Forests frozen to protect pearl mussel

Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan has said that her department has put a stop to any further felling of forestry in the catchments of rivers which are habitats of the fresh-water pearl mussel.

At the moment the pearl mussel is in decline in Europe. The Heritage Council has warned that the pearl mussel is facing extinction in a number of Irish rivers. This is because of worsening water quality caused by river pollution and siltation from forestry. The European Commission is taking a case against Ireland because of its failure to establish the proper conservation measures of the species and its habitat.

Seventeen Irish rivers are designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) to protect the species. The mussel has a life span of up to 20 years and must be protected wherever it occurs.
Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE’s) Tony Lowes stated that the release of phosphates from clear-felling of plantations owned by Coillte Teoranta, as well as the release of silt, had caused a lot of environmental damage to many species.

The Western Regional Fisheries Board found widespread pearl mussel deaths in the Owenriff River catchments in Co. Mayo in 2004. The Minister then established a steering group made up of representatives of the Forest Service, National Parks and Wildlife Service and Coillte. The group is examining draft guidelines to be put out to public consultations before being finalised.