GALLERY: Donegal foreshore like the 'Wild West'

Protected habitats and shoreline rock formations which took millennia to form have been destroyed in days during the construction of an illegal road at Clar Shore in Redcastle, County Donegal. 

The road, which was approximately 400 metres long, was built to facilitate access to the unregulated oyster trestles in the area.

Donegal County Council confirmed to Inish Times “there is an active enforcement case in progress” regarding the road.

The road’s construction is also being investigated by the Marine Engineering Division of the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, following a Parliamentary Question to Minister Michael Creed from Pádraig Mac Lochlainn TD.

On May 28, Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked: “If [the Minister’s] attention has been drawn to the construction of a road approximately 400 metres in length along the foreshore of Lough Foyle at Clar, Redcastle, County Donegal without planning or consultation; and if his Department can cooperate with the Loughs’ Agency to protect the foreshore of Lough Foyle on the Inishowen side.”

Minister Creed replied: “My Department is responsible for foreshore licensing in respect of structures / activities relating to fisheries and aquaculture and in respect of relevant structures / activities in designated Fishery Harbour Centres. The licensing of other structures / activities on the foreshore is a matter for the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government.

My department’s Marine Engineering Division has been asked to examine the matter raised by the Deputy with a view to ascertaining the purpose of the works in question. As soon as that report is available, my Department will be in a position to advise the Deputy further and will contact the Deputy directly in that regard.”

At the time of going to press, Inish Times had not received confirmation to its enquiry whether or not the road in question had foreshore consent (licence or lease), from the Department of Housing Planning and Local Government.

Speaking to Inish Times, Donegal Councillor Terry Crossan said he had been made aware of the illegal road a number of weeks ago.

Cllr Crossan added: “I was contacted by an environmental group in the area and a considerable number of concerned members of the local community, who made me aware of an illegal road that was being made across the foreshore to facilitate access to oyster trestles.

“Naturally, I was concerned. This is a very important ecosystem. I was concerned at the total disregard for any environmental issues here.

“It is an area where migratory geese overwinter, and they are very much dependent on specific types of grass that grow in this particular ecosystem.

“This precious ecosystem was ploughed through by heavy plant, with total disregard for anybody’s concerns about it. There was no consultation. There was no planning. There was nothing. There was just arrogance. It seems to be that because of the lack of regulation for oyster trestles, those who work them seem to think they have a free hand and they can ride rough shod over anybody,” said Cllr Crossan.

Inish Times also understands that while these works were being done, there was some degree of encroachment and some degree of damage to private property, which might the subject of civil litigation.

According to Cllr Crossan, the people who work the oyster trestles come from all over Inishowen and from the North.

He said: “They travel to Clar Shore from far and near. Anyone driving up and down the main Moville to Derry Road will see all sorts of different registrations of vans and cars and trucks, all involved in this industry.

“I made Donegal County Council aware of the situation. I spoke to Environmental Officer in charge and he took the measures to send out people to ascertain the extent of the damage that had been caused to the foreshore.

“Those investigations are ongoing. The Loughs’ Agency are also aware of it. All sorts of environmental groups are aware of it.

“However, the crux of the matter is that nobody seems to be in a position to be able to take action because there is the big jurisdictional question ongoing here. That is the reason why the proliferation of these oyster trestles has been allowed to happen. because nobody has any authority to stop them,” said Cllr Crossan.

Cllr Crossan said he was made aware of it by people “very well acquainted with the environment.”

He added: “When they saw this happening, they naturally were concerned, and I was contacted. As a local councillor, I had the duty of care to the people in the area to do what I could to try to find out what could be done because if this goes on now it will go on in other areas. Where will it stop?

“There is an arrogance here. People feel they can do whatever they want. It needs to be addressed and it needs to be addressed by Central Government, which must sort out the jurisdictional issues between itself and the British Government.

“The road is now completed. The damage is done. It cannot be undone. Those shoreline rock formations, which took millennia to form have been destroyed overnight. That cannot be undone but what we can do is to ensure people just can’t do what they want without any accountability,” said Cllr Crossan.

Members of the local community told Inish Times the damage caused by the road was shocking and upsetting and in contravention of the Foreshore Act.

They said: “The road was made without planning, licensing, or consultation of any kind. Such damage is irreconcilable. The ripping of bedrock and damage of natural woodland can never be put back to the way it was.

“Furthermore, in the times we live in, it would also accelerate the natural process of erosion and the protection such rock formations provided to the lands adjoining the shore.

“It also serves as an unmitigated destruction of natural habitat and has caused significant damage to the delicate balance of the ecosystem on the foreshore area.

“The road is a product of a much wider issue, that of unregulated and unlicensed and ever increasingly intensive aquaculture. Owing to the jurisdictional matters, which were to be resolved on foot of the Good Friday agreement some 22 years ago and remain outstanding. Consequently, there is an absolute exploitation taking place,” they said.

There is a belief in some quarters, those involved in the oyster industry in Lough Foyle think they “can do whatever they want.”

A Donegal environmentalist said: “It is akin to a Wild West frontier as you may call it.

“There is no regard for the local community, the rich biodiversity, and to the wider environment. The Shores of Lough Foyle should be a fantastic resource for everyone and not merely for the preserve of the few to profit from it at the expense of everyone else.

“There is no clear accountability or designated timeframe within the government to address this. It appears to sit somewhere between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Agriculture and Marine.

“Furthermore, the matter should be something of a priority to be addressed at the north-south ministerial council, but this has not happened 22 years later,” they said.

According to Cllr Terry Crossan there are more than 58,000 rusting, metal, semi-permanent trestles in Lough Foyle, serving a platforms for intensive oyster farming.

The oysters used are ‘pacific oysters’ which are not native to Lough Foyle. They are designated as an invasive species.

There is concern these oysters were desecrating the local and distinct native Lough Foyle oyster populations.

The oysters are contained in plastic mesh bags which are secured with cable ties, as the oysters grow the bags are opened and oysters divided out into more bags. The cable ties used to secure them are then thrown away.

Cllr Crossan estimated between 50,000 and 60,000 cable ties were procured each week and were simply discarded on the shore.

Members of the East Inishowen community highlighted the fact millions of euro had been invested in the Wild Atlantic Way project.

They said: “However, these trestles beds are blighting the stunning landscapes in Inishowen. At a time when tourism is being decimated by the global pandemic, we need to stop irresponsible littering of the shoreline and focus on investments that encourage visitors and preserve our scenery.

“Lough Foyle is home to many families of Common and Grey seals which have been in residence for decades in very specific locations along the shore line.  Oyster trestles could have detrimental effects on the future population of the common and grey seals, which are a protected species.   Since Grey and Common seals are protected under the 1976 Wildlife Act and the EU Habitats Directive, there is a responsibility for Government and Local Authorities to take measures to protect them and their essential habitats. The presence of oyster trestles would prevent the free movement of the animals to their natural daily resting ground and impact a seal’s lifecycle.

“Lough Foyle is a major habitat for native and migratory birds, a large area of which is designated as a Special Protection Area (SPA) under the E.U. Birds Directive. 2204ha of the eastern shore of the Lough within Northern Ireland is a SPA (EC site code UK9020031) and 585 ha of the Lough with the Donegal side of the Lough is a SPA (site code 004087). These SPA sites (cross-border) are of high ornithological importance that regularly support in excess of 20,000 wintering waterbirds, (including internationally important Whooper Swans, Light-bellied Brent Goose and Bar-tailed Goodwit as well as many other species of national importance.  There are also regular visits from several very rare Curlew, which has seen a 96% decline in Ireland since the 1980’s and are now at risk of extinction in Ireland.

“It is now time that all the powers of government act to preserve the shores of Lough Foyle before its stunning beauty and distinct natural and rich habitat is lost forever. It is not our opinion that the aquaculture be stopped but that it is regulated properly and efficiently, does not cause nuisance and preserves the amenity it provides to the wider community,” they said.