Irish salmon farmers have called for an immediate restructuring of their industry, following agreement in Brussels on a minimum import price for Norwegian farmed salmon.

The European Commission's anti-dumping committee has agreed a floor price of €2.80 on all Norwegian farmed salmon imports to EU member states from January 2006. The agreement was prompted by the results of an investigation into the illegal dumping of "below cost" salmon, and has been welcomed by the Irish Salmon Growers' Association (ISGA).

The ISGA appealed to the Government at its annual conference in Galway last week for a restructuring to allow the industry to rebuild, following a very difficult three years.

Norwegian competition and difficulties with disease and other issues have led to a halving of overall farmed salmon production, which had reached a peak of 25,000 tonnes in 2001.

ISGA executive secretary Richie Flynn said no time must be lost in "dealing with domestic affairs, beginning with licensing and regulation, and giving salmon farmers the tools they need to deal with the huge challenges posed by both the physical and marketing environments".

ISGA chairman Jan Feenstra has appealed to the Government for "clear and firm" regulation. This would allow for more efficiency and enable the industry to withstand "future market assaults from giant third-country producers, " he said.

Speaking at the conference, Mr Feenstra said regulation should include "application of best practices, high standards in husbandry and animal welfare, excellence in quality management, with full food production traceability, and planned developments which avoid conflicts of interest with other marine users."