I said in my response to Question No. 293 of 10 March 2015 that no radical change in the aquaculture sector was to be expected as a result of the modest investment supported through the Seafood Development Programme 2007-2013. Clearly a larger programme of supports would have incentivised more productive investments. Despite that, and the particular issues faced by the sector over the period, BIM advised me that the value of the sector held steady over the period, as did the overall employment although volume of production did fall for specified reasons as set out in my reply of 10th March 2015. I believe that significant growth can be anticipated in the coming years through increased investment. The potential for growth and job creation in the aquaculture sector has been widely recognised internationally over a number of years.
The Maritime Agenda for Growth and Jobs (Limassol Declaration) adopted on 8 October 2012 by European Ministers for maritime policy and the European Commission placed a particular emphasis on the potential of the Blue Economy to contribute to economic recovery in the EU. The Agenda focused in particular on 5 areas of high potential, including aquaculture. From a national perspective, Food Harvest 2020 recognises the potential of the seafood sector, in particular aquaculture and seafood processing, to contribute to employment growth and aims to increase employment in the seafood sector from 11,000 to 14,000 by 2020. This potential is echoed in Action Plan for Jobs 2015.
On 27 March 2015, I announced plans for a new €241 million development programme for the seafood sector for the period up to 2020, co-funded by the EU through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. I am inviting submissions on that draft Programme by 1 May 2015. The draft Seafood Development Programme 2014-2020 proposes investment of €30 million in a number of measures specifically intended to support the sustainable development of the aquaculture sector. Those investment plans will be supported by a new National Strategic Plan for Aquaculture, which I will publish for public consultation shortly. Through that National Strategic Plan and targeted investment under the Seafood Development Programme I will be seeking to identify all of the issues affecting the sustainable growth of the sector and the policy actions and supporting investment needed to address those issues. Strategic Environmental Assessments will accompany both the National Strategic Plan and Seafood Development Programme.
