Salmon farming

danbrosnan

I am sorry but i just don't agree with anything that is being said… First of all if you think that salmon angling is not lucrative to this state then people are obviously not out in the ground meeting tourists, in the tackle shops, on the shore front or anywhere near a waters edge…

Its like hunting, fishing is so underrated, you ask people running the ferries into cork and rosslare…. During the hunting season most of there business is people coming hunting here from all over Europe, the same in the fishing season, a lot of there business is people coming here fishing from all over Europe… There is about 50 to 60 river systems in this country that have whole communities built around them, the river feale in north kerry, the laune in south kerry are some here in kerry where not only do they provide jobs for the people netting wild salmon, the rivers also provide anglers with great rivers to fish…

Remember also fish farms effect everything from flatfish to bass back to salmon and sea trout, they effect everything..

The real question is why angling is so underrated and i honesty think its because we have pencil pushers in government not one serious angler…

Zzippy

Srameen has a point, I believe a lot more number-crunching is required to be able to separate the statistics for the different angling sectors. The report was a good overall look at the contribution to the economy but further work is needed.

However, we can also look at the figures being put forward by BIM for the proposed Galway Bay farm, and how accurate they are. I've already posted a link to the IT article, which states our own government figures show 1 job per 70 tonnes of salmon produced. In the Galway Bay proposal, that would equate to 214 jobs (15,000t/70). The government's figures include direct and indirect jobs. So why do BIM keep saying there would be 500 jobs created?? (1 job per 30t produced)
Last year a fish farm opened in Scotland, with a capacity of 2,000 tonnes. The press release said there would be 4 jobs created. Now how come Scottish fish farms can run that efficiently that every 500 tonnes produces one job, yet in Ireland BIM think we'll create one job for every 30 tonnes. Are we really 16 times less efficient??? More importantly, are we supposed to believe their horsesh1t?

minktrapper

Surely there are figures out there as to the numbers of anglers coming to Ireland to fish.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

minktrapper wrote: »

Surely there are figures out there as to the numbers of anglers coming to Ireland to fish.

Yes certainly there are but none, that I have found, that cover just salmon angling or areas impacted by fish farms and that is what our case really needs.

danbrosnan

The figures should be on the inland fishery board website, it should be under the figures attached to the licenses sold to tourists, i have read them before they are there, i would be intended to further add another maybe 20% to the official figure as i a lot of french and english tourists come here and fish a pile of small rivers for brownies…

minktrapper

Met the vice president of the I.F.A. the other night and said he knew absolutely nothing about the proposed salmon farms.I also know of someone that met the new president of the I.F.A. and he knows nothing of same.And it is the I.F.A. who is lobbying for theses proposed farms.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Pardon my ignorance but how is the IFA, as a representative body, behind these fish farms?

minktrapper

The IFA has an aquaculture sector.Go to IFA homepage and scroll down and the link is on your left.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Thanks but the IFA is a reprsentative/lobby group. They are not personally behind the fish farms surely any more than my neighbours new milking parlour and sheds. I just don't see what relevance the president having knowledge or not of a project has. I'm not trying to be awkward but I just don't see a huge connection.

minktrapper

I do of course stand corrected.Point taken but in my opinion the president of a lobbying group should have a working knowledge of what that group is lobbying for.

minktrapper

I did of course mean "behind" as in supporting the principle of having more salmon farms.I do of course see a massive connection.If you support something in principle you might as well be putting your money behind it as well.

Zzippy

Anson Chubby Vodka wrote: »

Thanks but the IFA is a reprsentative/lobby group. They are not personally behind the fish farms surely any more than my neighbours new milking parlour and sheds. I just don't see what relevance the president having knowledge or not of a project has. I'm not trying to be awkward but I just don't see a huge connection.

The IFA is the biggest lobby group in the country, with huge influence at government level. The fish farming industry pulled the biggest coup by getting IFA to represent their interests. They do of course pay handsomely for that privilege, and the IFA benefits from the income. Richie Flynn is the IFA aquaculture rep, and has notoriously appeared making dubious statements on the Primetime documentary in 2003. He has been very vocal on the proposed fish farms, and is very influential at Irish and European level. Also involved in organic certification of salmon. Not known to have much regard for the truth.

The relevance here is that the IFA top brass should be aware of what their organisation is doing, and how that reflects on the organisation, and the wider farming industry in general. For instance, the fact that salmon farms release thousands of tonnes of waste straight into the environment, while land farmers face stringent regulations on waste, or that "organic" salmon farms face much less stringent rules for organic certification than land-based farmers do. The fact that "organic" salmon can be certified despite the frequent use of chemical pesticides and antibiotics brings the whole organic farming sector into disrepute. Those are things the IFA top brass should be concerned about, but they don't seem to even be aware of them. Probably happy to take the shilling and let Mr. Flynn do the talking.

danbrosnan

Well said zippy agree with everything you said!!

monty_python

Im just playing the devils advocate here

If we get rid of salmon farming where would the global supply if salmon come from????,

We farm cattle, sheep, pigs and many many other animals.

Why not farm fish, it would reduce the number of wild fish taken to very low levels

Zzippy

monty_python wrote: »

Im just playing the devils advocate here

If we get rid of salmon farming where would the global supply if salmon come from????,

We farm cattle, sheep, pigs and many many other animals.

Why not farm fish, it would reduce the number of wild fish taken to very low levels

No one is saying not to farm fish, just not to farm fish in an unsustainable way i.e. in open cages in the sea where waste is not collected, parasites are farmed and infect wild fish nearby, fish can escape and breed with wild fish, and tonnes of chemical pesticides are required to control disease. Rather, to start really looking and investing in land-based aquaculture, with proper waste management, no possibility of escape or disease transmission, and less chemicals needed to control disease.
Salmon is a premium product, the only way it has become affordable (and popular) is by farming it in an intensive fashion with complete disregard for the environment.