Expert warns of fish farm risks

A renowned international marine biology expert has written to Simon Coveney, the fisheries minister, about “incorrect information” that is allegedly being circulated about the effects of sea lice on wild salmon.

The letter comes as the Department of Agriculture, Marine, and Food decides whether to give the green light to two planned organic salmon farms. One is a private commercial concern in Bantry Bay, and the other, off Inis Oirr, is being developed by state agency Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).

The letter was penned by the University of Auckland’s associate professor in marine ecology, Professor Mark Costello. He wrote that salmon lice from farms “have proven difficult to control on farms, especially large farms” and have been “linked to mass fatal parasite infestations on wild salmon and trout in Ireland, Scotland, Norway, and Canada”.