Industrial-scale Mussel farm is ‘completely incompatible' with Kinsale Harbour, campaigners say

Irish Examiner

25-06-2025

Campaigners are calling on the minister for agriculture and the marine to revoke a licence for a 23 hectare industrial-scale mussel farm in Kinsale Harbour, directly in front of the popular Dock Beach.
Health, environmental, and economic concerns for the locality have been raised, along with fears that it may jeopardise access to one of the town's most popular beaches and surrounding water used for swimming, kayaking and sailing.
The licence should be revoked pending a full Environmental Impact Assessment, a marine navigation risk study, a cultural heritage survey, and a social and economic impact analysis, campaigners say.
A licence was granted in May to Waterford-based Woodstown Bay Shellfish Ltd for bottom-culture mussel farming using dredging across a zone long used by swimmers, kayakers, sailors, and crab fishers.
No marine safety or navigational impact assessment has been conducted, campaigners say.
The proximity to a wastewater treatment facility lacking UV disinfection further raises serious sanitary concerns under EU directives, they say.
They are appealing for Minister Martin Heydon to revoke the licence, which they say was granted on highly flawed grounds.
The window for appeals closes this week.
And while the industrial mussel farm is expected to create some six new jobs, the town is heavily reliant on its €70m annual tourism economy, which campaigners say the mussel farm may jeopardise.
Appeals have been submitted to the Aquaculture Licence Appeals Board (ALAB), citing legal, ecological, economic, and procedural grounds.
The licence should be revoked pending a full Environmental Impact Assessment, a marine navigation risk study, a cultural heritage survey, and a social and economic impact analysis, campaigners say. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
'This farm is completely incompatible with the heritage, ecology, and economy of Kinsale Harbour,' said local environmental advocate Dr Marc Ó Riain.
'We're asking minister Heydon to exercise his authority to revoke this licence in the public interest.'
Under Section 7.3 of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, the Minister may revoke a licence if it is deemed contrary to the public interest — a clause now being urgently invoked by campaigners.
Protected seagrass beds, a priority habitat under the EU Habitats Directive which play a vital role in marine biodiversity and carbon capture, have been found recently in the proposed dredging area but this was not reflected in the original environmental screening, they say.
'There was no Environmental Impact Assessment. The data relied on is over six years old,' said one appeal letter submitted to ALAB. 'This violates the precautionary principle of EU law.'
The site is also adjacent to the 17th-century James Fort, a designated national monument, and the remains of a historic blockhouse at the mouth of the Bandon River.
No underwater archaeological survey was undertaken — a 'serious procedural omission' according to one submission, potentially placing unrecorded heritage at risk.
The area is one of Ireland's busiest mixed-use harbours, with sailing schools, kayak tours, angling trips, and marine wildlife excursions operating daily. The site overlaps traditional crab pot grounds, and no alternative fishing areas or mitigation measures have been proposed, campaigners say.
Appeals also raised the danger of mussel larvae clogging raw water intakes on leisure and commercial vessels — a hazard which can cause overheating and engine failure.
A decision from the Appeals Board is expected later this year.
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Watch: Mussel Farm protest in Kinsale Harbour