Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Cuirim céad fáilte roimh na finnéithe agus gabhaim mo bhuíochas leo as ucht an cur i láthair.

From listening to the hearings on the issue, we have the whole spectrum of opinion from those who would be in favour of open fish farms at sea and those at the other end of the spectrum who would be totally opposed to them. I would agree with the comments on the need to separate licensing from regulation. Let me put the same question as I have put to previous witnesses. Do the witnesses see a situation where one can have the angling fraternity and the aquaculture fraternity living within the marine environment we have?

Are there ways in which they can be mutually supportive, so that one is not to the detriment of the other? If there were to be a separation of licensing from regulation, would the witnesses add other regulations - for example, on the size of farms, proximity to estuaries and distance of extension out into to sea - and would there be certain no-go areas? If the witnesses were givencarte blancheto lay down the regulations that should be put in place to ensure both a thriving angling industry with adequate stock and aquaculture side-by-side with it, what regulations would need to be put in place?

On the matter of closed containment onshore aquaculture, it seems like a no-brainer that we need to develop that part of the industry, and it would seem to solve a great many problems, but the counter-argument is cost efficiency. When will this be viable? Where is the technology being developed? Do the witnesses know how long it will take for the technology to be applied to commercial production? Could we in Ireland be industry leaders in that area if we put the proper investment into it? We are talking about salmon and trout, but are there other species that we should be looking at?

In regard to the potential for growth in the industry, we had a presentation on the potential for hatcheries as a very viable and vibrant part of the industry. Do the witnesses see the potential of developing hatcheries that would support the industry?

Multi-trophic farms are being mentioned by the Marine Institute as the way forward. Could the witnesses advise on the potential pros and cons of these?

Do I sense a change of policy from IFI on the proposed Galway Bay project? I felt there was a stronger resistance to the Galway Bay fish farm in previous statements I have heard from IFI, but it seems from its statement today that if the Galway Bay project were to be started as a small-scale operation and monitored and expanded gradually, it would not be totally opposed to it. Previously, I sensed much greater opposition from IFI, based on some of the scientific data, towards the proposed mega fish farm in Galway Bay .