WAITING PERIODS of more than two years for fish-farm licences and the delay in announcing the national development plan to develop the aquaculture industry is costing valuable jobs in rural communities, a conference in Kenmare heard yesterday.
The IFA aquaculture conference also heard that the Government record in managing natural resources was “pretty weak”.
Some 60 per cent of the value of all shellfish and fish consumed in Europe was brought in from outside the EU.
This amounted to about €8.5 billion in imports in 2007.
Consumption in Europe had grown from a half a kilo in the 1960s to over 1.5 kilos of mussels and over one kilo of crustaceans in 2007 .
Many of the European countries involved in aquaculture production already had now realised their full potential and overall European shellfish production had actually declined.
France, with 130,000 tonnes of oysters annually, accounted for 84 per cent of oyster production within the EU.
Ireland’s production was five per cent or 7,000 tonnes of oysters.
In terms of mussels Ireland produced 37,000 tonnes or 6 per cent of European production.
The growth potential for Ireland was huge, first because so much was imported from outside the EU, the world’s biggest single market, but also because shellfish were “trendy”, said Nicolas Ranninger, the head of marketing shellfish at BIM Paris.
“Shellfish enjoys a fantastic image among consumers. It’s a cool, party food . . .” Mr Ranninger said.
People were also interested “in the story of the product” and promoting the Irish origin was always valuable, he said.
The conference was brought forward in acknowledgement of the economic crisis, IFA president Pádraig Walshe remarked.
Mr Walshe criticised the “logjam” in processing aquaculture licences and urged the two ministers with responsibility, John Gormley in Environment and the Minister with responsibility for fisheries, Tony Killeen, “to sort the matter out”.
Bureaucratic delays would cost up to 2,000 jobs over the next five years, he warned.
Much of the delay in licence issuing was because of a ruling against Ireland because of a failure to comply with the habitats directive, the conference was told.
