A licence to Industrially Extract 1860 acres of Native Kelp in Bantry Bay has been issued to BioAtlantis, Tralee.
NO Public Consultation took place. This licence was NOT Advertised Adequately. This licence has been issued with NO requirement for an Environmental Impact Assessment [E.I.A.]
This is the largest industrial scale native Kelp Extraction Licence ever issued in Irish or British waters.
A licence to Mechanically Extract 1860 acres of native kelp in Bantry Bay has been issued to BioAtlantis, Tralee. This licence was not advertised adequately, no public consultation took place and the licence has been issued with no requirement for an Environmental Impact Assessment. This is the largest industrial scale native kelp harvest licence ever issued in Irish or British waters.
Bantry Bay is an area of outstanding beauty that is home to many harbour seal colonies, white tailed eagles, otters, choughs, dolphins to name but a few species. Humpback Whales, basking sharks etc all come to feed in the rich marine waters of the bay annually.
Tourism is the main industry of this area as Bantry is located on the Wild Atlantic Way. To allow this harvest of native kelp to go ahead, would be catastrophic for the ecology of the bay and may result in the whole balance of Bantry Bay being disturbed and irreparably damaged.
The licensed area is so large, it is like giving approval for the clear felling of 38% of Killarney National Park, without local knowledge, consultation and agreement.
Details of the application for this licence can be viewed on the Department of Housing, Planing, Community and Local Government Click Here to visit the web Site
Applicant Address:
Kerry Technology Park, Listowel Road, Tralee, County Kerry
Description:
Foreshore licence application for mechanical harvesting of seaweed
Location:
Bantry Bay, County Cork
Reference Number: FS006061
Status: Determination
Date Received: Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Determination Date: Friday, March 21, 2014
All pertinent documentation can be viewed and downloaded from the Government Web Site. Or you may download directly from the links below
BioAtlantis Ltd - Bantry - Application form (2 MB)
BioAtlantis Ltd - Bantry - Licence map (512 KB)
BioAtlantis Ltd - Bantry - MLVC Report (73.5 KB)
BioAtlantis Ltd - Bantry - Licence document (1.64 MB)
BioAtlantis Ltd - Bantry - Licence map (498.79 KB)
BioAtlantis Ltd - Bantry - Draft specific conditions (43.19 KB)
BioAtlantis Ltd - Bantry - Monitoring parameters (65.38 KB)
BioAtlantis Ltd - Bantry - Specialist advisor observations (411.66 KB)
BioAtlantis Ltd - Bantry - Special advisor observations II (118.76 KB)
BioAtlantis Ltd - Bantry - Submission and supporting documents (365.23 KB)
BioAtlantis Ltd - Bantry - Unsolicited correspondence (74.04 KB)
BioAtlantis Aquamarine Ltd - Bantry Bay - agreed monitoring programme (836.43 KB)
"I can only compare these great aquatic forests of the southern hemisphere with the terrestrial ones in the inter-tropical regions. Yet if in any country a forest was destroyed, I do not believe nearly so many species of animals would perish as would here, from the destruction of the kelp
Amidst the leaves of this plant numerous species of fish live, which nowhere else could find food or shelter; with their destruction the many cormorants and other fishing birds, the otters, seals, and porpoises, would soon perish"
~ Charles Darwin
