Save Ireland's Kelp Forests

To all concerned,

It is imperative that all sea anglers with a love and passion for Ireland's coastal waters as individuals and members of clubs and associations get behind the campaign to halt the licencing of both indigenous and overseas multi national companies in a bid to stop the clear felling of Ireland's coastal kelp forests.

Note: this is not the same as local harvesting of kelp for manure, sea water baths, etc. This is industrial "underwater clear felling" at source of pristine habitats.

See: https://www.facebook.com/bantrynativekelpforest/posts/1383217928400961?notif_t=story_reshare&notif_id=1492944046313644

Should the above be allowed to happen the marine desert created will mirror the barren seas (once super rich) off Greystones County Wicklow which were created over the last thirty years due to the exploitation and removal of permanent mussel bank habitats.

Write to "Planning" Minister Simon Coveney as a start to voice your disapproval.

Update on this from MPC
Hello all , just to let everyone know that there will be a public meeting on Sunday 28th of May in the Maritime Hotel , Bantry at 5pm , the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the harvesting of 1860 acres of kelp in Bantry Bay , Munster Council IFSA have voiced our opposition to this as it will have an adverse effect on angling , more information can be found at Protect Our Native Kelp Forest, Thank you John Dennehy Sec. MPC

Norway has a mechanical seaweed harvesting industry, this group highlights the problems with this industry.
http://stopptt.com/about-us/

Bioatlantis plans to expand by 25% a year and the Bantry Bay harvest site's are a test run for the possible expansion of this industry to the rest of the coastline.

Environmental impact assessment of certain public and private projects is regulated by the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (Directive 2011/92/EU) which provides that Member States must ensure that, before development consent is given, projects likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue, inter alia, of their nature, size or location are made subject to an assessment of the environmental effects. These projects are defined in Article 4 which refers to Annex I and II of the Directive. Harvesting of kelp forest is, however, not a project listed in these Annexes.

There was no public consultation for this licence application and the only notice published in a local paper failed to mention the species of seaweed to be harvested, the total area of their foreshore licence and that it was to be mechanically harvested.

http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default ... star_0.pdf
http://greennews.ie/wp3/wp-content/uplo ... -sites.jpg

Some of the selected harvest site's are popular signposted shore angling sites.

Harvesting is also to take place each side of the outer harbour of two river's containing Salmon, Seatrout and freshwater Mussels. One site boundary (site C 100ha) is less than 1000m from the mouth of one river. The Adrigole river which is in between two site's (site C 100ha and site D 183ha) is catch and release for Salmon and Seatrout over 40cm to protect the declining stocks of Salmonids.

In my opinion the kelp harvesting should be welcomed.West Cork needs jobs 365 days of the year and not just tourist season.The kelp is removed by storms anyway and regrows from the roots.From what I understand the harvesting will similarly leave the roots and like a farmer cutting silage not kill the plant.As for the loss of salmonids,seals are probably the biggest threat to them other than polution.Mussel farming has been a success in many bays and I hope that kelp farming can follow suit.There is a "hippie "lobby in the area who wouldn't know whether the tide is in or out and with the sorting out of the water charges they need a new cause to protest against.......