Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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494. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the details of all salmon farms using wild caught wrasse, that is, ballan wrasse, or labrus bergylta, and corkwing wrasse, or symphodus melops, as cleaner fish for control of sea lice on salmon farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47853/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Wild caught wrasse are widely used in Irish salmon farms as cleaner fish. Ireland is not alone in this and this practice is commonly used internationally.

The Marine Institute has tracked movements of wild caught wrasse on to salmon farms since 2015 and has advised my Department that there are 17 salmon farms in total that the Institute has recorded as having wrasse on site at some stage since 2015.