Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 7 February 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Aquaculture Licensing: Discussion

4:00 pm

Dr. Cecil Beamish:

No, there are other standards they must meet. Stocking density requirements are lower. There are a variety of other things they need to get to meet the organic certification. It is not as simple as the food but the food is part of it. In any event, it is the applicants who decide whether they can viably undertake an operation of a particular kind. It is a commercial activity. There are applications and operations in place for sea farming in Ireland as there are in Norway, Scotland, Canada and other competitor countries. Salmon production here is small relative to the other countries we spoke about. It may be the case that this technology may evolve and become better and that it will show advantage. It is not there yet. BIM and others are looking at that and keeping track of it to see whether it becomes a viable possibility but it is not a proven commercial alternative at this point.

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