The Government is committed to the development of fish farming as a means of generating economic growth and employment, particularly in coastal areas where there are few alternative employment opportunities. The industry overall, and the fin fish sector in particular, has performed extremely well to date to the extent that there are at present approximately 100 fish farms providing some 1,000 full-time and part-time jobs, with indirect employment gains in related service industries. Output from the fin fish sector was over 9,000 tonnes last year, valued at around £30 million, which is expected to rise to £37 million in the current year.
The Government is committed to ensuring that fish farming develops within strict environmental standards. To that end the process involved in licensing such operations is necessarily rigorous from technical, environmental and other perspectives.