Opposition grows in Mayo over commercial seaweed harvesting licence for Clew Bay
Concerns are growing in north Mayo following the submission of a commercial application for a foreshore licence to harvest Ascophyllum nodosum seaweed in Clew Bay.
BioAtlantis LTD has applied to the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (Mara) seeking permission for a foreshore licence covering a 93.73km square section of coastline.
Residents in Clew Bay and across north Mayo fear the licence could threaten traditional livelihoods and the long-held harvesting rights of local seaweed cutters.
Application MUL240043, which dates back to October 25, 2024, has now reached the stage where it is due to go to public consultation.
The proposal was discussed at a meeting of the Westport and Belmullet Municipal District, where councillors voiced strong opposition, highlighting concerns over the potential loss of income for local seaweed cutters and the impact it might have on the traditional Irish practice.
The matter was first raised by Cllr Paul McNamara, who said he had received numerous emails from constituents expressing concerns over the application.
Cllr Sean Carey questioned the legality of a company attempting to obtain a foreshore licence along land where owners have rights down to the high water mark.
“There is huge concern over a large company coming in and trying to get [a licence] to start an operation - it will displace the jobs that are there and the tradition that the farming community has used for generations,” he said.
There are a lot of local people who live off of cutting seaweed. Some people pay their mortgage with it, we can’t take that away from people
Cllr John O’Malley agreed and said it would be “awful wrong” for a licence to be granted to a company that would “take over the shores of Clew Bay”.
“From Newport to Carrowholly, there are a lot of local people who live off of cutting seaweed. Some people pay their mortgage with it, we can’t take that away from people,” he said.
With the application moving to public consultation, Cllr O’Malley warned there would be “awful trouble” as there would be “total objection to it”.
“It is something that can’t happen, and it shouldn't happen,” he added.
Cllr Gerry Coyle said that any person who cuts the seaweed with a hook “deserves every penny they get” and described it as one of the hardest jobs.
Having cut seaweed himself as a young boy, he said he understood the labour-intensive work involved.
Cllr Coyle noted that local farmers have been using seaweed as a natural fertiliser for decades and raised wider ecological concerns about granting a commercial licence.
He said a seaweed company would have little interest in the winkles collected along with the seaweed, and pointed out that residents along Clew Bay make their living by collecting and selling winkles.
“Let the locals cut it, harvest it, and sell it - that’s fine with me. But it is definitely not fine if they are thinking of passing [the rights] over,” Cllr Coyle said, adding that there could be a way for local people to preserve their tradition, continue harvesting the seaweed, and still have the option to sell it to a company.
According to the application submitted by BioAtlantis, the licence is for commercial use and would create 20 full-time roles in Clew Bay, including “16 full-time or 32 part-time hand harvesters from the region”.
The company’s application to Mara also states that “hand harvesting will be undertaken in a sustainable, regenerative and traceable manner, and in line with traditional hand harvesting methods currently employed in the area”.
Despite this, councillors said they had been inundated with emails from seaweed cutters and residents outlining serious concerns about the proposal and its potential impact on the region.
The discussion took place against the backdrop of another recent seaweed licence application submitted by Arramara Teoranta.
The company submitted application number FS006108 for a licence along the west coast of Ireland covering 21 different areas, including Blacksod, Achill and Clifden.
It became the subject of an online petition on Uplift, which asked Minister Darragh O’Brein to “stop large corporations from harvesting huge forests of seaweed from the west coast”.
The petition gathered some 20,000 signatures, and the status of the Arramara Teoranta application on the Government website now reads 'withdrawn'.
As a council, we have to stand up to this and halt it in its tracks
Mayo councillors expressed concern about the prospect of a long-standing Irish tradition and skill being transferred to a company registered outside the country.
Cllr John O’Malley said that a licence for the Clew Bay area should not be given to a “company that’s not from this country to come in here and send in people to cut seaweed under the [local] people’s noses”.
“As a council, we have to stand up to this and halt it in its tracks. It’s taking away people's livelihoods, and it's interfering with their ownership rights,” said Cllr Chris Maxwell.
Pointing to the level of opposition to the Arramara Teoranta application, Cllr Maxwell said a public meeting was held in Ros Muc, organised by his party colleague and Independent Ireland’s candidate for the upcoming Galway West by-election, Cllr Noel Thomas.
He said more than 300 people attended and suggested there would be a similar level of protest in response to the proposed licence for Clew Bay.
Cllr Maxwell continued saying the council has to “stand up for people's rights - ordinary people, country people here in rural Ireland”.
After extensive discussion, councillors agreed to formally write to Mara outlining their opposition on behalf of their constituents.
Head of the Westport and Belmullet Municipal District, Seamus O'Mongáin, confirmed that a query will be referred to Mara regarding the application.
He said that within the municipal district and the Marine section of Mayo County Council, no application had been submitted by either company.
Cllr Peter Flynn also addressed the issue, describing Mara as a “faceless organisation.”
He said his only previous dealings with the authority were in relation to the Newport Sewer System Scheme, where residents have been waiting for a long-promised sewage treatment plant for nearly three decades.
“It will be interesting to see does Mara respond to multinationals in the same way they have responded to the people of Newport,” he said.
With the backing of all seven councillors in the Westport and Belmullet Municipal District, Cllr Flynn added: “A letter will go to Mara confirming that we wholeheartedly object to any such licence, and these rights [should] remain with the locals and with the hundreds of people from Galway and Mayo who have worked in this for centuries.”
This article was ammended on Tuesday, March 24 at 18:15pm to remove an incorrect sentence. BioAtlantis is an Irish family-owned SME and is not owned by any other corporation.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.