Howth Harbor dredging plan on the table

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and the harbor authority for Howth Harbor Fishery Centre are proposing to dredge seabed material from within the harbor.

The main goal of these works is to provide better water access to the fishing, leisure, and RNLI craft using the harbor, the Government of Ireland’s DAFM said.

It is proposed to reuse the material to create an area for public realm on the west side of the West Pier.

The volume of material to be removed is approximately 240,000m3, and the area to be created is approximately 4.8ha.

Enhancement of water depths within the harbor area is now required to maintain safe access to the harbor during any tide state. This is necessary because of increased fishing vessel sizes, siltation, and a desire to improve the usable water area.

Lack of sufficient water depths due to siltation in the vicinity of the public and RNLI slipways is resulting in restricted access to the water for the public and RNLI rescue craft at low tide.

To this end DAFM are preparing a planning application, EIAR and NIS for a proposed dredging and reclamation project at Howth Harbor FHC. 

The deadline for submitting the comments for this project is April 9, 2021.