Regulation and monitoring of marine aquaculture in Ireland

摘要

The marine aquaculture industry in Ireland has developed steadily since the early 1980s and currently employs approximately 2500 people with an output valued at some IR pound 60 (Euro76) million. The main species produced are Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), mussels (Mytilus edulis), the Japanese oyster (Crassostrea gigas), the native flat oyster (Ostrea edulis), scallops (Pecten maximus) and clams (Tapes semideccusata). In Ireland, the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources is the sole licensing and regulatory authority for marine aquaculture. Details of the licensing requirements and licence application procedures for both finfish and shellfish farming are presented. The role of the independent Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board is described. In the case of shellfish production, no specific environmental standards have been established and therefore no specific monitoring requirements have been set down. This situation is currently under review. In the case of the production of salmon, environmental standards and monitoring requirements have evolved with time and details of the monitoring programmes focusing on sea lice, impact on the benthos and water column nutrient concentrations are described. Additional monitoring programmes required under various EU Directives are also presented, including biotoxins in shellfish, chemical residues in salmon and the disease status of shellfish and finfish.