Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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384. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht how and when he will eradicate the ongoing infestation of Asian clam along the hot water stretch of the River Shannon (details supplied). [11707/16]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department is concerned about the possible impact of Asian Clam in the stretch of the River Shannon referred to by the Deputy, but is also aware of the great practical difficulty in eradication and/or prevention of its spread once it has arrived in any river system.

By the time this species was recorded in the Shannon at Lanesborough, it was already present in huge numbers in the warm water stretch above the bridge. The clams are quite small, are capable of self-fertilisation and each clam can produce up to 70,000 larvae in a year. Experience in Ireland and elsewhere shows that it is exceptionally difficult to remove all clams from an infested stretch of water and that re-colonisation is very likely.

However, my Department has been in contact with an EPA-funded project based in the Institute of Technology, Sligo, which is working on Invasive Species prevention, control and eradication and, subject to the necessary environmental permissions, it is now proposed to develop and carry out trials on novel methods, including the use of mats, that would kill the clams in situ. This project will build on the work already done at Lanesborough and also in infested lakes in the United States.

The costs of various methods will be ascertained through the trials.

My Department is keeping in contact with local groups who are concerned about the clam in this stretch of the river.