Aquaculture could net 4,500 jobs

UP to 4,500 aquaculture jobs could be created off the west coast, according to a report by Bord Iascaigh Mhara.

Details of the study will be published today by the sea fisheries board at its Farming the Deep Blue conference in Limerick. The two-day conference will look at how the world can develop offshore fish farming.

The Farming the Deep Blue special report commissioned for the conference concludes that Ireland has up to 15 potential sites for offshore aquaculture.

“When the next steps in offshore finfish farming development are taken, Ireland could potentially increase its current output by 150,000 tonnes, with a first sale value of €500 million per annum.

“Such an increase in raw material supply would support downstream processing and ancillary activity, creating a further €250 million per annum and supporting approximately 4,500 extra jobs. All of this wealth creation and employment would be located in Ireland’s most vulnerable peripheral coastal communities. Ireland’s finfish farmers already lead the way in operating in exposed conditions and it is proposed that this expertise be built upon,” the report concludes.

The report jointly commissioned by BIM and the Marine Institute has pointed the way to a €21 billion opportunity for the global marine farmed finfish industry.