Rare giant fan mussel found off Kerry coast

An extremely rare and critically endangered giant fan mussel (Atrina fragilis) has been discovered off the coast of County Kerry.

The live specimen was found near Valentia Island by divers from Sea Synergy Marine Awareness, Research and Activity Centre and the environmental coalition Fair Seas while surveying native European flat oyster populations in the Portmagee Channel Special Area of Conservation.

Marine conservationists say the find is significant because the only other live sightings recorded in Irish waters were off Rathlin Island in Northern Ireland in 1971 and 2007, with shells previously washing up in Cork Harbour and Dingle.

Fan mussels can live between 10 and 100 years and inhabit soft sediments, often with two‑thirds of their shell buried. They are vulnerable to trawling, dredging and pollution.

Elis Martinelli, marine programme and operations manager with Sea Synergy, noted that the species was far more common a century ago and that the last Irish sighting was almost 20 years ago. Jack O’Donovan Trá, marine biologist with Fair Seas, said the discovery highlights the importance of local marine‑conservation projects and the need for detailed habitat surveys and management plans for protected marine sites.

The mussel was found as part of the Sea Synergy Oyster Project, which began after a large native oyster was reported by fisherman Brendan Murphy in 2020. The project, supported by the Heritage Council, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Fair Seas, has recorded over 1,600 living native oysters and now includes deeper‑water scuba surveys.

Source: Irish Examiner. Photo: Raul Ling / Pexels.