Cork council fears controversial Kinsale mussel farm could lead to a bad whiff at popular beach

By Peter McCarthy, Corkman

Cork County Council has joined almost 150 individuals and groups in appealing the decision to grant an aquaculture licence for a mussel farm in Kinsale harbour. The proposed development has sparked intense opposition in the West Cork town famed for its sailing and watersport activities.

On May 30, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon granted an aquaculture licence to Woodstown Bay Shellfish Limited for bottom-culture mussel farming on a 23-hectare site in Kinsale Harbour between Charles Fort, James Fort and the Dock beach.

The licence application was first submitted in 2018 and resubmitted in 2021. The council has now resubmitted its original statutory consultee submission from that time to the Aquaculture Licence Appeals Board (ALAB).

The local authority says it is “of the opinion that the matters it raised then [in the original submission] have not been substantially addressed in the conditions pertaining to the draft Aquaculture Licence conditions.”

The council’s original submission noted its concerns that the development might have an adverse effect on the Dock beach “arising from the increased deposition of fine sediment, including pseudofaeces, from the mussel bed. This may result in the beach assuming an unpleasant appearance from malodours.”

Other concerns raised by the council included that the increase in marker buoys and moorings might adversely affect kayakers and triathlons. The local authority also called on the applicant to demonstrate that the mussel farm wouldn’t affect shipping by increasing sedimentation in the harbour.

Kinsale Councillor Gillian Coughlan told a council meeting in June that the area of the proposed farm is the size of "12 GAA pitches" and threatens "the only beach really in proximity to Kinsale town."

Dock beach – otherwise known as Jarley’s Cove – is a local gem in Kinsale. The small strand is usually a quiet alternative to the popular Garrettstown beach further down the coast.

A petition launched against the mussel farm has been signed by over 7,200 people, which equates to more than the entire population of the town, according to the last Census in 2022.

To date, 147 individuals and organisations have submitted appeals to ALAB, including the Kinsale Dock and Rowing Club, the Bandon-Kinsale Municipal District, Kinsale Triathlon Club, the Cork Sub Aqua Club, and the Bandon Angling Club. A decision on the appeal is due by October 29.