Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

456. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out the status of the progress towards the programme for Government commitment to explore the potential for the development of onshore close containment fish farming as an emerging technology. [40888/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Ireland’s National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture Development, published in 2015, proposes 24 actions to drive the sustainable development of the aquaculture sector and grow production in the sector by 45,000 tonnes by 2023. The Plan targets a 30% increase in production derived from onshore close containment recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). Considerable international developmental effort is being put into land based RAS systems. A number of technological challenges need to be overcome to make RAS economically viable. The National Strategic Plan identified the need for additional applied research and development to improve the performance of RAS in terms of reduced water usage, more effective treatment of return water in terms of key enrichment parameters, reduction of energy usage in water pumping and treatment, improvement of system reliability to avoid stock losses and animal welfare and disease management issues.

BIM funded a 2015 study by the Irish Salmon Growers Association ‘Potential for Land Based Salmon Growout in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) in Ireland’. The report describes in detail all technical aspects of RAS production and system design and operations. It also covers important biological aspects of land based salmon production. The Report states that its main aim is to assess the viability of land based salmon production in RAS under Irish conditions. This includes detailed information of capital expenditure and operational costs as well as the market situation for salmon. The report concludes that the capital cost of setting up a large scale RAS unit is very high and that there are still technical difficulties to be overcome to achieve reliability in land based facilities.

As part of my Department’s €240 million European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Operational Programme, a new Aquaculture ‘Knowledge Gateway Scheme’ was launched in 2016. I have provided BIM with a budget of €8.2 million for that Scheme over the course of the Programme. In close collaboration with aquaculture enterprises and researchers, the Scheme aims to develop knowledge, innovation and technology in the aquaculture sector to ensure its sustainable development. An important part of the focus of the Scheme will be the applied research and development on RAS identified in the National Strategic Plan. This may take the form of applied research undertaken by BIM on behalf of the sector or initiatives from industry operators or research institutions.

To further incentivise RAS developments, I recently increased grants rates under the EMFF Sustainable Aquaculture Scheme for RAS developments to the maximum possible 50% for 2017 applications.