Approval of mussel farm in busy Cork harbour sparks public meeting

An application that sought to establish a mussel farm in a busy Cork harbour has been given the green light nearly seven years after its initial submission.

The application, submitted in December, 2018, by Woodstown Bay Shellfish Ltd, which has an address at Dunmore East in Co Waterford, sought an aquaculture and foreshore licence to establish a mussel farm in Kinsale Harbour, spanning approximately 25 hectares.

The licence will see the commercial cultivation of mussels in the harbour, using bottom culture on the sub-tidal foreshore, at a site between the Dock Beach, James Fort, and Charles Fort.

The application, which was given the go-ahead late last week, has been a matter of concern for locals for several years, with 609 prior submissions made to the Department of Food, Agriculture and the Marine between 2019 and 2021.

A representative for the Department of Food, Agriculture and the Marine said that the decision to grant the aquaculture and foreshore licence came after a lengthy consideration process.

“The licensing process involves consultation with a wide range of scientific and technical advisers as well as various statutory consultees,” the spokesperson said.

“Decisions in respect of aquaculture licence applications are only taken following the fullest consideration of all consultations and public interest elements of each application, including environmental considerations.”

A public meeting relating to the mussel farm will be held by locals at the Temperance Hall in Kinsale on Sunday from 4pm, with anyone interested in appealing this decision urged to attend.

However, Cork County Councillor for the Bandon-Kinsale local electoral area Gillian Coughlan said she believes granting the licence was “a poor decision”.

“I can’t see why we would want mussel farming in the Kinsale Bay area,” said Ms Coughlan.

“The Bandon River estuary there is already well utilised in recreation and as a tourist amenity — and while I am in favour of multi-usage of our marine heritage, I think we can overdo it as well.

“In this instance, I think the beauty of Kinsale Harbour should be protected.

“I am opposed to this. I feel that it is unnecessary in that location — it’s the wrong location for a licence of this sort,” she added.

“I expect that this will have an impact on local amenities and at low tide it may be very unsightly.

“This was a poor decision. The infrastructure in Kinsale is under pressure enough; we don’t need this sort of extra activity in the centre of town.”

Fianna Fáil Cork South West TD Christopher O’Sullivan said he is “disappointed” for the people of Kinsale.

“I 100% understand the concerns of the public — some residents down in Kinsale flagged their concerns with me a couple of months ago and I did bring those to the department,” said Mr O’Sullivan.

“However, this was an independent decision-making process and for a minister of State to have some type of intervention would be completely inappropriate.

“That being said, Kinsale is a premier tourism spot, and to have any type of activity like this — I understand the concerns of how this might have an impact.

“I am certainly disappointed for the people of Kinsale. There is an appeals process and I would urge anyone who has concerns to avail of that.”

Kinsale resident Donal Hayes told The Echo that the planned farm will have a “huge amount of impact” on surrounding amenities.

“The farm is just off Charles Fort and is about 61 acres, which is approximately the size of 20 GAA pitches,” said Mr Hayes.

“It’s not a rope farm like we’d normally see; it’s a bottom-dredging farm, which is much worse.

“It’s horrific,” he said. “We were all sure it was going to be beaten, but weeks turned into months and nothing happened. Now, seven years later, it’s been granted.

“There’s a democratic deficit here — it’s bewildering why it’s taken so long to get a decision.

“It goes completely in the face of what the community wants,” he added.

“It’s not about objecting to mussel farming, it’s about where it is [and] if we appeal it, it’s going to cost us a fortune.

“It’s shocking. We feel that this is a local decision for local people. It doesn’t appear that anyone is in favour of it, yet it’s happening.”

Mr Hayes highlighted his concern for those who use this area of the harbour for recreational activities such as sailing, swimming, fishing, and paddleboarding, as he claimed they will now be prevented from doing so due to the use of “a heavy commercial trawler going up and down”.

“The town is in uproar. Clearly we’re not talking to the right people, or the right people aren’t listening,” said Mr Hayes.

“There’s going to be a huge amount of impact — that size of a mussel farm in a small harbour makes no sense.”

Fellow Kinsale resident David Cullinane said his concerns also lie with the impact this farm will have on recreational activities, in addition to the ecological impacts it may have on both amenities and the natural landscape of the area.

“There’s overwhelming local objection to this and it seems to have been totally ignored,” said Mr Cullinane.

“I couldn’t believe it’s been granted. It’s totally illogical to me. There’s plenty of other places they could go to and have less impact.

“The cost of objecting is significant so we’re going to have to look at what level of there is in the community, but I expect there will be an appeal from locals.

“People are concerned about the environment. It will have a huge impact on the Dock Beach, and that beach is a major local amenity.

“If there’s dredging off the beach, the composition of the beach itself could change,” he said. “The water will be very murky; there will be more mud [on the beach], and you mightn’t have as much sand any more.

“The ecology of the seabed is also a concern if they’re dredging it the whole time.

“It could absolutely damage boats [too]. They’ll be seeding the seabed with seed mussels, and they don’t always rest on the seabed, so there will be increased mussel growth in the harbour.

“They’ll grow on the hulls of boats moored in the harbour, on the propellors, and equipment, and in the engines — anywhere they can latch onto.

“There are young kids who train in that area as well and they won’t be able to do that if there’s mussel beds beneath them.

“Locals do not want this but we were overruled, which is the hardest thing.”

In 2019, Woodstown Bay Shellfish managing director Paul Barlow said there would be no negative impact for locals. “There will be no negative impact for any s of the area...no structures are involved in bottom mussel farming so absolutely no restrictions or effects would be felt by locals.

“We are very ive of other bay s and there is no reason for concerns...as the normal rules of the road apply.

“I would imagine many locals wouldn’t even know about a mussel bottom-culture mussel farm due to its uniqueness by having no structures in place and minimal activity levels.”

The Echo has ed Woodstown Bay Shellfish Ltd for comment on the granting of the licence.