An emergency public meeting will take place in Kinvara this Friday concerning the proposed development of a large, 26 acre fish farm at Aughinish on the border between Clare and Galway.
The meeting is being organised by the Aughinish Bay Community Group, who say the local community is shocked and upset by the proposed development.
Galway based company, Sliogeisc Siar Teoranta, lodged applications for both a foreshore license and an aquaculture license in 2019.
The Department of Agriculture refused the application for the aquaculture license in November 2020, primarily on the grounds of the damage the development would do the delicate ecosystem in Aughinish Bay.
This decision was later appealed to the Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board, which overturned the Department of the Environment ruling in January 2023.
Sliogeisc Siar Teoranta have now appealed for a foreshore license, which will be needed to develop the fish farm, and the Aughinish Bay Community Group are encouraging local people to oppose this application.
Documents lodged by Sliogeisc Siar Teoranta during the original bid for an aquaculture license in 2019 say that the 26 acre site would be used to cultivate “native and Pacific oysters”.
According to Lorraine O’Rahilly of the Aughinish Bay Community Group, people living in the area had no idea that the development was on the cards.
“There is great upset in the local community about this development. A number of local people noticed that work was being carried out and wondered what it was. It has come as a huge shock to us locally,” she said.
“I think that public consultation is necessary and hugely important, for everyone involved. Public participation in the planning system is a key part of our democracy.”
Aughinish Bay is a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and has been designated as a Special Protection Area under the EU Birds Directive. It is an important area for a number of protected and vulnerable bird species including Light-bellied Brent Geese, Ringed Plover, Curlew and Lapwing.
“A key concern of the proposed Aquaculture Farm is the environmental impact in Aughinish Bay. Aughinish Bay is an area of high ornithological importance. It is an area designated as a Special Protection Area under the EU Birds Directive,” said Ms O Rahilly .
“Aughinish Bay has a highly protected ecosystem and is defined in the European Union’s Habitats Directive as a Special Area of Conservation. It is part of a network of protected sites across the European Union called Natura 2000.”
The group also claims that the proposed granting of the foreshore licence may affect families who have held seaweed rights in this area for generations as well as locals who harvest native oysters.
They claim that the proposed aquaculture site directly overlays the ‘Aughinish traditional seaweed fields’ which date back to the late medieval era.
The public meeting organised by the Aughinish Bay Community Group will take place on Friday, March 1, at 8.30pm at Seamount Community College in Kinvara.
The Aughinish Bay Community Group is appealing to anyone interested in protecting wildlife, ecology, marine life and heritage to attend the meeting and support calls for objections to the foreshore licence.
Andrew Hamilton is a journalist, investigative reporter and blogger who has been working in the media in Ireland for the past 20 years. His areas of special interest include the environment, mental health and politics.