Cornish MP demands 'wholesale reform' of seaweed farm approval process

The MP for North Cornwall has called for a reform of the process for developing offshore seaweed farms.

Ben Maguire MP says there has been a lack of fair consultation over three seaweed farms proposed near Port Isaac on Cornwall's north coast. One licence to operate has already been approved by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO).

Mr Maguire said: "The thing that struck me immediately was that the local communities don't seem to have been consulted on these plans, so I felt compelled to get involved and support those groups to make sure their voices are being heard throughout this application process."

He continued: "The MMO, which is the body responsible for passing these applications, needs wholesale reform, and I've requested an urgent meeting with the minister responsible to address the concerns that local people have."

Campaigner Liz George is a member of the Save Port Isaac Bay group, which is calling for the already-approved seaweed farm project near Port Isaac to be looked at again.

She said: "We're in the position that we're having to ask the Marine Management Organisation to review the application and revoke this license. That's our only route, because they've already approved it.

"The wave heights go to ten to fifteen metres in the winter, and we've had third party verification reports that say the structure is going to fail and end up on the cliffs and on the beaches."

In its application, Penmayn Ltd says the project will involve placing long lines over a 100 hectare area of sea, in order to sustainably farm native seaweed. The seaweed farmed will include brown, red and green UK species, enabling it to diversify seaweed types and products for current and emerging markets. Harvesting would happen between April and August.

In a statement, the company told ITV News: "Wave data used by Penmayn Ltd has been taken from all known local and national databases including coastal monitoring buoys.

"To ensure the robustness and safety of our seaweed farm, we are committed to adhering to rigorous engineering standards and health and safety practices. We will submit compliance certifications to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and demonstrate adherence to British Standard BS 6349, which governs the design, construction, and maintenance of maritime structures."

An MMO spokesperson said: “In determining a marine licence, the MMO must follow a clear consultation process and take an evidence based approach. We take into account all consultation responses received when making a determination.”

A few miles along the coast at Port Quin, Biome Algae and Camel Fish have also applied for licences to create two seaweed farm projects over an area of 100 hectares.

In its application, Biome Algae says the seaweed is all native to the UK and is grown to provide food, low-carbon animal feed and fertiliser alternatives and biomaterials to replace single-use plastic and take away cartons. It also says farming seaweed can sequester carbon at a rate six times that of trees.

The application is now subject to a further round of public consultation, following objections and evidence gathering by local campaign group Save Port Quin.

Campaigner Barnaby Kay told ITV News: "We're still being labelled as NIMBY's. But if we were NIMBY's and it was all about the view, the licence would have been approved because the MMO don't take that into account. The problem we have is not what it looks like, it's the damage that will have been done if it's put in."

The group says it has spent more than £20,000 commissioning its own research to fight the application, and taking legal representation. It's now preparing to respond to the latest round of consultation, which Mr Kay has described as "exhausting".

In a statement to ITV News, the project's founder Dr Angela Mead said: "Biome Algae and Camel Fish responded in full to MMO Further Information Requests within the timeframes provided. Both responses were accepted and the applicants continue to comply with and work through the legal MMO framework related to the marine license applications.

"The latest public consultation round will enable the local community to consider information provided by the applicants in response to concerns they have raised."