · 28 to 30 cm
The clown of the sea! With its bright orange beak and tuxedo colours, the puffin dives from Ireland's cliffs and paddles underwater in search of sand eels.
Puffins can hold over a dozen little fish in their colourful beaks at once — and they 'fly' underwater by flapping their wings!
Spiny Seahorse
Hippocampus guttulatus · 12 to 18 cm
A tiny, magical fish that swims upright and wraps its curly tail around seagrass to hold on. Spiny seahorses live hidden in Ireland's sheltered bays.
Seahorses are the only animals where the dad has the babies — he carries hundreds of them in a special pouch until they're ready to hatch!
40 – 200 m
The Continental Shelf
Ireland's wide, productive shelf sea. Still lit from above, these open blue waters are the hunting grounds of great swimmers and vast shoals of fish.
Basking Shark
Cetorhinus maximus · 6 to 8 m
Vast and utterly gentle, the basking shark cruises the Irish shelf with its cavernous mouth wide open, filtering plankton from the sunlit blue.
The second-largest fish in the world, the basking shark gathers off Ireland's west coast every spring — and eats nothing but tiny plankton.
Atlantic Cod
Gadus morhua · 0.6 to 1.2 m
A cornerstone of Ireland's shelf seas, the Atlantic cod moves in loose groups over sand and gravel, its mottled bronze body blending with the fading light.
Cod have a whisker-like barbel on the chin used to taste and feel for food on the seabed.
Ocean Sunfish
Mola mola · 1.8 to 3.3 m
A gigantic, disc-shaped fish that looks like a swimming head. Gentle and curious, the ocean sunfish drifts through Irish shelf waters snacking on jellyfish.
The sunfish is the heaviest bony fish in the world — as much as a small car! — yet it loves to lie flat at the surface to sunbathe.
Atlantic Mackerel
Scomber scombrus · 30 to 40 cm
Fast, striped and silver, mackerel race through Ireland's shelf seas in dazzling shoals that twist and sparkle like a single living cloud.
Mackerel swim in huge shimmering shoals of thousands, all turning together in a flash — it confuses hunters trying to pick just one!
European Lobster
Homarus gammarus · 23 to 50 cm
A big blue armoured hunter with two mighty claws, the European lobster stalks the rocky reefs and ledges of the Irish shelf after dark.
Living lobsters are blue, not red! They only turn red when cooked. And they can live for over 50 years on Ireland's rocky seabed.
200 – 600 m
The Shelf Edge
Where the shelf falls away into the deep. Sunlight fades to a blue twilight and the first cold-water species appear along the drop-off.
Blue Shark
Prionace glauca · 1.8 to 3.3 m
Slender, curious and a beautiful deep blue, the blue shark glides along Ireland's shelf edge, one of the most graceful sharks in the Atlantic.
Blue sharks are some of the ocean's greatest travellers — one tagged off Ireland was found all the way over in the Caribbean!
Common Octopus
Octopus vulgaris · 60 to 90 cm
A master of disguise with eight curling arms, the common octopus squeezes into rocky crevices along the drop-off and watches the world with knowing eyes.
Octopuses have three hearts, blue blood, and can change colour in an instant to hide — they're some of the cleverest animals in the sea!
600 – 1,500 m
The Continental Slope
The steep slope into the North Atlantic depths. Twilight gives way to darkness, and cold-water coral reefs cling to the canyon walls.
Orange Roughy
Hoplostethus atlanticus · 30 to 45 cm
A bright orange fish of the cold, dark slope, the orange roughy hovers over deep-water coral reefs, moving slowly in a world without sunlight.
Orange roughy can live to be over 200 years old — some swimming in the deep today were alive before your great-great-grandparents!
Atlantic Wolffish
Anarhichas lupus · 1.0 to 1.5 m
With a grumpy face and powerful jaws, the Atlantic wolffish lurks in rocky dens on the cold slope, crunching shellfish with its remarkable teeth.
The wolffish has big fang-like teeth to crunch crabs and sea urchins — and it makes its own natural antifreeze to survive the icy deep!
1,500 – 3,000 m
The Deep Atlantic Floor
The vast, silent seabed of the deep North Atlantic. Cold, dark and still, its life lives on the slow drift of 'marine snow' falling from the sunlit world far above.
Deep-sea Anglerfish
Melanocetus johnsonii · 18 to 20 cm
A creature of the pitch-black deep, the anglerfish dangles a glowing lure to tempt prey out of the darkness — a living lantern in the Atlantic abyss.
The anglerfish grows its own glowing fishing rod on its head! The light is made by tiny bacteria and lures curious prey right to its mouth.
Dumbo Octopus
Grimpoteuthis · 20 to 30 cm
One of the deepest-living octopuses in the world, the adorable dumbo octopus flaps its ear-like fins and drifts gently just above the dark Atlantic floor.
The dumbo octopus flaps two ear-like fins to swim — just like the flying elephant it's named after! It lives deeper than almost any octopus.