Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has completed an assessment of the potential impact of the development of large fish farms off the west coast of the country on the stocks of wild atlantic salmon and on the stocks of salmon in the Moy River; the safeguards that are in place to prevent any damage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1857/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Finfish farming has been a feature of aquaculture operations off the west coast for some time.

An application by Bord Iascaigh Mhara for an aquaculture licence for the cultivation of finfish near Inis Oirr in Galway Bay has been received by my Department. The application and its accompanying Environmental Impact Statement is being considered under the provisions of the 1997 Fisheries (Amendment) Act which provide for extensive consultation with stakeholders, including Inland Fisheries Ireland, which has responsibility for wild salmon stocks. The legislation also provides for a period of general public consultation. The public consultation stage of the process is now complete and submissions received are under active consideration by my Department.

All matters associated with the application including the impact, if any, on wild salmon stocks, will be given very careful consideration by my Department.