Vol. 544 No. 4
131 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if he has satisfied himself that the shellfish and fish resources of Lough Foyle are being managed in a sustainable way; the reason the Lough's native oyster bed is being managed in the context of the North-South agreement; and the impact which unlicensed, but grant aided mussel relaying into the Lough is having on said oysters. [29202/01]
Under the British Irish Agreement Act, 1999, responsibility for the development and licensing of aquaculture in Lough Foyle was conferred on the Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission, FCILC. The necessary legislation to enable the Loughs Agency of the FCILC to exercise its functions in relation to aquaculture is currently being progressed by my Department in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland and respective legal advisers. Priority is being given to finalising the legislation as soon as practicable. The resulting framework will ensure that aquaculture in Lough Foyle is developed and managed in a fully sustainable way.
Pending the finalisation of the legislative framework, financial assistance was made available by BIM to a number of operators for exploratory bottom mussel trials in the lough. Assessment of the mussel growing potential of the lough was conditional on mussels being relaid on areas outside of proven oyster growing areas. In three cases where there was subsequently found to be marginal encroachment on to oyster beds no grant aid was paid to the fishermen concerned. A joint evaluation by BIM and the Loughs Agency of the mussel seed trials concluded that, overall, the trials were successful and that encroachment on oyster grounds was not significant.
