The off-shore marine environment is under constant and increasing pressure from a bewildering variety of damaging human activities, ranging from oil spills to dumping, both licensed and indiscriminate, domestic and foreign, and the discharge of everything from sewage to farm chemicals and even radioactive waste. Now fishermen on the south coast are alarmed at the prospect of a further development, the commercial exploitation of ancient sea-bed deposits of sand and gravel. They have lodged objections to exploratory dredging of deposits of marine aggregates from the sea-bed off the Waterford coast.
The trial extraction of some 250 tons of material, under a foreshore licence granted by the Department of the Marine, is a precursor to a proposal to extract some 7,500 cubic metres a week over a number of years. It is understood most of this material will be exported.
Lobster fishermen in Waterford and Wexford are particularly concerned about the interference with the seabed. On the coast of both counties, they have been involved in a delicate long-term project to revive stocks of the scarce shellfish.
The East Waterford Lobster Co-operative, with up to 80 members along the coast between Cheekpoint and Stadbally, fears that the dredging will have a damaging effect on their seven-year restocking programme. The co-op chairman, Mr Trevor Simpson, said the immediate concern was the mud plume which would result from dredging operations.
In co-operation with the South Wexford Lobster Co-op, the group has been releasing tiny immature lobsters into the Waterford estuary and along the coast. Already this year they have released 500 juvenile lobsters, which shelter under rocks on the sea-floor until they are mature enough to survive the attention of predators. They also buy back from fishermen, and release, egg-bearing female lobsters as part of the programme to replenish stocks.
The area where suction dredging of aggregates is proposed is bordered on both sides by the Lobster Stock Enhancement Area being managed by the co-op.
In its formal letter of objection to the dredging plan, the co-op warned that such operations could cause permanent damage to the sea-floor. The plume of mud and silt generated and carried by the tide would bury the juvenile lobsters and render the surrounding sea-bed useless as a habitat for lobsters.
The further effects on the life cycle of many other sea creatures could only be guessed at, said the co-op, adding that the removal of so much sand and gravel could also cause erosion of beaches in the area.
The lobster fishermen are not alone in their opposition to the project. The manager of Dunmore East Fishermen's Co-Op, Mr Tom Fewer, said: "From a whitefish point of view, this whole area is rich in nutrients. It is a valuable breeding ground for a whole range of species."
DUNMORE East has seen a decline in the local fleet, with most of the large trawlers owned by local fishermen now replaced by smaller boats which are more economical to operate. These smaller boats, whose operations are more constrained by weather conditions, rely on being able to fish in inshore waters adjacent to the port, the areas which will be affected by the dredging, Mr Fewer said.
He pointed out that the proposed extraction is a form of underwater open-cast mining which could have a dramatic effect on the local environment.
The lobster fishermen claim that there has been no proper consultation with them on the proposal. The first they knew of the trial extraction earlier this month was when a strange vessel was noticed off Portally on the south Waterford coast on November 10th.
The fishermen say that a full benthic study is necessary to establish the extent of marine life on the sea floor. They have been supplied with some details of the project and of a survey by a firm of consultants, Aqua-Fact International Services Ltd of Galway, but are not happy with the scope of the research.
They are also alarmed at a comment in the document they received which says: "If markets, public opinion and environmental impact allow, there may be room for further expansion of the extraction site."
Mr Mark Costello, of AquaFact Ltd, confirmed that the company has been retained by the project promoters, Bilberry Shipping and Stevedores Ltd, of Waterford, to carry out an environmental impact study (EIS). That EIS is being completed, and will form part of the application to the Department of Marine for sanction for the full-scale extraction project to go ahead.
Mr Costello said that during the study contact had been made with most people who might feel that they would be affected by the dredging operations, and their views were being taken into account in the report. The EIS must be put on public display in the area for a month, and that will provide an opportunity for further representations and objections to be raised.
Oddly, there has been no intervention as yet by the major environmental organisations. But fishermen all along the south-east coast are acutely aware that this proposal to mine the sea-floor could be the thin end of the wedge, starting a pattern of development which could be repeated in other coastal areas and adding to the multiple pressures already bearing heavily on the fishing industry.