Planning Minister Simon Coveney urged to reverse seaweed licence

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.

A 10-year trial licence to cut the large brown seaweed or kelp forest was issued by the Department of Planning to Tralee-based BioAtlantis in 2010 and is due to begin in the coming months.