EU has ‘wasted’ €500m on fish farms

Close to €500m of EU funds spent on fish farms was largely wasted, according to a report highly critical of the sector.

It warned that money was handed out without proper environmental and health issues being taken into account — at a time when production in countries like Ireland was experiencing a decline in salmon stocks because of disease.

The report by the EU Court of Auditors said that, in future, EU money should go only to countries where proper national strategies are in place.