Century-old border dispute leaves Lough Foyle unregulated - with no controls on imported species or oyster farms

Unregulated and unsustainable farming of non-native species of oysters has exploded over the past decade. However, neither regulation of the farms – nor screening of the oysters being imported to grow in the Lough – can happen because of the dispute over sovereignty.

It has left the lough in a regulatory no-mans land in terms of the aquaculture industry – which largely consists of growing non-native oysters on ropes and trestles on the tidal shorelines of the lough which straddles counties Londonderry and Donegal.

DAERA, led by Alliance minister Andrew Muir, says there are concerns about “potential hazards, risks and impact on the environment”

The long-running was brought up during the Stormont AERA committee ​on Tuesday morning. Sinn Fein MLA Declan McAleer raised the issue of what he called the “disputed territory” – and asked the department’s officials about how new fisheries legislation would be impacted.

DAERA’s Owen Lyttle said that while both Lough Foyle and Carlingford Lough are contested areas, the former is “a more difficult area”. He said that the department is working with Irish authorities to develop a memorandum of understanding so that regulation of aquaculture can happen.

“And as we see on the Republic of Ireland side, there is quite an intense aquaculture business which wouldn’t be authorised at the minute. But on the Northern Ireland side, there wouldn’t be anything at the minute, we’re doing a lot of regulation to make sure it remains that way”, he told MLAs.

He said that “engagement” between the UK and Irish governments has been ongoing for some time, and the department is hopeful this will eventually allow regulation of aquaculture in the area.

However, the official said a regulatory body would need to be agreed to establish who would be responsible for enforcing regulations on Lough Foyle.

A DAERA spokesperson told the News Letter that “unregulated oyster farming in Lough Foyle is inextricably linked to the jurisdictional issue, a reserved matter, which is not within the competence of DAERA, or the Northern Ireland Assembly.

"There are concerns about the potential hazards, risks and impact on the environment associated with this unregulated activity.

“The Department will continue to engage with all stakeholders, including the UK Government to make progress to enable the regulation of aquaculture in Lough Foyle”.

In response to a 2018 Northern Ireland Affairs Committee report, the UK Government said that it “recognises the need to take action to address illegal shellfish farms that have been established on the side of Lough Foyle that borders Ireland. We are committed to working constructively towards a practical resolution to the issue. Discussions between the UK and Irish Governments are progressing on the jurisdictional issues with a view to concluding a management agreement to address this activity”.