03/11/2026
The port expansion planned for our local village and the subsequent lack of transparency is not unique to Audierne. As I walked the Goyen River Estuary beside the port yesterday morning, I spotted our resident youth seal and sat down on the old boat ramp to spend half an hour observing her/him.
It seemed relatively calm and I kept my distance enough not to stress it. What did seem to catch its attention frequently was the loud banging of metal and grinding of concrete going on behind the port - the local primary school renovation.
We have many concerns about the port expansion plans, including the lack of public consultation, and are wondering the supposedly approved environmental report findings have not been made public as yet.
Not one cent in the budget is allocated to removing the dozens of derelict boats in the existing boat cemetery, which we have spent two years mapping and pollution monitoring.
Public opinion across social media since discovering news of the expansion plans a week ago has been notably dark — people are outraged and demanding consultation.
But how do the non-humans get a say?
The young seal has popped up to say hi to me on three occasions in the past month, two in the last week. My 3yo daughter absolutely loves it, though is always asking where its mummy and daddy are. According to the local kayak guides, it was abandoned when it was very young. I don't know enough about seals to consider why. I do know that we saw it in summer basking on a sand bank up river on low tide beside the resident family of swans, who were quite the bullies when the seal slipped in to the water for a swim then tried to come back up on the sand.
Our estuary is full of non-human residents who will never get a seat at the upcoming public debate, and yet, these kinds of developments impact their livelihoods the most.
