Mr. Donal Maguire:

I will address the Deputy's questions and, in particular, BIM's role in regard to gathered seaweed. It is a historical rather than a policy issue. Traditionally, Údarás na Gaeltachta has been the agency which has taken the greatest interest in the gathered seaweed sector, in particular the gathering of ascophyllum nodosum, largely because it coincided geographically with its area of interest. We are particularly focused on seafood for human consumption. At the moment, the large volume industry that exists in Ireland is targeted more towards veterinary products, nutraceuticals and cosmetic products. It is not really targeted at direct human consumption, so it is somewhat outside BIM's mainstream of activities. We have tended to leave that area to our colleagues in Údarás na Gaeltachta, who have handled it for many years.
As I said, our particular interest is in the growing of farmed seaweeds and new seaweeds and not exploiting the existing wild resource and, in particular, high-value species of seaweed for direct human consumption.

On the Deputy's question regarding the 2,000 to 3,000 tonnes of volume, while that does seem very small in comparison to the volume from harvesting of Ascophyllum nodosumwhat we are speaking about are different species of seaweed with a much higher value that would be added to what are known as sea vegetables or additives for human consumption. Their value is much higher and as a result this generates a greater degree of activity. A lot of the employment is on the processing and drying side. There is a huge amount of labour involved in sorting through seaweed after drying to ensure there are no impurities in it. As members will be aware, people are particularly sensitive about shellfish allergies and it is important to ensure no little crustaceans have come ashore with the seaweed.
On the Deputy's question regarding Killary, what we are proposing is the introduction of a new seaweed but, probably, from plants that were gathered from Killary in the first instance. The first phase is a hatchery phase which involves the impregnation of strings with tiny plantlets which, in turn, are put out on the long lines. The reason for the attraction in relation to the mixing of mussel long lines with seaweed is because the farmer will already have in place a lot of the infrastructure required to handle large volumes of product, which is expensive infrastructure to put in place. For a farmer who already has in place that type of infrastructure it makes good sense to augment a mussel crop with an additional seaweed crop. The next step is ensuring there is sufficient development for someone to buy, process and dry the seaweed. The seaweeds would not be gathered naturally by hanging the ropes in the water rather a seeded rope would be attached to the long line to allow a single species of seaweed to grow at high volume on that long line.
In regard to the experience of mixing finfish and seaweed farming, this is largely experimental at this stage. Dr. Edwards referred to the anecdotal history in relation to places like China where seaweed cultivation is done in incredibly huge volumes. Seaweed farms in China stretch as far as the eye can see and thousands of people are employed daily on those farms. It is a level of development we would not countenance in Ireland. It is genuinely used to biodepurate China's coastal waters. Given the human pressure of population around its waters the seaweed makes a significant impact in improving its environment and, as a result, also yields a valuable crop. As stated by Dr. Edwards, there is no suggestion of anything other than native species being used here. There is no need to do otherwise. We have plenty of native species with sufficient value and market demand that we would not need to consider doing that.
In regard to the Deputy's question about new entrants into the industry versus traditional handlers, in any situation it makes perfect sense to build up as much social licence as possible. Nobody wants anybody operating on the foreshore who is not sufficiently trained and expert in this area and who might do damage to rather than improve the situation. People applying for a licence, be that for an aquaculture licence through the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, or a foreshore gathering licence from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government would have to demonstrate their bona fides and background to show they are appropriate persons to hold such a licence and carry out such an activity.