Green is for growth
Irish aquaculture has a global reputation for quality produce, but is the sector being held back from fulfilling its potential?
The story of aquaculture in Ireland is one that varies widely depending on who you speak to. One narrative is that Ireland has certain unalterable limitations to production growth and so must focus on a high quality product – its farmed salmon is all organic – along with sustainability. Another narrative, however, is that aquaculture in Ireland has fallen behind other countries because of what Stephen Collins, writing in the Irish Times in 2019, has called “a staggering level of official incompetence and scaremongering by small groups of activists who have managed to tarnish the industry’s image with wildly exaggerated claims”. As Collins goes on to note, “… while global aquaculture production has grown by 164% since 2000, output [in Ireland] has fallen by 24% in the same period”.
In order to determine which of these accounts is closer to the truth, Fish Farmer spoke to some of the key figures involved in Irish aquaculture, each of whom, as we shall see later, had an interesting story to tell.
But first it is important to examine the economic picture emerging from the latest reports on Irish aquaculture. One such report was issued earlier this year by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), the state agency responsible for developing the Irish seafood industry. The report presented an encouraging snapshot of Ireland’s seafood economy. During 2021, the sector had made an impressive recovery from the twin troubles of Covid-19 and Brexit, increasing in value from ¼1.09bn (£934m) in 2020 to an all-time high of ¼1.26bn (£1.08bn).
Despite the overall growth in value of the sector, the value of the aquaculture component of the seafood economy fell by 2% to ¼175m (£150m). However, as BIM’s
report points out, this decrease could be accounted for by a fall in the price of farmed salmon – the oysters and mussels sectors performed strongly with healthy increases in both value and volumes (see Figure 1).
Yet, as anyone familiar with the economics of aquaculture in other regions will recognise, ¼175m is a relatively modest figure. According to Marine Scotland’s statistics, Scottish aquaculture generated £560m Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2019, while figures from the Norwegian Seafood Council show the value of Norway’s aquaculture exports during the same year was NOK 76.5bn (£6.26bn).
Arguably a more informative picture of aquaculture in Ireland is provided by a 2020 BIM report, which charts the 10 year trend in aquaculture output from 2010 to 2019 (see Figure 2). In a period during which aquaculture production in other countries (such as Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands) has increased significantly, volumes in Ireland have fallen.
However, the value of the sector has risen over the period (see Figure 3), made possible, according to BIM, “by steady increases in unit value in conjunction with a growing recognition of product quality”.
In their 2019 report, BIM catalogue the limitations to aquaculture production growth as follows: “… a lack of licensed capacity, distance to market, market home competitors, incidence and effects of pathogens or parasites and their importation via seed and the constraints and stresses upon stock grown in the highly dynamic, exposed and unpredictable environment, and climate of Irish sites”.
” During 2021, the sector had made an impressive recovery from the twin troubles of Covid-19 and Brexit
For Catherine McManus, Technical Manager of Mowi Ireland, the first of these factors is the most significant: “The main challenge is to do with licences. While the industry has grown over the years and had terrific ambition – and still does have great ambition – it’s being held back by a very poor regulatory framework that’s not really fit for purpose. Our feeling in this sector is that Ireland, as a nation, is very much inward looking towards land and not towards the sea, unlike our neighbours up in Norway, which is very much a maritime nation.
“Ireland seems to be the exception when it comes to making the most of the maritime resource. And that has been reflected in policies and legislation – [aquaculture] hasn’t really been given the attention it deserves over the years. We’ve arrived at a point where consistent neglect has meant the industry hasn’t been able to reach its full potential here in Ireland”.
McManus explains that: “It’s not [Ireland’s] ambition to be as large as our neighbours, mostly because the industry some time ago took the decision of going down the differentiation route of organic production. It was the only way the industry really could survive because we couldn’t compete with production costs in Norway or in the UK because they have economies of scale and also deeper waters. We have a relatively shallow coastline here and it’s very exposed to the elements making it difficult to farm in, so there are natural restrictions here upon what the industry could expand to.”
Nonetheless, McManus believes that there is scope for expansion: “In terms of growth, Ireland’s growth ambitions are relatively modest compared to other countries. But for us it would be significant relative to what we produce at the moment.
“In 2020, Ireland produced around 13,000 tonnes of salmon. That’s remained fairly static over the years because the sites we operate in are limited either by licensed area or licensed production in terms of either numbers of fish or harvest tonnes.
“For many years we’ve been asking the government to redesign the regulatory framework to allow for maximum allowable biomass licences (MABs) on all the farms, which you have in other countries and would make absolute environmental sense. To enable that, we’ve applied to the state agency with responsibility for licensing which is the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. We’ve applied for our old existing licences to be converted to MAB licences. “Another thing that has impacted on the licensing regime being reformed is how Ireland has implemented European directives such as the Habitats Directive, which has actually held up designation
of bays and water bodies to enable licensing to proceed. That for the most part has been resolved. And also there’s a new working group within the department dealing with the licensing at the moment so we do see some movement. We’re a lot more optimistic that things have started to move now.”
In 2017, an independent group was tasked by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to carry out an independent review of the aquaculture licence process and associated legal framework. The group’s report was published in May 2017, with the conclusion that “a root-and-branch reform of the aquaculture licence application processes is necessary”. The report’s 30 recommendations were summarised in its Executive Summary as follows:
• a formalised pre-application process,
• extensive use of information technology and web-based systems,
• additional technical expertise,
• making processes more timely and effective through streamlining,
• issuing procedural guidelines for applicants, the public and staff,
• better public notification procedures and
• use of Ministerial Regulations where necessary.
McManus – along with many others involved in Irish aquaculture – hopes that these 30 recommendations, now over five years old, will finally be implemented: “We feel that if the recommendations in that report, which are quite extensive, are implemented then we’ll have a healthy and robust licensing system.”
A reform of the licensing system, McManus hopes, could lead to Mowi Ireland being able to better meet demand for their product throughout the year. McManus notes that currently “there are some months, particularly at the beginning of the year, maybe January or February, we have no stock to sell”.
When Fish Farmer asked McManus about the scope for expansion in the annual production of Irish organic salmon – currently around the 13,000 tonne mark – she remarked that “twice that [amount] wouldn’t be overly ambitious.”
McManus’s aspirations are in keeping with previously stated government targets to almost double production; as noted in
” We’re a lot more optimistic that things have started to move now
the 2017 review of the licensing process: “Government policy proposes that the volume of aquaculture production be increased from 45,000 tonnes to 81,700 tonnes per annum by the year 2023”.
Fish Farmer asked BIM a similar question about the possibility of expansion over the coming years. Rory Campbell, Seafood Technical Services Director, stated: “Salmon production has been static for a number of years due to no new licences for farms being issued. However, there is scope to sustainably increase production based on the current level of licenced capacity through, for example, better survival and an increase in harvest weights and there are now a number of new licence applications for sites in progress. It is not really possible to put a quantifiable timescale on increasing production as there are so many factors in play”.
The Marine Institute (MI) – which provides a range of monitoring, research and advisory services to Irish aquaculture – also views licensing reform as a key issue: “The biggest challenge for
Ireland will be to ensure that we have a robust and fit-for-purpose licensing regime, which will allow for the sustainable development of the industry in compliance with all relevant EU and national environmental regulations”.
The MI also cite the following as challenges for the industry:
• Water quality – human wastewater discharges, including primary discharges and storm water overflows are a source of norovirus contamination in oyster production areas. Furthermore, run off from agricultural and other land based activities can lead to increasing risk of E. coli contamination in classified production areas.
• Changes in marine ecosystems due to climate change, primarily changes in abundance and diversity of primary producers (i.e. phytoplankton) which are key to shellfish growth, through changes in temperature, salinity, stratification and ocean acidification which could result in increases in harmful algal bloom occurrence.
• Mitigation, control and management of food safety issues in shellfish aquaculture production.
On a national level, the MI is collaborating with BIM on the SALMSON Smolt project, funded under the EMFF Knowledge Gateway Programme, investigating the potential of freshwater recirculation technology to produce large salmon smolts, thus reducing the length of time required for the marine grow-out phase. The HydroFish project, led by
NUI Galway and funded through the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund by Enterprise Ireland, is investigating the production of high-quality bioactive fish protein hydrolysates from fish by-products as an additive for aquafeeds.
Another important body is the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), whose aquaculture arm is comprised of representatives from all sectors of the
Irish aquaculture industry. According to its Aquaculture Executive, Teresa Morrissey: “IFA Aquaculture focuses on providing strong industry representation nationally and internationally, supporting the improvement and development of the Irish aquaculture industry and promoting positive aspects of Irish aquaculture.”
Morrissey views sustainable aquaculture as increasingly relevant: “Food production has never been more important, and Covid-19 and the recent Ukraine crisis have shown the value of sustainable food production systems. There is now a significant opportunity for aquaculture in light of the increasing global demand for seafood, more sustainable food sources, and carbon efficient food production”.
Although Morrissey acknowledges some recent positive developments around the vexed issue of licensing, she says: “We are lacking a coherent, realistic, ambitious policy for Irish aquaculture. The policies and objectives that we do have in relation to aquaculture are non-binding and nonspecific in terms of targets and are coupled with numerous policies and regulations that are not streamlined. The Irish government could support the aquaculture industry in Ireland by developing coherent, realistic, ambitious objectives for the development of sustainable Irish aquaculture.”
For Clíona Mhic Giolla Chuda, Sales, Marketing and General Manager at Meitheal Trá na Rinne Teo (also known as Waterford Oysters), an extension of shellfish licences would be a particularly welcome measure.
As Mhic Giolla Chuda explains: “The licences are for 10 years, which is a relatively short period. When you consider the life cycle of an oyster is about three years, a 10-year licence suddenly becomes very short. We would like to see that extended to 15 or, ideally, 20 years.
“When you’re speaking to banks, it can take a couple of years for the licence to come through so you don’t have it for very many years before you’re thinking about renewal again. It’s also a business where
” there is scope to sustainably increase production based on the current level of licenced capacity
you want to be able to try out different technologies, for example, if someone comes up with a different design of trestle or a new way of growing oysters and so on.”
Given that the Scottish Rural Affairs Minister, Mairi Gougeon, has recently instructed her officials to extend the marine licence renewal period for finfish and shellfish farms from six to 25 years, in line with recommendations in the Griggs Report, many Irish shellfish farmers will be hoping that Ireland follows suit.
Licensing issues aside, Mhic Giolla Chuda is positive about the opportunities for Irish oyster farmers. “When the business started first we were just supplying bulk produce into the French market which had a lot of ups and downs. We were learning our craft and skills at that stage as well. Initially there was a fair bit of reluctance in France to buying oysters outside of the country but that has changed.
“A lot of French growers actually have licensed sites now in Ireland and our product would be at the top of the French market. As well as the French market we have also, over the years, exported to various other European countries. For the last five or six years, we have been exporting our product to Asia, mostly to Hong Kong, China, Singapore, and Malaysia. So there has been quite an evolution in the business in many ways”.
While Waterford Oysters are now are packing their own oysters to send to
Hong Kong, they still sell around 75% of their produce to France. Indeed, more generally, the French connection remains strong with most Irish oyster farmers buying their seed from French hatcheries such as Grainocean International, France Naissain, and Marinove.
For Andrew Rooney, Director of Rooney Fish, it was his friendship with a French couple who invited him to visit their oyster hatchery and farm in France that led to him creating the award-winning Millbay Oysters in Carlingford Lough. As Rooney explains, “They were in the process of developing a new bag for oysters rather than the conventional flat bag and whenever I saw their oysters that’s what made me want to use their bag, which gave a far better oyster with a lot less labour”.
Rooney is passionate about the potential growth of aquaculture in Northern
Ireland and is hoping to gain a licence to expand his oyster business: “The biggest opportunity that we have here is the pristine waters that surround the whole island. Aquaculture is the way forward in the fish business.”
Innovation is also occurring on Irish shores. Sheehan’s Fishing Company is Ireland’s leading supplier of rope to the fishing and aquaculture industry. As Jason Sheehan explains: “We supply Itsaskorda combination, steel wire and mussel ropes.
” The biggest opportunity that we have here is the pristine waters that surround the whole island
Our products are continually developed in conjunction with our clients to provide new and innovative products that fit with specific requirements to improve handling, price and durability”.
In 2010, Blackshell Farm, a certified organic mussel farm based in Westport, County Mayo, began producing cotton mussel mesh, a biodegradable material that helps mussel growth. Michael Mulloy, Director of Blackshell, says: “Protecting the marine environment is very important to us. We constantly innovate to improve our operations and products in order to minimise our impact on Clew Bay and the areas in which we work”.
Also working towards a sustainable future for aquaculture in Ireland is Dr
Alex Wan, based at National University of Ireland Galway. Dr Wan’s investigations into the effects of seaweed in aquafeeds have indicated that a 15% inclusion of P. palmata in Atlantic salmon can enhance liver function, while, as Dr Wan noted, a 2021 review paper written by researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia, concludes that “feeding any form of seaweed to farmed finfish improved their immune status and their resistance to pathogens, potentially countering the immunosuppressive effects of stress due to intensive farming or changing environmental conditions”.
Ireland has one of the most established seaweed industries in Europe. According to BIM, in 2018, 77,000 tonnes of seaweed worth ¼37m were exported and 58,000 tonnes (worth ¼9m) were imported for reprocessing and export markets. Farmed seaweed production in Ireland from licensed aquaculture sites was recorded at 40 tonnes in 2018 worth ¼40,000 at farm gate.
BIM has led a seaweed development programme in Ireland since 2004. The programme of work has concentrated on developing and perfecting cultivation methods for the brown seaweeds (Laminaria digitata, Alaria esculenta and Saccharina latissima) and more recently the highly sought after red weeds (Palmaria palmata and Porphyra umbilicalis).
A large number of new licences for seaweed cultivation were granted in 2018 and 2019, and BIM estimates the licensed seaweed hectarage in Ireland to be 150 hectares. According to BIM: “The yield of brown weeds is 6 tonnes fresh product/ha (based on best known performance and varies with water depth and long line density). This equates to 900 tonnes fresh harvest if all the sites are fully operational”.
The importance of seaweed to aquaculture is indicated by Dr Wan’s own review paper: “With increasing pressures on global wild fish stocks and arable land, seaweeds could offer a viable alternative and relief to the demands of other ingredients used in aquafeeds”.
The work of scientists like Dr Wan may help move Ireland further along the path of sustainable growth. Although there remains frustration in many quarters that Irish aquaculture is not already further down that path, there is no shortage of determination for the industry to fulfil its potential.