This article is from page 11 of the 2013-02-12 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 11 JPG
A NUMBER of prominent environmental organisations came together last week to question the public consultation process being undertaken in relation to a giant Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) fish farm planned for six miles off the Fanore coast.
An Taisce, Coastwatch, the Irish Seal Sanctuary and the Irish Wildlife Trust released a joint statement last week in which they requested that all consultation documents related to the project be made public.
The controvertial fish farm has seen the creation of a rift between the two government fisheries agencies with BIM and Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) taking opposing position over the development.
The situation took a dramatic turn last week when BIM released the finding of a Irish Marine Institute study, which claimed that sea lice created by the farm would not cause any significant difference to the local wild salmon population.
IFI struck back in recent days, claiming the 1 per cent threat to wild salmon stocks predicted in the Marine Institute study could be the “tipping point” for wild salmon stocks.
“We welcome the fact that there is now a clear acceptance of the negative impact of sea lice on juvenile salmon and the debate can now progress to identify the best methodologies to reduce or eliminate this impact. IFI would also like to see similar progress in relation to the issue of escaped farmed salmon,” said an IFI spokesperson.
“In recent years approximately five per cent of all juvenile salmon going to sea return back to their native rivers as adults to spawn. Precisely because natural mortality rates of salmon are high, even a proportionally small additional mortality from sea lice can amount to a large loss in salmon returning.
“To put this average of 1 per cent reduction in return rates, as reported by the Marine Institute, in context, if 3,000 salmon return to a river, and this represents a five per cent return rate, a reduction in the return rate to four per cent translates into a reduction of 20 per cent of the adult salmon – 600 fewer fish returning.”