Harvesting of wild seaweed is to be discussed by the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs on Tuesday.
The meeting at 11am in Committee Room 2 of Leinster House will run two sessions and will hear from:
11am – Representatives from BioAtlantis and Coastwatch; Mr Dolf D’hondt, environmental campaigner; and Mr Mike Ó Curraoin, traditional seaweed harverster.
12:15pm – Officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and representatives from Bord Iascaigh Mhara, the Marine Institute, the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) and Údarás na Gaeltachta.
Committee chair Conor McGuinness said: “The seaweed harvesting sector employs around 950 people and was worth €160 million in 2024."
" The industry is primarily focused on pharmaceuticals, food, health and agriculture and has grown by 71 per cent since 2019. There are currently 37 licenced farmed seaweed sites, with applications for 50 more, " he said
“The committee agreed to hear evidence on seaweed licensing and harvesting following separate submissions highlighting that legislative uncertainty is impacting on traditional harvesters and that there is opposition against large-scale commercial harvesting on the west coast. "
"MARA is the statutory body responsible for regulating development in Ireland’s maritime area, including the granting of licences for harvesting wild seaweed, " he explained.
“MARA has set out the legal framework for harvesting, including that all harvesters including traditional harvesters require a licence, and that existing rights’ holders have priority over new applicants. However, MARA does provide an exemption for licence-holding to small-scale non-commercial harvesting for personal or domestic use."
“The committee welcomes this engagement on this topic and related matters, and looks forward to hearing evidence from all our stakeholders, including department officials, State bodies, commercial operators and traditional seaweed harvesters, " he saidm
The committee has 14 members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.
The meeting in Committee Room 2 can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.
Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.
