A re-survey of Clare Island currently underway (first conducted by the Royal Irish Academy, 1909-1911) has completed 26 fieldwork studies encompassing five disciplines: archaeology; history and culture; botany; geology and zoology).

The survey is a major Academy venture, bringing together more than 100 experts from all over the island of Ireland and Europe to document changes in all aspects of the island's heritage, environment, and biology.

The Clare survey team who conducted their first survey in 1909. Photo RIA

The survey provides a fresh baseline study using up-to-date methodology, and gives a comprehensive description of the island from its bedrocks to its biotic communities. The survey also traces the history of human occupation and the impact of human activity on Clare Island.

& Gery Flynn

All-inclusive participation required for management of Clew Bay. Photo Shay Fennelly

Shellfish producers in Clew Bay have told Inshore Ireland they are extremely concerned over proposals by Mayo County Council to discharge leachate from its Derrinumera landfill into Newport Bay.

“The proposed discharge point is less than half a mile from several native oyster beds in the estuary of one of the country’s finest salmon rivers, the Burrishoole,” Alan Stoney, secretary of the Clew Bay Oyster Co-operative said.

According to Stoney, the intended mechanism to render the effluent ‘safe’ is to dilute it sufficiently with the water in Clew Bay.