Work on the country’s first large-scale kelp harvesting operation is due to commence on July 4.

A group campaigning against kelp harvesting in Bantry Bay has secured a judicial review into the decision to grant a licence for what would be the biggest such harvesting operation in the State.

Protesters opposed to a new kelp farm beginning operations in Bantry Bay will hold a demonstration outside Dáil Éireann today.

A company which has a licence to harvest seaweed in West Cork has said that it received online threats of sabotage after a programme on the topic aired on television.

Final approval has been given for the start of the largest kelp harvesting operation in the country, a move which has prompted dismay among those opposed to the plan.

BioAtlantis is licenced to mechanically harvest kelp around the Bantry Bay area. However, despite the fiscal and employment potential and despite assurances from the company, considerable local concern remains about the impact on wildlife, livelihoods and the environment, writes Noel Baker.

THE row about kelp harvesting proposals simmering around West Cork is rooted in one simple fact: The public does not trust regulatory authorities to do the right thing, to protect the common good or the environment in the face of proposals for commercial development.

Despite the views of some of the locals of Adrigole, BioAtlantis has said that a proposed kelp farm for the West Cork village could very well create jobs and will not cost any jobs.

Tourism and local industry tell Claire O’Sullivan there will be huge damage caused by kelp harvesting in Bantry, but the harvesting company says otherwise.

Up to 50 jobs in lobster and shrimp fishing could be threatened if the industrial harvesting of 1,860 acres of native seaweed forest goes ahead in Bantry Bay, according to fishermen.

Planning Minister Simon Coveney is being urged to reverse a decision to grant a licence to a biotechnology company to mechanically harvest 1,860 acres of native seaweed forest in Bantry Bay, writes Claire O'Sullivan.

Planning Minister Simon Coveney is being urged to reverse a decision to grant a licence to a biotechnology company to mechanically harvest 1,860 acres of native seaweed forest in Bantry Bay.

IT is difficult to imagine that the after-dinner, residents’ lounge conversation among any group involved in how our seas’ resources are managed, exploited or shared would be a cheery, celebratory affair. 

With licences being secured and sought to mechanically harvest seaweed in Bantry Bay and parts of the west coast residents fear the damage may be irreparable, writes Louise Roseingrave.

KERNEL Capital has invested €750,000 in the Irish-owned BioAtlantis group.