€8m worth of seafood landed at Clogherhead harbour in 2017

THE value of landings at Clogherhead amounted to €8 million, representing a total volume of 1,500 tonnes. The industry is a significant employer with 1,941 people living in coastal communities along the Dublin and Louth coastline employed in the seafood sector.

The aquaculture sector in the North-Eastern region, which comprises of mussel and oyster farming, was worth a total of €5.5 million last year and enjoyed 24% growth nationally.

Seafood processing also experienced significant growth last year and there are now almost 4,000 people employed in seafood processing companies across Ireland. 30 of these companies are located in the North-East.

The Business of Seafood 2017 report was published by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), Ireland’s Seafood Development Agency, and launched this week by Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine, Michael Creed T.D.

Jim O’Toole, CEO of BIM commented; ‘Ireland’s Seafood Industry is thriving, with Clogherhead playing an important part of this success. Over the last two years, the contribution of the sector to Ireland’s GDP has grown by over 14%. The fact trade sales have exceeded €1 billion for the first time demonstrates the clear demand for Irish seafood and it is important we build on this impressive performance as we collectively work to achieve the targets for seafood in the Government’s Food Wise 2025 report”.

Ireland’s Seafood Sector recorded its third consecutive year of growth in 2017, with its value up 6.4% on the previous year, to contribute €1.15 billion to Ireland’s GDP. This strong growth was driven by a 12% increase in net exports (€331m), a 4% increase in domestic consumption (€429m) and significant ongoing investment both private and public (€386m).