This update contains some interesting topics which Salmon Watch Ireland would like to highlight to our members and supporters.

Mc Swynes Bay - Salmon Farming Licence

The ongoing saga surrounding the attempts by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to renew and review extant licences for existing salmon farms continues with Mc Swynes Bay, in Donegal, being the latest to be released for public consultation. We expect a large number of further applications to be released for public consultation in the coming months and we will try and examine each individually and give a considered and appropriate response. You can view our submission at Mc Swynes Bay - Submission Salmon Watch Ireland

It is all too evident that catchments like Waterville (Butler Pool Pictured) will continue to decline in the presence of salmon farming in Kenmare Bay and Deenish Island.

Tagging Regulations 2025

We are also at the time of year where the  draft tagging regulations are out for public consultation and we have responded with our submission. The submission is broadly similar to last years with an emphasis on giving protection to MSW salmon stocks by suggesting reduced catch in spring along with a size limit from May.

It is also suggested that salmon harvest should not be facilitated in September. Again we emphasise that there is a an onus on all stakeholders to consciously acknowledge that Atlantic salmon are in crisis in many rivers and that their actions in regard to harvest should reflect this. Limit your catch not catch your limit. You can view our submission at Tagging Submission 25

Ocean Knowledge 2023

We recently attended the Ocean Knowledge Conference which took place in the RDS, Dublin on the 20th and 21st of November. The conference was hosted by the Marine Institute and was attended by a large diverse range of organisations and individuals. The main emphasis appears to be related to off shore energy and how this can be progressed. Aquaculture has not been included under the remit of the Marine Area Regulatory Agency (MARA) which is undesirable but there seems to be a consensus that aquaculture may be included at a later date. The programme and speakers were diverse in nature with Elvira de Eyto from the Burishoole salmon research station being particularly interesting in describing the effect of climate on wild salmon stocks. 

It might be of interest to examine the setup of MARA and their role. The following presentation by MARA is informative and gives an understanding to the complexities involved. It appears that the organisation is set up to give consent in the first instance by issuing a Maritime Area Consent (MAC) which can then be used to apply to the relevant authority (Coastal Local Authority or Bord Pleanala for planning). MARA can also issue a Maritime Usage Licence (MUL) for certain specified activities. Please click on link below

Our interest is specifically in the area of salmon farming and we certainly would suggest that at the very least aquaculture licensing should be specified as an activity requiring a Maritime Usage Licence and be added to the legislation as soon as practical. We have long standing doubts about the independence of DAFM and ALAB in the overall process of determining applications for salmon farming.

While a considerable time was taken up by the regulatory regime it is apparent that Irelands Marine Strategy was and continues to be the most important aspect to consider. The strategy is a conduit which may result in time to Ireland achieving a Good Environmental Status (GES) in our maritime area. However there are considerable pressures to be overcome with agriculture, aquaculture,water management, energy, transport, tourism and sea food production activities noted as activities which may affect our legal obligations in attaining good environmental status.

While we obviously agree that the maritime area must be managed and that the ecosystem based management model is the only suitable model to allow sustainable development we categorically cannot fathom how open cage salmon farming sits in the overall goal of sustainable use of the maritime area. We will continue to oppose such developments until the industry is compelled to keep the farmed fish separate from the marine environment and this can only be satisfactorily achieved by moving these fish inland in closed containment facilities.

Marine Strategy Video