Kelp-harvesting plan to go ahead in Bantry Bay

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.

Tralee-based BioAtlantis said it hoped to begin harvesting kelp off Bantry Bay shortly, bringing to an end a process that began almost a decade ago.

The company said that it will extract and purify compounds from kelp which will be used as a substitute for antibiotics in the pig and poultry industry. The overall area licensed for harvesting of the seaweed is around 1,800 acres, although BioAtlantis said the area to be harvested annually is 25% of this, around 456 acres per annum, of which less than 40% contains kelp.