Ireland has secured €148m in funding from the European Commission for the development of the seafood industry over the next six years.

The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has accused an environmental group of being “anti-development” and of “condemning hundreds of young people to emigration” by its opposition to planned fish farms in West Cork and off the Aran Islands.

A call for a national boycott of farmed salmon products was yesterday condemned as an act of sabotage.

I refer to a letter carried by the Irish Examiner on Dec 5 from a Mr Marshall in the United States.

A vast red tide of algae threatening the multimillion-euro shellfish industry on the Atlantic seaboard is being compounded by a seven-year bureaucratic delay.

Mr Richie Flynn (Irish Examiner, May 11) would be well advised to honestly confront and resolve the problems posed around the coast by salmon farming, rather than engage in sleight of hand exercises in front of an audience that is less well informed about the issues than he and some of the rest of us are.

The IFA has welcomed an EU study which states that eating two portions of farmed salmon a week has health benefits for pregnant women and their babies.

In response to Mr Tony Lowes ill-informed letter published (Irish Examiner, May 1) regarding fish farming, I would like to make a few factual corrections: Firstly, the Examiner’s editorial referred to was not considered by IFA or the industry to be thoughtful or informed.

The aquaculture sector wishes to express severe disappointment at the Irish Examiner’s campaign against investment in jobs and exports in West Cork.

THE Irish Farmers’ Association President, John Bryan, has welcomed the announcement by Minister Coveney of an innovative plan to set up an IDA-style “advance fish farm” site off the west coast to attract investment and create up to 500 jobs in the coastal community.

FISHING groups and the IFA have all welcomed the Government’s plans for a groundbreaking IDA-style “advance fish farm” site off the west coast to attract investment and create up to 500 much needed jobs.

UP to 2,000 coastal jobs and a potential €150 million in exports are on hold due to the Government’s slow processing of 600 aquaculture licences, according to the Irish Shellfish Association.

A THREE-year strategy to create 600 jobs and an additional €50 million in value added sales was launched for the Irish seafood industry yesterday.

AN Irishman has been elected chairman of a federation of European shellfish producer organisations for a two-year term.

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

OYSTER farmers from around the coast have claimed that sustainable jobs and exports are being put at risk by continuing Government delays in resolving licensing and funding issues.

THE proposed dismantling of Bord Bia – the Irish Food Board – was described yesterday as inexplicable and counter-productive.

A PLAN to revitalise Europe’s fish farming industry after years of stagnation says the business could be a golden opportunity for jobs and production, but red tape must be reduced and planning restrictions eased.

OYSTER and mussel producers along the south-east coast are fearing pollution damage and loss of stocks due to the oil spill off the Fastnet that is reported to be making its way to inshore areas.

THIRTY jobs a month are being lost due to Government inaction to develop the salmon and shellfish sector, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was told by a delegation from the Irish Farmers Association’s Aquaculture Section.

THE future of the country’s €40 million mussel industry was at risk at a time when demand for shellfish was increasing, the European Parliament was told.

THE Government’s handling of the introduction of a new law to manage the health status of Irish farmed fish and shellfish stocks has been severely criticised by the industry as a “botched job”.

A GOVERNMENT minister has been urged to rescue 50 jobs in a coastal village.

A STRATEGY to support a sustainable fish and shellfish farming sector is vital to redress the balance of seafood imports into the European Union, according to the Irish Farmers Association.

A DECISION by the Government to transfer key functions for the fishing industry to the newly named Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has been welcomed by the seafood sector.

Our desire to eat a healthier and more exotic diet means having fish on Friday is no longer the sacrifice it used to be.

A DECISION to set up a group to oversee a long-awaited seafood strategy initiative has been praised by the body representing the €110 million Irish aquaculture sector.

THE IRISH Examiner (July 1) published a letter from a Dr Roderick O’Sullivan that was completely erroneous, and was highly damaging to the reputation and image of a clearly identifiable Irish company and to an entire sector of the Irish seafood business.

THE Government last night withheld publication of an interim report into the massive fish farm disaster in Donegal.

THE country’s €90m Irish salmon farming industry yesterday urged the government to fully implement EU regulations on food labelling following a radioactive waste scare in the Irish Sea.