Vol. 538 No. 3
117 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to the fact that fishermen at an area of Lough Swilly (details supplied) are planting mussels on top of wild oysters; if his attention has further been drawn to the fact that this is being done under a licence granted by his Department for mussel farming; and the action which is open to his Department to address the problem. [18048/01]
Three aquaculture licences for the bottom culture of mussels in Lough Swilly were granted in November 1999 under the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1997, following public advertisement of the licence applications in the Derry People and Donegal News on 31 October 1997 and 25 June 1999. No objections were received in response to the advertisements or from the statutory consultees including the Northern Regional Fisheries Board which was consulted directly. The decision to licence in each case was also publicly advertised in the Derry People and Donegal News on 24 September 1999 and no appeal against that decision was made to the independent statutory Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board established under that Act.
Recent correspondence from the Northern Regional Fisheries Board to my Department contained allegations that mussel seed has been deposited on wild oyster beds in Lough Swilly. My Department has sought information on licences granted by the board for the dredging of wild oysters and the volume of shellfish harvested. The Department awaits information from the board. Based on the information received, the Department will assess whether and to what extent, wild oysters in Lough Swilly represent a commercially viable resource.
If there is clear evidence that wild oysters are present in commercial volumes, the next step would be to undertake a survey to locate and quantify the resource. My Department has indicated that it would give consideration to such a proposal and has asked the Northern Regional Fisheries Board for its views in this regard. At this stage, however, I would be reluctant to impose a wholesale ban on the seeding of licensed aquaculture sites which, given the lack of information on the possible location and extent of wild oyster beds in Louth, might be entirely unwarranted and could result in licence holders suffering considerable financial losses.
