Campaigner mounts legal challenge to protect Munster's fresh water pearl mussel

Environmental campaigner Peter Sweetman has gone to court in a battle to protect Munster's freshwater pearl mussel.

The campaigner has mounted a legal challenge to a decision of the Minister for Heritage Culture and the Gaeltacht to remove protection for the endangered freshwater pearl mussel from part of Munster's Blackwater River area.

File photo of a freshwater pearl mussel.

The High Court heard the rare pearl mussel in the main channel of the Blackwater through counties Waterford and Cork had been subject of a previous order making it a special protection area.

Today, Mr Justice Seamus Noonan granted Mr Sweetman leave to bring judicial review proceedings following a one-side only represented application.

Ireland hosts approximately 46 per cent of the EU population of the species and has approximately 96 individual populations within 139 rivers as well as in lakes. These populations range in size from hundreds to almost three million.

Mr Sweetman's lawyer told the court the Minister's decision to change that statutory designation removes special protection from 40 per cent of the area previously covered.

The Minister, the court heard, argues less than one per cent of the pearl mussel population is affected.

The Sweetman side said this view is based on out-of-date scientific evidence.

Mr Sweetman says, in an affidavit, the pearl mussels "can't by themselves take court cases" to ensure their protection so the only other option is for interested members of society to do so.

He says he has already been party to three Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) decisions which, if properly applied by planners and decision-makers, should have the effect of enhancing protection for flora, fauna and conserving species for the enjoyment of future generations.

Evelyn Moorkens, an ecologist on behalf of Mr Sweetman, says in an affidavit she published a paper in 2010 which formed the basis for a National Parks and Wildlife Service conservation strategy in 2011. She has continued to research since then and says the 2011 strategy should be revisited on the basis of findings between then and 2018.

She was surprised to see the Munster Blackwater main channel was selected to be removed from the new freshwater pearl mussel regulations, as it is one of two areas where populations are likely to have more resilience due to flow variation and habitat variety than other areas.

She was also surprised there had been no scientific investigations to back up the changes.

Ms Mookens, who says she is one of the few ecologists specialising in the freshwater pearl mussel, was not contacted by the Department about the change and she was unaware of any other expert being involved. There doesn’t seem to have been an opportunity to make submissions before the decision was made, she says.

She disputes the Minister's view that the Blackwater has just 0.08 per cent of the mussel population.

Mr Justice Seamus Noonan, granting permission to bring proceedings, said the matter could return to court in February.