Algae tide threatens shellfish industry

A vast red tide of algae threatening the multimillion-euro shellfish industry on the Atlantic seaboard is being compounded by a seven-year bureaucratic delay.

The bloom has spread to Donegal Bay, where two beaches were closed, and across Mayo, into Kerry and Cork, and parts of Clare and Galway over the past weeks. The Karenia phytoplankton has destroyed anything from 20% to 80% (in rare cases) of stocks in shellfish farms, with oyster beds worst hit.

Richie Flynn of the Irish Farmers’ Association said the €120m industry, which supports 2,000 direct jobs, has been let down by successive ministers and civil servants.