Kenmare bay a special area of conservation
The Kenmare Bay is thirty miles long. Twelve miles wide at its mouth and narrowing gradually as it bisects and separates the Beara and Iveragh peninsulas and their mountain ranges. The Kenmare Bay due to its shape is also known as the Kenmare River. Kenmare bay is listed as a Special Area of Conservation on account of its rare species and habitats.
It is very accessible along its length with many harbours, inlets and creeks providing shelter for seafarers through the ages whether they were Viking longships, Spanish galleons, British military or the modern Irish Naval Fleet.
These days a few score yachts visit the bay every summer. There are a few fishing boats still scraping the bottom of the bay for the last of the overexploited. Wild fish stocks and during the summer months a few very lucky souls have the bay to themselves for pleasure fishing, sailing or just exploring the beautiful and varied coast of Kenmare Bay.
The Kenmare Bay is very much part of the land. The sea enters the land and the land surrounds the sea. Both the sea and the land are entwined, each complementing the other.
