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.
An edited [short] clip of the EcoEye Programme of the proposed mechanical harvest of our lovely kelp forest in Bantry Bay
Thank you EcoEye for highlighting the issue of the proposed mechanical harvest of 1860 acres of native kelp in Bantry Bay.
Host Anja Murray discovers the amazing variety and ecology of seaweed around Irish coasts, learning about myriad of medicinal and nutritional benefits.
Long harvested by local communities along our west coast, Seaweed has now become a valuable resource worldwide and the episode examines what risks there could be from mechanical harvesting and how seaweed can be harvested sustainably.
This video made by Dave Lordan gives a great overview of Bantry and why the native kelp forest needs to be protected.
Something very fishy going on in Bantry Bay - a license granted on the QT to a company called BioAtlantis to industrially harvest over 1700 hectares of precious Kelp forest. Studies have shown such aggressive harvesting to have a potentially disastrous effect on biodiversity & other aspects of the ecosystem. Locals are campaigning against the destruction of the Kelp Forest, & in this video I go into detail about why we should all be supporting their campaign. Likes, shares, & comments welcome.
Kelp forests worldwide provide a diverse and important home for 1000's of species - We need to protect the kelp forest in BANTRY BAY.
Did you know that vast underwater forests carpet the ocean floor in some places? These kelp forests thrive along much of the west coast of North America. Dive down into the sea to learn more about these simple but vital underwater algae.
The first white tailed sea eagle to fledge in Co Cork in 125 years has been spotted flying around Garnish Island in Bantry Bay.
Eddie is one of six sea eagle chicks to be born this year, a record number since the re-introduction programme began in 2007.
"If there’s one thing that you’ve got to experience in Ireland, it’s being out with basking sharks on a fine day."
These gentle giants (6-8m in length) who feed on plankton visit BANTRY BAY each year to feed on the richness of the bay -
Please protect Bantry Bay's marine habitat - the richness of the kelp forest is all part of the food web, that keeps this bay so diverse!
If you would like to see what the impact of mechanical harvest of seaweed in Norway has had, please watch attached (thanks to James De Katt for the link)
Seaweed trawling covers the entire Norwegian coast including bird reserves.
It causes pollution and the collapse of the seaweed forests as it has before in other countries.
Seaweed trawling is illegal in the uk, some countries have even banned all types of seaweed harvesting.
Bantry is a tourist town and the main reason is because of special moments like this in Bantry Bay - This video was taken today from Eagle Point Camping! - we say no to mechanical harvest of our kelp forest, these dolphins are all part of the intricate food web that exists in our bay - the kelp forest which is a nursery for the juvenile fish / crustaceans of the bay are all too part of this food web!
Just a sample of quotes taken from the comments section of our Petition
Bantry Bay's Pristine Maritime environment is under threat. Please Sign and Share our petition to protect our Bay.
PLEASE SIGN AND SHARE OUR PETITION
https://www.change.org/p/minister-sim...
"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
