I thank the committee for giving us the opportunity to give our side and to make this submission. Ar dtús báire ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an gcoiste. Táimid ag an líne deireannach den fhadhb atá againn anseo.
The Federation of Salmon and Sea Trout Anglers we would like to send a very clear message that we are the promoters of water quality and of wild fish. We seek to ensure wild fish, clean water and the habitat are protected at all stages before we pursue a sport. Our federation is an amalgam of 80 or 90 clubs throughout the country. In terms of the impending plans which Bord Iascaigh Mhara outlined to the committee on 26 April and which the Minister proposes, we wish to highlight the dangers, as we see them, to the wild fish habitat. A very serious difficulty is coming down the line not only in Ireland, but internationally.
The Federation of Irish Salmon and Sea Trout Anglers has clubs on all the main salmon rivers throughout the country. Without giving a run-down of the situation, we are in a recovery process since 2006 when the ending of drift-netting took place. There are 143 rivers in the country and 95 are still closed to killing salmon. Some are open to catch and release. We are working with Inland Fisheries Ireland on a number of rivers throughout the country. Our members are voluntary. We are working with Inland Fisheries Ireland on a community basis to ensure the water quality is right and the fish habitat areas are maintained while the spawning process takes place in regard to fish coming back to the rivers. It is a long-term goal. More than 45 rivers are open. The angling tourism business is valued at approximately €100 million, as the Minister of State, Deputy Fergus O'Dowd, outlined in a Dáil question.
We appreciate the Oireachtas joint committee giving us an opportunity to make our case and to keep our communication line open throughout the whole process because we were concerned with the submission made by BIM on 26 April, for example. A number of issues and information given were not contested. I do not plan to go through each of the issues raised but I hope to give a clear indication of where we are and what we believe will happen to the wild Atlantic salmon and sea trout should the ten cage plan go ahead.
The Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, announced it before Christmas in the Dáil and we were very worried when that happened. When BIM outlined the details of it on 26 April, it said the EIS would be published within two weeks and that we would see the details then. However, it mentioned 15,000 tonnes. Some 14,000 tonnes is already being produced nationally, so 15,000 tonnes would double the Galway Bay site.
We expected to see the EIS, or the detailed application, in the public arena within a couple of weeks. It is almost the end of June but it is not ready yet. We understand, however, it will be out in the coming weeks. That means we will have a four-week period in August when nothing happens and it is difficult to get information from the Civil Service. We worry that the application time will not be adequate for us because we are a voluntary group.
On that basis, we are objecting to something on which we have no clear detail, apart from what was in the submission from BIM. We are very concerned that to date, Inland Fisheries Ireland, another State board whose remit is to protect wild Atlantic salmon, sea trout, the wild fish and the habitat, has not been consulted by the committee. One of my objectives in speaking to the committee is to try to encourage Inland Fisheries Ireland to make a submission in defence of the salmon itself.
Our main difficulty is that the Minister has made a decision on ten plants, three in the past few months. This week a Donegal newspaper stated that there is no timeframe for the Gola fish farms but the jobs potential of the marine sector is being held up. IFA Aquaculture is, naturally, a full-time and strong lobby because it is an industry. The IFA, which is a very strong lobby, is backing it. Our federation is trying to ensure we get a closed system or to ensure the pollution emanating from the fish farms is curtailed. We have very little on our side, apart from Inland Fisheries Ireland, which would give a very clear scientific report.
There is a clear scientific report from Patrick Gargan and Greg Forde, who are eminent scientists and are held in high esteem by the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation. Their report significantly identifies the dangers of sea lice emanating from fish farms damaging the wild fish. If we could try to influence the Minister to rethink what will be a ten cage plan, we would be very happy. The Minister, in reply to a parliamentary reply to a question, quoted the Marine Institute's scientific report which was similar to the report of Gargan and Forde but he interpreted it in a way which tried to allay our fears that sea lice would not significantly impact on the wild salmon.
Rather than get into the scientific argument about it, we gave our thoughts on it in the latest issue of a sports magazine. We said that doctors - of biology in this case - differ and wild salmon die. As an organisation, we consistently campaign to try to get closed containment. While we accept fish farming, or aquaculture, is here to stay, we would like it to be onshore and contained like farming, so that the pollution produced is contained.
There are a number of solutions to that. The latest of these - I believe I have provided a copy to members - appears in an editorial in Trout and Salmon magazine, which states that sufficient international research has been carried out which indicates that we should be encouraging the industry to use closed-containment plants onshore, and even offshore, because the fish in these do not interact and effluent cannot cause the development of sea lice in them. In view of the magnitude of what the Minister is proposing, what it is intended to introduce should be put in place under controlled and proven best practice.
Sadly, the conditions which obtain in Norway do not apply in this country. The industry here is unregulated. We do not have what the Norwegians have, namely, a marine environmental police that manages and monitors the farms. If, for example, fish escape from a farm, the monitoring group will know the number that were originally in stock and can then identify the number that have disappeared. In the wild environment, these escaped fish damage natural habitats. Farmed salmon should be tagged in such a way that we will be in a position to know when fish have escaped from farms and the numbers involved. There are some regulations that are in place in Norway which we would very much like to be mirrored here because there is no regulation at all in this country.
When he was in opposition, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, was very helpful to us in respect of what became the Inland Fisheries Ireland Act. He worked hard in order to have a number of changes to that legislation accepted. At the Macgill Summer School last year, when what is being proposed was initially put forward, the Minister took part in an open forum - Dr. Joe Mulholland played a very good role in facilitating this - at which he stated that he would take on board our concerns in respect of wild Atlantic salmon and the pollution that is having an impact on tourism. At that time, a number of fish farms were planned. One of these was Fanad Fish in County Donegal, which was supposed to be located on a beach in a particular bay. When we checked the position later, it emerged that the cages were not put in the place that was originally envisaged. This was due to objections.
The Minister's proposal to take the habitat into consideration and to locate cages outside Natura 2000 special areas of conservation is commendable in one way. However, the habitat relating to the wild Atlantic salmon extends right out into the north Atlantic. Our main difficulty is that the most important study carried out in the past 20 years has been completed. I refer to the salmon at sea or SALSEA programme. Dr. John Whelan, who is president of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation, NASCO, and who previously worked for the Marine Institute, has been to the fore in the context of ensuring that this study was completed in order that we might discover what is killing wild Atlantic salmon and their smolt at sea. At the recent NASCO summits in La Rochelle and Edinburgh, a booklet was produced which shows that the salmon habitat stretches from Galway Bay out into the north Atlantic. That is because this is the main area of feeding for salmon. It does not really matter where the cages are located because the sea lice, diseases, etc., which eventually emanate from plants that are less well managed - those which are less accessible - will give rise to obvious dangers.
The issue relating to angling tourism is a difficult one with which to deal. This is because in the context of Fáilte Ireland and the various State boards, such as IFI, connected with tourism, in technical terms the final decisions are political in nature. The organisations to which I refer are obliged to issue their reservations. A good example in this regard relates to Mr. John O'Connor, a former CEO of the Central Fisheries Board, who came before the relevant joint Oireachtas committee in 2002 or 2003 and stated that the money he was spending on protecting wild fish was being wasted because of the sea lice emanating from fish farms. He basically stated that good money was being thrown away. Mr. O'Connor also indicated that the Committee of Public Accounts could accuse him of squandering his budget. Not a great deal has happened in the interim.
From our point of view, we are working with the EPA in respect of water quality. Our only real objective in respect of the new plan for food is that closed-containment plants would be introduced. In the context of production, Irish food has a very good image. We do not have any difficulties in the context of seafood, particularly shellfish. The most important aspect is, however, that issues relating to Chile, Canada, Scotland and Norway have the potential to damage the image of Irish food, particularly if we begin to produce farmed salmon of the quality produced in other jurisdictions. Irrespective of the demand from China or of the possibility of any future lucrative deals, we must consider the amount of tourism and business that will be lost. Glasgow Caledonian University produced a report approximately four years ago which stated that in the context of angling tourism, £1 billion would be required to replace the stocks of wild Atlantic salmon in the Western Highlands region if their numbers were decimated by the operations of fish farms.
We are very anxious to retain what is sustainable, what is good and what has been producing for us, namely, the existing culture. There are 19 countries in NASCO in which salmon spawn, etc. While 95 of our rivers are still devoid of salmon, there are still 45 rivers in which they can be found. The River Moy is the jewel in the crown in this regard and the River Blackwater runs it a close second. We have some lovely rivers and we must ensure that we protect them.
We have a great deal of footage of fish farms which use pens. An Bord Iascaigh Mhara's claim that any cage is 99% water and 1% salmon is fine but this does not describe the conditions in which the fish are expected to survive. As food producers, we would not be proud of the practices in which those who operate fish farms engage in this regard. Without going into detail, I can show members a photograph of a wild Atlantic salmon which has lost a fin, which is being eaten by sea lice and which will not survive. Doing so might get the message across but I hope members will take our word for the fact that, in the context of production, the juggernaut that is coming down the road is going to have an impact on the wild environment. We cannot have high levels of production and also protect such an environment. The committee is going to have to make a call in respect of the advice it gives to the Minister on this policy. It must act as a last line of defence and state that it is possible to have a sustainable angling tourism industry. It is not acceptable to risk or sacrifice the latter for a new industry that has not been successful in Chile, Scotland or Norway. I would appreciate it if the committee could take that fact into consideration.
The Minister indicated that the plan is going to be a game changer. The proposal is a game changer, it will definitely change things completely. It is also an issue for the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources who must make a decision. Eventually the Government must choose, angling or fish farming, as both cannot work together, which is my main concern.
BIM is making the application, which is a significant departure from the normal procedure, as normally the private companies make the application. It means that BIM will lease out the licence to the prospective successful buyers. No doubt Marine Harvest will be in the field, as it is the largest in the world and will be looking for sites. An equivalent 15,000 tonnes production site in Norway employs 20 to 50 people. The company has come up with a figure of 150 ancillary jobs but I would like to find out how that will happen. The critical mass means that automatic feeders and harvesters are used as the industry is intensively well mechanised at this stage. Let us see what happens in Norway and Chile, as the level of employment is 10% of what is being proposed for Ireland.
Jobs in angling tourism are not that visible as angling creates jobs in bed and breakfast accommodation and hotels. I am the secretary of my club and every year the ladies who own the bed and breakfast accommodation ring me at Christmas to know if the river will be open. The anglers have booked accommodation with them from the previous year and the ladies are sending them their Christmas card with the good news that the river will be open for another year. The angler comes back to the same river. This does not happen in golf or other types of holidays. In fact, the rain attracts our customers. We can further develop our angling tourism business but there is no lobby group working for it. Fáilte Ireland has played down salmon and sea trout fishing in its latest brochure and has emphasised pike, coarse and sea fishing. It seems that salmon and sea trout are being written off. I would hate to think the Government would do that.
I thank the Chairman and members for the opportunity to speak and I hope the plan for ten fish cages will be reconsidered.
