Cork Harbour Fishermen fighting subsea electricity pipelines

cork | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Tuesday February 02, 2010 00:39 by Kathy Bradley - Great Island Inshore Fishermen's Association giifa at hotmail dot com

Eirgrid pipeline threatens local livelihoods and marine environment. Support needed

In addition to incinerators at Ringaskiddy, the a toxic dump at Haulbowline and a long list of other indignities Cork Harbour is suffering it is now under attack from another direction. The state body responsible for electricity distribution since 2006, Eirgrid are going ahead with plans to install a submarine power cable between Aghada and Cuskinny Bay.

Cork Harbour's motto “a safe harbour for all” is quite laughable for the marine life and the flora and fauna of the area who seem to be excluded from this pledge.

Map of harbour showing proposed route of cable

The full time local fishermen through their organisation the “Great Island Inshore Fishermans Association”(GIIFA) have fought this proposal from the very beginning and are still awaiting official confirmation from the Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries as to the granting of licence and conditions that are attached to it even though we have been promised this since June 2009.

The fishermen's livelihoods are being threatened to a degree that the licences that they have worked so hard for and paid good hard earned money for will not be worth the paper that they are written on unless someone within the Government has the bottle to actually stand up for the fishing community.
Interestingly enough this is the same electricity cable that was forced to be to be put under the sea by prolonged protests in the Cobh area in the 90s. Unfortunately no-one consulted the fishermen.

In an echo of last years events on the sea off Mayo, the word on the street is that the ship responsible for the pipe laying is due in Cork Harbour on Tuesday the 2nd of February.

While there are many concerns over the entire project the main concerns that have been identified by the fishermen regarding the pipelaying and subsequent cables that will be in place are as follows:

1. Inadequate surveying and sampling by consultants compiling the EIS

2. Loss of habitat and fish species during ‘construction’ of project and ongoing disturbance to habitat following completion leading to huge effect on the fishermens ability to earn a living.

3. Generation of electromagnetic radiation from the sunken cables leading to change in water temperature and disturbance to marine life. Out of sight does not mean there will be no problems

GIIFA have been in talks with Eirgrid regarding other issues along with the above. The afore mentioned have been before the Marine Licence Vetting Committee (MLVC). This is something like the marine version of An Bord Pleanala. In documentation received by GIIFA
from the MLVC their member's names have been blacked out.

This is only the latest stage in the ongoing degradation of fishing grounds in the Cork harbour area.
An article in the Cork Examiner of August 1997 refers to a fishermen's protest against the demolishing of the Spit bank ( once the most lucrative fishing area in the harbour) for the construction of the Jack Lynch tunnel. This article in turn refers back to events 17 years previously again, when part of the bank was removed. The fishermen had been promised on each occasion that stocks would return to normal but this has never happened.

Combine this with the sell out of Ireland's fishing rights back in the 70's which continues to this day and high diesel prices and the situation is looking bleak indeed. The net effect of all this is that practitioners of a sustainable local industry are being forced out of business or further out to sea in boats designed for inshore work thus adding greatly to the risks of an already dangerous trade.

With the expected arrival of the cable laying boat this struggle is entering a crucial phase. Up to now GIIFA have used official channels to protect their livelihoods and the harbour. Despite promises from government departments to keep us informed we find ourselves in the unenviable position of having to take matters into our own hands.

This is only phase one of a project that will have implications for the whole harbour area. We are asking for support from anyone who can see this. We will be putting up reports on this forum over the coming days. Please watch this space or get in touch using our email address