Traditional fishermen pin hopes on aquaculture

TRADITIONAL fishing in a resort town is in crisis and faces a battle for survival that it may not win, local fisheries bodies said yesterday.

The town’s traditional fishermen insist that their industry is on its knees and in immediate need of assistance to extricate it from its mounting difficulties.

However, the Youghal Fisherman’s Co-Op believes that it may have the solution. They are pinning their hopes on aquaculture, or fish farming, and have taken the first step by applying for a foreshore licence to the Department of the Marine.

A supportive town council is giving its full co-operation and is inviting the Co-op to undertake a feasibility study and then submit a plan for the development of aquaculture to the harbour authority.

“We have every faith in what the fishermen are proposing,” Youghal’s mayor, Olly Casey said.

“I am confident the Department of the Marine will grant their application for the foreshore licence because the development of aquaculture in the harbour may well be the only solution to the existing problems the industry is experiencing.”

Mr Casey said the potential of aquaculture is beyond question and may well be vital in the survival of fishing at the resort.

The chairman of Youghal Fisherman’s Co-Op, Sean Murphy, is adamant that the development of aquaculture in the harbour is “wholly feasible” with in excess of 500 tonnes of mussels taken from it to date.

Mr Murphy said that already many local fishermen have been forced out of the industry leaving about 30 full and part-timers still involved.

Originally the salmon season extended for six months and, according to Mr Murphy, a lot of families in Youghal were reared on that.

“Now the season is down to just two months and to four days a week with curtailed fishing hours from 4am to 9pm,” he said.

“We are all struggling big time to make a living and keep fishing going in Youghal.”

Mr Murphy, who has been the Co-op chairman for over ten years, said they are hoping for a speedy response to their application for the foreshore licence. If that hurdle is overcome, they can look forward to the backing of the authorities.

“This is all about survival and about keeping an industry going that has been a part of Youghal’s fabric and tradition for centuries,” Mr Murphy added. “Everything that can be done must be done to save it.”