Green light for Valentia oyster farm

A WATERFORD-BASED shellfish company has received a licence to cultivate oysters in a Valentia Harbour site, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has told The Kerryman.

The department granted an aquaculture and foreshore licence to B.C Shellfish Ltd of Ballycoe, Dungarvan, Waterford, which will allow the company to cultivate pacific oysters using bags and trestles on a six-hectare site at the foreshore of Ballycarberry Strand.

The application was lodged by the company in 2011. The site is located within a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), but the application assessment concluded that the proposed works activities are in line with SAC objectives. It also concluded that the project would accommodate public access to projects in Valentia and that the waters are suitable for the proposal.

An Environment Impact Assessment was carried out and concluded the environmental effects would not be significant.

The Department added that the proposal should have a positive effect on the economy of the local area

“No objections were received as part of the public and statutory process,” a Department spokesperson told The Kerryman in respect of the application.

“An appeal against the decision may be made in writing to The Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board”.

Pacific oyster: BC Shellfish Ltd has been granted permission for a farm in Valentia Harbour.