Lough Swilly in Donegal is experiencing a starfish population explosion but it could tackle the problem with a technique developed in Clarinbridge, Co Galway.
This is one of the main findings of a study carried out by Galway student, Niamh McKeown, which took a Marine Institute award in the recent Young Scientists' Exhibition.
Ms McKeown (13), who is a second-year student at Salerno Secondary School in Galway, recorded 2,040 starfish per hectare in Lough Swilly, where there are significant shellfish beds. This compares to only 30 or fewer starfish per hectare in Clarinbridge, near the lucrative oyster beds.
Starfish can have a devastating impact on shellfish. One of the techniques used against them involves adding lime to the water. However, the use of "hairy ropes" in Clarinbridge is far more successful and more environmentally friendly, she says. The ropes are hung from a boat and used as a dredger to snag the starfish, she explains. "It only needs to be done once or twice to clear the area."
Disappointingly, she found that the starfish have no economic value. "I thought they might have a medicinal use but unfortunately not," she said. Niamh McKeown took a joint first place in the junior category for biological and ecological sciences at the exhibition and was also given a prize by Dr John Joyce of the Marine Institute for the best individual project with a marine theme.