Páirc na Mara refused permission by Galway County Council.
Páirc na Mara, a development which includes the provision of a number of marine-based facilities as well as education and research facilities, has been rejected, reports Connacht Tribune.
Páirc na Mara is envisaged as a marine industry hub over nine hectares, with a focus on aquaculture research. Studies on fish farming, cleaner fish as well as seaweeds to enhance biodiversity and reduce environmental impacts, were planned at the South Connemara, Co. Galway, Western Ireland, site.
The governement and EU-backed Páirc na Mara hopes to create in the region of 200 direct jobs and 400 indirect jobs over a five-year period. The site is proposed in an area that is considered an unemployment blackspot.
The site was refused on the basis that it would adversely “affect the integrity and conservation objectives of the European sides in the vicinity of environmental value”.
Activist group Galway Bay Against Salmon Cages told the publication that it had expressed fears that the marine farm would extract freshwater to produce more than 1.5 million salmon smolts.
Páirc na Mara said that it appeal the decision.
