French group caught harvesting hundreds of oysters on Kerry beach

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is to prepare a prosecution file after seizing more than 1,000 illegally harvested oysters from a group of French people spotted collecting them in Kenmare bay in Co Kerry.

IFI officers spotted the group of 25 picking the oysters at low tide at Cuis Strand, Templenoe, outside Kenmare earlier this month and they moved to stop the operation.

They recovered 612 oysters from two vehicles belonging to the group and, in a follow-up search, they found two more bags of oysters, bringing the total haul to more than 1,000.

Cuis Strand is in a Special Area of Conservation and many of the oysters recovered were less than 76mm in size, the minimum legal size for licensed harvesting.

IFI staff returned the oysters to the shore. They will now prepare a prosecution file on the alleged illegal harvesting of oysters by the group, who were all French and middle aged or older.

Oyster harvesting without a licence is illegal under Section 277 of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act 1959 and carries a monetary fine upon conviction.

According to a fishing industry source, oysters currently retail at 10 for €15, giving an overall value for the catch confiscated from the French group of about €1,500.

Seán Long, IFI’s southwestern director, paid tribute to the agency staff for their vigilance in stopping the illegal harvesting and returning the seized oysters to Kenmare bay.

“IFI is pleased our protection team prevented such a large quantity of oysters being taken from Kenmare bay. This would have resulted in a significant loss to the local environment.”

According to Kerry-based environmentalist Vincent Hyland, groups often come from France with refrigerated containers to harvest oysters and other seafood all around Kenmare bay.

“What happens at this time of the year, from late August on into September, we get quite a number of French people coming across and they gather whatever they can get,” he said.

“They would have a freezing unit that they would tow behind them – I have confronted them a few times and they claim that they are only catching a small amount for their own personal use.

“But the reality is they are taking their harvest back to France – it’s worth their while because once they have the chilling unit, the oysters will keep, and they can sell them in France.”

In a statement IFI said it was continuing to urge the public to report instances of illegal fishing.