Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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26. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on closed containment systems considering the concerns within the angling sector of certain fish farming methods in view of the revenue generated by this sector and its importance for tourism. [3882/15]

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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Policy on the development of aquaculture is a matter for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

The consistent position of Ministers and Ministers of State in my Department and Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), the State Agency with responsibility for the inland fisheries resource, has been to support aquaculture development which is environmentally sustainable and which meets the obligations of domestic, EU and international legislation, particularly the EU Habitats Directive and other environmental requirements.

The most comprehensive study of the recreational angling sector ever undertaken showed it supported 10,000 jobs in peripheral and rural communities and identified the value of the sector at €750m annually to the economy. Based on these findings, IFI are currently preparing a comprehensive development plan for the sector.

I am advised that analysis of land based salmon farming demonstrates advantages of closed containment system land-based salmon aquaculture. From the perspective of IFI’s statutory responsibilities for the conservation and protection of wild salmonids (salmon and trout), the use of these systems would mean that segregation of farmed fish from wild species is assured and long –standing issues concerned with interaction are less likely to arise.

Other advantages identified include controls on water quality and temperature, and that bio-security, diseases, parasites and the delivery of daily husbandry are much easier to manage in closed systems. The elimination of threats of escapes of farmed fish into the wild environment is also cited.

As I indicated at the outset, policy on the development of aquaculture is a matter for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The State’s seafood development body, an Bord Iascaigh Mhara, may be in a position to advise on other aspects of developments and trials of closed containment acquaculture systems in Ireland and internationally