Salmon farming

minktrapper

Anybody know what is the latest news on the proposed salmon cages off the coast of Galway.

dazza161989

Unfortunately the cages are there, if you want some info there's a good article on it in last months trout and salmon.

Zzippy

dazza161989 wrote: »

Unfortunately the cages are there, if you want some info there's a good article on it in last months trout and salmon.

He's talking about the proposed mega-farm off the Aran Islands, not the cages that have gone into Kilkieran Bay. The cages for the mega-farm certainly are not there, as permission has not been granted for the farm. The application is still before the minister, and he has not made a decision yet. Even if he approves the application, it will be appealed, all the way to Europe if we have to, and it will be a very long time before any cages go in.
The cages in Kilkieran Bay went in over the last few months, using licences that were expired, and a complaint has been made over that.

minktrapper

I am talking about the salmon megafarm that is proposed.

minktrapper

Thanks Zzippy.What info have you on them.

dazza161989

Apologies, didn't mention specific farm in OP

danbrosnan

That salmon farm in my opinion will go ahead and fair play to zippy for his strong view, i know the fishery board are completely against it and rightly so but i feel this government will do anything if jobs are promised…

What about these reports of an escape of salmon in Bantry Bay?

minktrapper

Must check that Dazza.Interesting to see what a shower of as****es we have running the country.

dazza161989

minktrapper wrote: »

Must check that Dazza.Interesting to see what a shower of as****es we have running the country.

Unfortunately money will always come first and our Eco system is going to suffer for it:(

minktrapper

Even if money is a consideration I am sure angling tourism will more than make up for it.

dazza161989

minktrapper wrote: »

Even if money is a consideration I am sure angling tourism will more than make up for it.

If marketed correctly Ireland would be one of the top angling destinations worldwide, unfortunately this is not the case. I was once speaking with Henry Gilbey on my local beach and he was absolutely shocked that we were the only anglers there and that if the beach was In England it would be full of visiting anglers. If a good angling tourist board was founded and run efficiently it would amass huge sums of money for the economy and would in turn stem the need for these horrible commercial farms!

minktrapper

I had the opportunity to fish the moy a few years ago and the chap beside me was a German industrialist.He said Ireland was one of the few places left in the world to fish for salmon and I can assure you he had most of it travelled to fish for salmon.Who is Henry Gilbey.Excuse my ignorance.

minktrapper

I checked it out.Have to say I never heard of him.

dazza161989

minktrapper wrote: »

I had the opportunity to fish the moy a few years ago and the chap beside me was a German industrialist.He said Ireland was one of the few places left in the world to fish for salmon and I can assure you he had most of it travelled to fish for salmon.Who is Henry Gilbey.Excuse my ignorance.

Was it the ridge pool you fished? It's a world famous stretch. As I said Ireland has superb fishing for all anglers, be it game, coarse, sea or shore angling the possibility are endless. Henry Gilbey is a famous sea angler and angling journalist with many series on discovery channel and has features on sky sports show "Tight Lines"

Also special guest at this years angling expo

minktrapper

It was actually.Would much prefer to fish further upstream though.It is just so methodical and repeatative.Wouldn't mind spending a week up there.

dazza161989

minktrapper wrote: »

It was actually.Would much prefer to fish further upstream though.It is just so methodical and repeatative.Wouldn't mind spending a week up there.

Yes good point, nice to fish it tho with its history!

minktrapper

Caught nothing between the two of us only a very old stroke all.The irony of it.Full of fish but if there is no fresh water coming downstream you might as well be beating it with a hurley.

Zzippy

minktrapper wrote: »

Thanks Zzippy.What info have you on them.

Not much tbh, we've been waiting well over a year for the minister to make a decision. The public campaign against the farms has resulted in an EU investigation into a cover-up by the Department of Agriculture over the impact of sea lice from existing salmon farms. Until that is resolved the minister won't be able to make a decision. If the EU finds that there was a cover-up it will make it a lot more difficult for him to approve it.
As a trained biologist, when I read the environmental impact statement for the proposed mega-farm I was amazed at the incompetence of BIM who compiled it. The flaws are very easy to spot, and will be very hard for them to defend if it comes to an appeal. They are well aware of the flaws but don't give a sh1t, they just attack anyone who criticises it, and deny deny deny seems to be their motto.

minktrapper

Zzippy wrote: »

Not much tbh, we've been waiting well over a year for the minister to make a decision. The public campaign against the farms has resulted in an EU investigation into a cover-up by the Department of Agriculture over the impact of sea lice from existing salmon farms. Until that is resolved the minister won't be able to make a decision. If the EU finds that there was a cover-up it will make it a lot more difficult for him to approve it.
As a trained biologist, when I read the environmental impact statement for the proposed mega-farm I was amazed at the incompetence of BIM who compiled it. The flaws are very easy to spot, and will be very hard for them to defend if it comes to an appeal. They are well aware of the flaws but don't give a sh1t, they just attack anyone who criticises it, and deny deny deny seems to be their motto.

Thanks for info nice to hear that from someone that knows what they are talking about.

_Puma_

According to Save Bantry Bay there has been a massive escape in a salmon cage in Bantry bay on the 1st of February. If the worse case scenario is realised it will be more than twice the worldwide escapes in 2012. Simon Coveney is supposed to be answering a parliamentary question about it on Wednesday.

The worrying thing about this is BIM and the department of the Marine are being totally silent on it. The escape is supposed to have been reported by now. The only press release is from BIM saying there has been damage to a cage but no confirmed escapes. I suppose we are expected to believe the salmon will stay put and that nothing is amiss.

Why aren't these guys out supporting the operator in assessing the damage and putting in preventive measure asap, as this has the potential to be an ecological disaster.The more and more you hear from BIM the more you realise they are totally inept at their remit. Seems to me that these guys are a glorified marketing/pr company trying to justify themselves as a government quango rather than a professional fisheries board.

Flysfisher

From my following of this issue over the last year or more it is clear to me that BIM are just blatant liars.

dazza161989

Unfortunately these salmon farms are causing serious damage to both salmon and sea trout numbers. I have attached a pic which shows a sea trout caught last year in close proximity to salmon cages, the trout is so badly covered in sea lice that they were found to be eating its flesh.

minktrapper

Is it correct to say that no one could swim in Galway Bay a number of years ago because of sea lice numbers.Good photo or bad depending on how you look at it.

dazza161989

minktrapper wrote: »

Is it correct to say that no one could swim in Galway Bay a number of years ago because of sea lice numbers.Good photo or bad depending on how you look at it.

Never heard that before, but wouldn't write it off! Ya it's horrific to see

Zzippy

minktrapper wrote: »

Is it correct to say that no one could swim in Galway Bay a number of years ago because of sea lice numbers.Good photo or bad depending on how you look at it.

No. Sea lice don't affect humans, they are very specific in their host requirement. Lepeophtheirus salmonis, the sea louse most involved in salmon farming, is a parasite of salmon and sea trout only. Caligus, the other species involved, is a more broad parasite and can be found on a variety of species, but not including humans.

minktrapper

Does treatment of sealice kill them.

Zzippy

minktrapper wrote: »

Does treatment of sealice kill them.

It is supposed to, but there is evidence that sea lice are developing resistance to the pesticides used. Developing new pesticides costs huge amounts of money for pharmaceutical companies, so they concentrate on drugs/pesticides for big earners, like cattle and other livestock. Pesticides for salmon farming just aren't a big enough earner for them to spend the money on R&D, so there aren't really any new pesticides on the horizon.

The pesticides are usually delivered in the feed. In the last couple of years fish farms in Ireland, Scotland and Norway have had major problems with Amoebic Gill Disease, a naturally occuring infection with amoeba that irritates the gills of the fish. It has the added attraction of putting the fish off their feed, so you get the double problem of AGD plus elevated lice levels. Now personally, I couldn't give a toss if the fish farmers are losing millions because their fish are dying from AGD, but I do give a toss that those elevated lice levels result in much more lice on local wild fish. Of course, despite the regulations, the department has only once in recent history done what it should do and ordered such an affected farm to harvest fish early. This was only done because the EU were looking at the problem, and the government pointed to what they had done so the EU closed the case. And things swiftly went back to normal... :rolleyes:

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

dazza161989 wrote: »

If marketed correctly Ireland would be one of the top angling destinations worldwide, unfortunately this is not the case.

I couldn't agree more.
Lough Corrib is one of the best pike fisheries in the world. yet they are seen as a pest by a lot of people in the west and IFI, and are slaughtered. Great treatment of one of our native species.

Zzippy

Diego Gentle Juicer wrote: »

I couldn't agree more.
Lough Corrib is one of the best pike fisheries in the world. yet they are seen as a pest by a lot of people in the west and IFI, and are slaughtered. Great treatment of one of our native species.

Do you have to come into a thread which is about salmon farming and the impacts on salmon and derail it by going on about pike? Start another thread if you want to go that far off topic...

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

Zzippy wrote: »

Do you have to come into a thread which is about salmon farming and the impacts on salmon and derail it by going on about pike? Start another thread if you want to go that far off topic...

How was trying to derail the thread? I was agreeing with dazza161989, when he mentioned "angling", not "salmon angling".
I would have posted a lot more about developing angling in Ireland, but I don't get that much free time at work.

bitemybanger

Zzippy wrote: »

Do you have to come into a thread which is about salmon farming and the impacts on salmon and derail it by going on about pike? Start another thread if you want to go that far off topic...

No need to be so defensive, he wasn't even replying to your post.
Also let this be an informal warning for backseat modding. Use the report button rather than dragging a thread further off topic.