Expansion crosses the Dinish line
A new €48 million quay expansion delivering 216 metres of additional space to a busy wharf in West Cork has been officially opened.
The Dinish Wharf Expansion at Castletownbere Fishery Harbour Centre brings the overall facility on Dinish Island Wharf to over 400 metres in length.
Works on this recent phase commenced on site in October 2018 and were completed in summer 2023.
With the expansion, Castletownbere can now facilitate landings by vessels of 100 metres in length while enjoying greatly reduced congestion during peak times. As part of the project, the navigational channel and the berthing pocket were both dredged, again helping to facilitate larger vessels. The dredged material itself was then used in the construction of two new major breakwater structures at the entrance to the harbour ensuring the safe and efficient operation of the harbour.
Officially launching the new expansion, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue TD, welcomed it as “one of the most significant investments ever made in West Cork”.
He said: “Over 400 metres of quayside is now available on Dinish Island and with the new breakwaters providing sheltered berthing conditions, Castletownbere has state-of-the-art, world class facilities that generations to come will benefit from.”
The major capital project was delivered in phases and funded through the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme with part-funding of €6.55million from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.
Castletownbere Fishery Harbour Centre is one of the six state-owned fishery harbour centres in Ireland. In 2022, almost 87% of all fish landed into Ireland was into these six centres. At Castletownbere, these landings were valued at circa €107 million.
The Minister continued: “The six fishery harbour centres are critical infrastructure for our seafood industry. By attracting increased fish landings, we will deliver the raw materials to drive and maximise the opportunities for primary and secondary processing and ensure a strong Irish seafood processing industry.
“The importance of these primary and secondary food production activities is reflected in the Government’s Food Vision 2030 policy.”
After unveiling a new plaque, Minister McConalogue concluded: “The continuous development of the infrastructure in the harbour is critical to the fishing fleet and the land-based seafood processing industry. This critical infrastructure further demonstrates the importance this Government places on safeguarding the future of our fisheries dependent coastal communities.”