Dr. Peter Heffernan:

I am in the Chairman's hands. The concerns about fin fish farming are nothing new. The national policy is for the development of sustainable aquaculture. One of the key areas of concern is sea lice management. It is monitored, entirely independently of the industry, by the Marine Institute. It is publicly reported on, has been repeatedly reviewed nationally and internationally and is seen to be at the forefront of such system monitoring. There is absolute transparency as to the scale of the risk at any one time. We are the competent authority for fin fish diseases, such as diseases of salmon farmed in Ireland and it is monitored independently of the industry. There are very strict and rigorous protocols for farm movements, inspections, export and placing on the market, which all companies have to adhere to. In certain quarters, there is an ongoing and very real concern about fin fish aquaculture. The Marine Institute's opinion is that current practices in fin fish aquaculture in Ireland are at the forefront of sustainability and we are securing a very high value for organic and wild production of a modest tonnage in fin fish farming. There is market evidence of this. Some would advocate that onshore farming is preferable, and I recognise this.