Oyster farmers generate €15m in seafood business every year

OYSTER farmers generate €15 million in seafood business every year, a meeting was told at the Marine Institute in Oranmore, Co Galway, yesterday.

Health, environment and trade issues, which were discussed at the IFA Aquaculture meeting, were described as key to the survival and development of the sector. IFA Aquaculture executive secretary Richie Flynn said oyster production is an integral part of the Irish seafood business. More than 100 oyster farms around the coast produce about 8,000 tonnes per annum. He said the IFA will work closely with the Marine Institute and BIM to ensure the future sustainability of oyster production in Ireland.

John Evans, Marine Institute, presided at the meeting, which was called primarily to review the preliminary results of a major study carried out over the last six months to examine Irish oyster farms that experienced mortalities in their stocks during last summer.

The study, carried out by the Marine Institute’s fish health unit with BIM, is to try and find practical solutions to the problem which will avoid similar mortalities later this year.

French producers with trade and production interests in Ireland gave information to the meeting of similar experiences in their country.

The 2009 mortalities have led the European Commission to produce a new regulation aimed at protecting unaffected areas.

This will be done through a surveillance programme and listed control areas, as well as potential restrictions on trade in live oysters.