North Cork region’s economy depends on protecting river mussel

A multi-agency taskforce is to be set up to ensure the health of protected freshwater mussels, otherwise their demise could have a serious impact on future economic development in the North Cork region.

There could be up to 32,000 protected freshwater pearl mussels in the River Blackwater and ensuring their health, alongside future economic development, is not going to be easy, according to the Cork County Council’s senior planner.

Shockwaves reverberated around County Hall last December when it was announced that major housing and industrial developments along the Blackwater Valley were likely to be put on hold due to an EU directive aimed at protecting the freshwater pearl mussel.

Andrew Hind, the council’s senior planner, has said there could be anything up to 32,000 of the little creatures living in the river and its tributaries, making it the biggest colony in Ireland and one of the biggest in Europe.

Due to the directive, Cork County Council will have to undertake a major survey of the River Blackwater.

If the mussel is present in significant numbers, as has been predicted, it will have huge implications for future economic development in the region.

The County Development Plan proposes, for example, to create a further 4,552 and 900 housing units in Mallow and Fermoy respectively, in the next seven years, but this could add to water pollution.

Mr Hind described it as “a sensitive and difficult issue” and, pending the outcome of the studies, “the implementation of population targets in these areas may have to be put on hold”.

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