Commercial sea-fishing and aquaculture activities are long standing, pre-existing and traditional activities in the marine environment. Ireland's seafood resources are an important national economic asset generating an estimated €1.3bn GDP and sustaining over 15,000 jobs, most of which are in rural, coastal communities. So it is vitally important the Irish seafood sector continues on a sustainable, profitable pathway.
This Government has introduced both the National Marine Planning Framework, Ireland’s first national framework for managing marine activities, and the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021. These two important instruments set out how Ireland will move forward in the development of new and emerging uses of maritime space in a way that acknowledges and considers existing blue economy activities such as seafood production.
Any proposals for marine spatial plans that may arise from the Maritime Area Planning Act must be consistent with the National Marine Planning Framework. That Act allows for the preparation of Designated Maritime Area Plans, or DMAPs, for specific purposes and I am aware that the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications intends to prepare such DMAPs for offshore renewable energy. In fact, this Plan-led approach to the future development of offshore renewable energy is essential for an orderly and stable transition to this new ocean economy activity and has been welcomed within the fishing industry in preference to the proliferation of exploratory development sites which had been taking place.
Together with the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications I welcomed the establishment of the Seafood - Offshore Renewable Energy Working Group, chaired by Captain Robert McCabe. From the feedback I have received from the seafood industry I understand that this Group is bringing about a maturation in the relationship between these two sectors and that protocols on communication are soon to be published by the Group.
