Salmon Farming - Letter from Salmon Watch Ireland to new Minister of Agriculture , Food and Marine
Salmon Watch Ireland has written to the new Minister for Agriculture, Food ,Marine concerning the licensing of fish farms in contravention of EU Directives.
Salmon Watch Ireland complaint to the EU Commission regarding the continued use of the provisions of section 19A (4) of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997
Supreme Court Judgment of McKechnie J regarding retrospective consents for plans and projects likely to impact on the environment and special areas of conservation.
Dear Minister,
We would like to draw your attention to the above referenced complaint (which has been assigned reference number CHAP(2020) 01857 by the EU Commission) and a copy of which is already available at official level in your department and to recent Supreme Court Decision of 1 July 2020 and particularly the judgment of McKechnie J. 1
All salmon farm licenses off the Irish coast are now pending renewal under section 19A (4) and a significant number of them for many years. It is now clear from the decision of McKechnie J and the Supreme Court that any renewals of consent must include full environmental impact assessment including ‘Appropriate Assessment’ where such salmon farms can have an adverse impact on European sites including special areas of conservation and special protection areas.
