Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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47. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way in which produce of aquaculture can be sold and marketed from Lough Foyle in view of the fact that there is no licensing procedure for the farms; the way in which produce is distinguished from licensed produce in the rest of the county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7135/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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In Ireland, applications for Aquaculture licences are considered by my Department under the provisions of the 1997 Fisheries (Amendment) Act, the 1933 Foreshore Act, and applicable EU Legislation.

However in the case of Lough Foyle the Good Friday Agreement provided for the establishment of the Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission (FCILC). This body is one of the six North South Implementation Bodies created under the Agreement. The Loughs Agency, as part of the FCILC, has been given responsibility for fisheries related matters in respect of both Lough Foyle and Carlingford Lough and the legislation envisages that the Agency will enter into a management agreement with the relevant authorities in both jurisdictions with a view to assuming responsibility for aquaculture licensing within the loughs. Discussions in respect of this management agreement are ongoing.

In relation to the placement of aquaculture products on the market, the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) controls all live bivalve mollusc production areas, including Lough Foyle, to ensure compliance by Ireland with its official control obligations, and compliance by operators with their food safety obligations.

The classification of mollusc production areas is an explicit obligation of the EU food safety regulatory framework. Regulation 854/2004 requires Competent Authorities to classify and subsequently monitor mollusc production areas, while Regulation EC No 853/2004 requires Food Business Operators (FBOs) to only harvest molluscs for human consumption from areas which have been classified by the Competent Authority.

In the case of Lough Foyle, the SFPA has classified two production areas for the production of both molluscs and oysters. In approximate terms, taken together, the two classified areas include all waters to the Donegal Shore of a line from Magilligan Head to Inishowen Head.

The official sampling of molluscs for both microbiological and biotoxin monitoring purposes is performed by the Loughs Agency under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.

Under EU Food Safety Regulations Food Business Operators may only harvest Live Bivalve Molluscs for human consumption from production areas which have been classified by the Competent Authority, and which have not been closed for health reasons by the Competent Authority.

Operators are required to ensure that any consignments of molluscs harvested are accompanied by a document indicating various pieces of information, referred to as the ‘Gatherers Document’ or more correctly the Shellfish Registration Document.

In relation to fish health, the Marine Institute is focused on the assessment of biotoxins in shellfish product and harmful algal bloom monitoring in Lough Foyle, as part of the National Biotoxin Monitoring Program. Only when the Lough is in open status can shellfish product be harvested and placed on the market for human consumption.  In the event of an area in the Lough showing a positive result for biotoxin, or harmful algal bloom, the Loughs Agency is responsible for coordinating between Ireland and the United Kingdom over this shared waterbody to ensure that product would not be allowed to be harvested from the Lough when a biotoxin regulatory limit is exceeded.   

As will be seen, therefore, the management of aquaculture and associated foreshore licensing functions in Lough Foyle gives rise to legal and jurisdictional complexities. Negotiations regarding the jurisdiction of the Lough Foyle area are, in the first instance, a matter for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

My Department organises and participates in an inter-departmental working group which is pursuing a way forward in terms of the future management of aquaculture and associated foreshore activities on Lough Foyle, in parallel with a workable resolution of the complex jurisdictional issues involved.

In view of the multi dimensional and cross jurisdictional nature of the issues involved it would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this time.