Majority of seafood to be farmed

THE day when the majority of seafood will be farmed is fast-approaching, adding to concerns among environmentalists fearful for the conservation of wild stocks, especially salmon.

A campaign in Ireland boycotts farmed salmon products and this has echoes in Canada — the fourth largest producer of farmed fish and source of most of our tinned salmon — where organised opposition is also stepping up.

Fish farming, or aquaculture, is the fastest-growing food-production activity, accounting for 50% of the food produce of the sea, according to UN statistics. Plans to further develop the industry here — via proposals for a fish farm in Galway Bay and an expansion of an operation in Bantry Bay — have sparked the boycott campaign by an umbrella group led by the Friends of the Irish Environment.