Pearl mussel plan will be worth €3.7m to south Kerry

A plan to help restore pearl mussel populations to south Kerry will be worth a reported €3.7m to the region.

The KerryLife project will operate in two freshwater pearl mussel catchments from 2014-2019 and will set out to develop favourable conservation conditions in the Caragh and Blackwater river catchments.

The mussel can live to more than 100 years of age.

In an up-to-date report, the Department of Arts, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht, said an office is being set up in the area and a four-person project team is being recruited, with arrangements to be finalised by mid-November.

The department, heading up the project, will work with local communities and the farming and forestry sectors. The project has a €5m budget, with 50% coming from the EU.

In co-operation with farmers and forest-owners, KerryLife will implement a wide range of measures to enable farming and forestry to be practiced in a way that will sustain both the pearl mussel population and the livelihood of the farm and forest enterprises.

The report also says the project will combine local farming and forest knowledge and experience with the scientific expertise to overcome some of the challenges of land use management in freshwater pearl mussel catchments.

The Caragh and Blackwater catchments host the two largest populations with 45% of the national resource.

Public meetings are to be held in south Kerry during this month and next.