Fish farms operating on licences that expired up to 14 years ago

FISH farms around the coast are operating on licences that expired up to 14 years ago under special exemptions devised as a short-term fix to EU compliance issues.

Environmental group Salmon Watch Ireland (Swirl) has now made a formal complaint to the European Commission, saying what was to have been a temporary solution has gone on for far too long.

The issue dates back to 2006-2007 when the European Court of Justice ruled that the Irish Department of Marine’s procedures for issuing aquaculture licences breached the EU Birds and Habitats Directives.

It found the State was not carrying out Appropriate Assessments of the likely impact of aquaculture operations on marine life.

Ireland was allowed enact legislation allowing any fish farm with an existing licence to continue in operation after it expired until new assessment procedures were put in place to renew it.

But that project is still ongoing and Swirl argues that the effect has been to allow intensive fish farming continue and, in the case of some farms, to expand, without proper scrutiny. The group is concerned about the possible impact on wild salmon stocks which have fallen over the past 40 years.

In its complaint, Swirl states: “To permit such salmon farms to operate indefinitely in such circumstances, with an expired licence only, appears both irregular and irrational.

“Whatever may have been its original objective in dealing with some special circumstances in 2006, it is perplexing that such a peculiar situation is permitted to continue for such a long time.”

The department stressed that licence holders were required to meet the terms and conditions of their licences, even if expired.

It said: “Production of these Appropriate Assessments has been resource intensive and very time consuming not least because of tidal cycles and seasonality issues in relation to data gathering on bird migrations and other environmental events.”

It said it had a backlog of applications and renewals, but was intensifying measures to address it.