Vol. 398 No. 8
37 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for the Marine the targets of tonnage production from fin fish cage development envisaged by the Government for the next two years; the tonnage harvested to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The development of aquaculture as a means of generating economic and employment growth particularly in regions where employment opportunities are few has been and remains a key policy objective.
To date this policy has been highly successful. Total employment has now reached 2,000 jobs and output has grown to a value of £25 million.
Production from fin fish cage development in 1986 came to just over 3,000 tonnes of which 2,200 tonnes was salmon and the remainder trout. In 1989, production amounted to 6,200 tonnes of salmon and 900 tonnes of trout.
The indicative production targets set by BIM in 1988 for the fin fish sector of the aquaculture industry for 1990 were 9,000 tonnes of salmon and 1,100 tonnes of trout (sea and freshwater). For 1991 the corresponding targets were 14,000 tonnes of salmon and 2,400 tonnes of trout. These targets indicated on a technical basis the potential for production but their achievement is, of course, subject to market developments and the planning process.
