Kerry awash with seaweed but local firm forced to import from Norway
A KERRY company is being forced to import seaweed from Norway and Iceland because it cannot get a licence to harvest the plant here, despite an abundant supply along's the county's extensive coastline.
BioAtlantis, based in Kerry Technology Park, say they are ready to create jobs harvesting kelp in Kerry, but are growing frustrated at the apparent lack of movement by the National Parks and Wildlife Service who are to advise the Department of the Environment on the granting of a license to harvest seaweed.
The company - a member of The Organic Trust - plans to develop natural antibiotics for a range of uses, from the kelp.
With a longer coastline than any other county in Ireland and several prime kelp forests just offshore, BioAtlantis say they could begin a new industry in Kerry and easily meet strict environmental conditions to ensure the harvesting was fully sustainable.
"We applied in July of last year for the foreshore licence and we've still heard nothing and that's why it's getting quite frustrating," BioAtlantis founder and Cahersiveen native, John O'Sullivan, told The Kerryman. Initially, the company had engaged in preapplication talks with the Department of the Marine, who, Mr O'Sullivan said, indicated their satisfaction with the harvesting plans.
"Our own government's plan is for the Irish economy to be a knowledge-based one, and that's precisely what our enterprise is. We have completed three to four years research into our product at UCC and the knowledge is now patented," Mr O'Sullivan said.
That patent relates to the extraction of two key bioactive ingredients from kelp. One of these ingredients is proven in pigs — test subjects with a gut closest to that of humans — to target harmful bacteria while benefitting good bacteria in the digestive tract. The other bioactive kelp ingredient can be developed to promote good bacteria.
"One is curative and the other is preventative and they have been shown to be much more effective than other bioactive ingredients on the market in pig trials and we would be very hopeful of developing a quality product based on Kerry kelp," he said.
It is likely that Kerry kelp would be of a higher quality than the imported seaweed from Norway and Iceland, said Mr O'Sullivan who added that Kenmare Bay could be one key area for harvesting seaweed if the company were granted a licence.
"This is all about creating jobs in Kerry, that's the whole logic of our enterprise," he said.
- DONAL NOLAN dnolan@kerryman.ie
