Displaying items by tag: aquaculture
Wexford Campus Aquabusiness Diploma Attracting International Students
Students from Norway and other countries are participating in a higher diploma in aquabusiness which is now in its fourth year in Wexford.
A total of 19 students have registered for the one-year part-time diploma in “business in aquabusiness” which is being run by Carlow Institute of Technology’s (CIT) Wexford campus.
As Afloat reported previously, the course was developed by CIT with Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).
It is the only Fetac level eight course aimed. at the fisheries, marine and aquaculture sector in Ireland.
Numbers have doubled as the course goes from “strength to strength”, according to the college.
Students of last year’s course recently participated in an online graduation ceremony due to Covid-19.
However, some of the fisheries sector graduates gathered in a socially distant manner for a photograph at Kilmore Quay harbour, along with three Wexford campus staff and a local representative of BIM.
The course presents two annual awards in memory of late Donegal fishing industry leader Joey Murrin, and the late BIM chief executive Brendan O’Kelly.
Presentation of these awards to the latest graduates has been deferred until the public health situation improves.
CIT’s Wexford campus says that the three remaining modules for the fourth year of the higher diploma will run online from January 2021.
These modules can be taken separately as certificates.
The law and regulation modules will be covered every second Friday and Saturday from mid-January, while strategic and innovation management will run from late February.
A module in planning will be covered from mid-April.
Interested students for these subjects as certificates can contact course Amy Allen at email address [email protected]
Increasing the value and sustainability of aquaculture will be the focus of ASTRAL, a new EU funded research project, that involves the Marine Institute and partners across the Atlantic.
Ireland’s aquaculture sector produces 38,000 tonnes annually, providing a valuable food product as well as employment in Ireland’s coastal communities. Aquaculture is also central to providing opportunities to increase food security for the world’s growing population. Developing new technologies and processes in aquaculture helps ensure seafood is produced responsibly and sustainably.
The research project ASTRAL (All Atlantic Ocean Sustainable, Profitable and Resilient Aquaculture) aims to increase value and sustainability from integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) production by developing new, resilient, and profitable value chains.
IMTA involves farming multiple, complementary species from different levels of the food chain together for their mutual benefit. The waste from one aquatic species are used as food for another species. The fish are fed, the shellfish filter out microscopic plants and organic content from the water and seaweed absorbs the minerals in the water. The natural ability for these species, shellfish and seaweed, to recycle the nutrients or waste that are present in and around fish farms can help improve the environment performance of aquaculture production sites. In addition, the approach also maximises the use of space and the diversity of species provides extra economic benefits.
IMTA will be an integral part of the ASTRAL project and will be investigated at four research sites in Scotland, South Africa, Brazil and the Marine Institute’s marine research site in Lehanagh Pool in Connemara, Co Galway. There will also be a prospective IMTA site in Argentina.
Over the next four years, the Lehanagh Pool research site will use the IMTA process to produce Atlantic salmon, lumpfish, European lobster, king scallop, sea urchin and brown and green species of seaweed. The production of these species together will allow the Marine Institute to test how well each species grows in the IMTA environment and will enable the research team to investigate new production methods.
The Marine Institute will also lead one of the work packages, which involves overseeing the five research sites in the ASTRAL project. The Marine Institute research team along with the other IMTA partners will identify best practice for IMTA, looking at animal welfare, biosecurity and fish health with a view to producing “Species for the Future” catalogue which will help pave the way for resilient, profitable, sustainable aquaculture production in the Atlantic in the future.
Pauline O’Donohoe, ASTRAL Project Coordinator at the Marine Institute said, “As a research organisation, the Marine Institute will assist with developing the techniques and assessing the benefits of IMTA. This collaborative project aims to support the aquaculture industry, by providing aquaculture producers with the tools to diversify their aquaculture species and practices.”
The ASTRAL project has received a budget of close to €8 million under the Horizon 2020 Programme. The ASTRAL consortium includes 16 partners from 10 countries around the Atlantic Ocean and is led by the Norwegian Research Centre (NORCE).
ASTRAL goals include achieving zero-waste aquaculture systems, as well as creating business models and tools to increase profitability. Potential climate risks and emerging pollutants such as microplastics and harmful algae blooms will be assessed, together with the development of innovative technology such as specific sensors and biosensors, with the final aim to provide monitoring recommendations to policymakers.
Sharing knowledge and capacity development are among the ASTRAL priorities, and to build a collaborative ecosystem along the Atlantic Ocean with industrial partners, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), scientists, policymakers, social representatives and other relevant stakeholders.
The ASTRAL project will contribute to the implementation of the Belém Statement, an agreement signed by EU, Brazil and South Africa to develop a strategic partnership on marine research, and it will participate in building an All Atlantic Ocean Community.
Ten start-ups from backgrounds including tech and AI took part in this year’s Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) Aquaculture Workshop. This year’s event, run by Hatch and supported by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund took place entirely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The two-week event had been originally due to take place in the RDIhub in Killorglin, Co Kerry, but was instead live streamed.
Richard Donnelly, BIM Salmon and Shellfish Manager highlighted the breadth of innovation needed to power the aquaculture sector today and said:
“ The aim of these workshops is to continue to position Ireland as a leader in the next phase of aquaculture innovation by helping to speed up the development of promising start-ups. Events such as these are vital to the continued development of Ireland’s aquaculture sector because of the role they play in driving new ideas and innovation.”
Wayne Murphy, COO, Hatch also highlighted the quality of this year’s participants and their range of skills and said:
"We were incredibly pleased with the demand for places on this year’s workshop and with the quality of participants and range of technologies applying. Their appetite for learning and for accessing the tools, knowledge and networks to scale their ideas and technologies has been very encouraging throughout this first phase of the workshop. Sessions with the Hatch team ranged from the global aquaculture landscape industry pain points, venture capital with Aquaspark, strategy and planning, investor readiness and to the protection of IP, making it a busy and productive week. It has been exciting to connect and work with these ambitious entrepreneurs and we look forward to seeing how they develop and grow over the months and years ahead."
Transparency in seafood production and trade, revolutionary energy-saving technology for land-based systems and wastewater expertise are just some of the areas of focus for the 2020 participating businesses.
This year’s workshop ran from Monday 5th until the 16th October 2020.
Covid-19 Aquaculture Financial Support for Rope Mussel & Oyster Farmers
Speaking at the IFA Aquaculture Webinar today Thursday 22 October, the Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D., announced a special Covid-19 financial support scheme for rope mussel and oyster farmers under his Department’s European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Programme 2014-20, co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union.
Announcing the new support scheme, Minister McConalogue said, “Rope mussel and oyster farmers were significantly impacted in the first half of 2020 by the market access and price difficulties caused by the Covid-19 Pandemic. While these issues eased as the first wave of the Pandemic passed, the impacts of lost sales and production left a lasting financial burden on these aquaculture enterprises. Rope mussel farmers suffered a 34% fall in sales between February and June, while oyster farmers suffered a sales drop of 59%. The continued viability of these SME enterprises is jeopardised by these unprecedented shocks to their businesses, with many struggling to cover their fixed costs and to fund the cost of purchasing seed to grow their next crops.”
Minister McConalogue added, “I am announcing today a special support scheme for these oyster and rope mussel producers that will provide a fixed, one-off payment of between €6,800 and €16,300 to each eligible oyster farming business and between €1,300 and €9,000 for rope mussel producers. The payments will vary according to three size classes based on records of previous production levels held by BIM. I anticipate that BIM will be inviting applications in early November with a view to paying successful applicants in 2020”.
Rope Mussel & Oyster Farmers Only
The new Covid-19 Aquaculture Support Scheme will be available to rope mussel and oyster farmers only. Eligibility will be confined to those enterprises that had stock on site in 2020. Terms and conditions will include, inter-alia, compliance with aquaculture and foreshore licence conditions, tax clearance certification, and submission of returns to BIM of the Aquaculture Production and Employment Survey in each of the three years 2017-19.
For the purposes of the scheme, producers will be classified according to their previous production levels over the period 2017-19, based on three categories, 0 to 50 tonnes production, 50 to 100 tonnes and greater than 100 tonnes. The table below details the fixed one-off payments that will be offered to successful applicants and the number of enterprises expected to benefit.
|
Rope Mussels |
Oysters |
|||||
|
Historic Production |
0-50 T |
50-100 T |
>100 T |
0-50 T |
50-100 T |
>100 T |
|
No. enterprises |
16 |
10 |
24 |
82 |
26 |
23 |
|
Fixed payment |
€1,300 |
€3,600 |
€9,000 |
€6,800 |
€11,300 |
€16,300 |
Further details of the Scheme will be available from BIM shortly.
Review Shows Irish Fishing Industry Buoyed By Exports But Brexit & COVID-19 Cast A Shadow
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s latest Annual Review and Outlook for the fisheries sector is a generally positive one — though tempered by the challenges of Brexit and the coronavirus.
Published today, Thursday 8 October, the review cites CSO figures for 2019 which put the value of Irish seafood exports at €577 million with increases in the value of both salmon and mackerel, Ireland’s most valuable export catches.
Mackerel’s 7% value increase was particularly remarkable as it came despite an 8% drop in volume, following a reduction of the quota by one fifth — thanks in part to a bullish market in Asia.
Shellfish exports had a challenging year in 2019, however, with volumes and values down significantly in the oyster sector.
The coronavirus pandemic has seen similar challenges experienced across the fisheries and aquaculture sectors over the course of 2020 thus far.
“Nonetheless, in spite of the difficulties, the fishing industry has continued to keep food in our shops and on our tables during this extraordinary time,” the report says.
“This has highlighted the vital role that the fishing industry plays in the food chain. This, in turn, underscores the importance of ensuring the sustainability of our fish stocks.
“Due to the closure of the food service sector around the world during the pandemic and transportation issues, exports of fish from Ireland were down around 20% in value during the first four months of 2020.”
Meanwhile, Brexit remains a serious concern, with fears that more than 70% of the Irish fishing fleet could lose access to their regular grounds in UK waters in the absence of a deal on fisheries.
The report outlines: “The UK demand is that quota shares are established on the basis of ‘zonal attachment’ and each year access to the UK fishing grounds are ‘purchased’ using the transfer of EU quota to the UK as recompense for this access.
“If the UK zonal attachment demand was applied, it would have huge negative consequences on Irish fisheries because the UK could claim a much higher proportion of the available fishing quotas for each stock each year.”
It continues: “The UK ‘zonal attachment’ claim is based on the level of catches taken from UK waters. If this criterion was used, it would result in Irish fish quotas being cut by 35% in value.
“The displacement of the EU fleet from the Irish exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and/or the reduction in EU quota shares, if remedial measures are not taken, is likely to lead to serious over-exploitation of stocks in our own EEZ; deliver substantial cuts to many of our quotas; [and] cause a substantial control challenge for the Irish navy, and potentially conflict at sea.”
The report also comes on the same day that the High Court struck down the ban on larger vessels fishing within Ireland's six-mile nautical limit, as reported earlier on Afloat.ie, which could have significant conseqences for Ireland's inshore fishing fleet.
The department’s 2020 review and outlook for fisheries and aquaculture can be found attached below, and the full review is available from the DAFM website HERE.
Cockles & Mussels Alive-oh But Perhaps Not with Molly Malone
The Dubliners' ode to Irish shellfish in their song Molly Malone may have been relying on inaccurate information.
New research by University College, Cork (UCC) scientists reports there is “inconsistent” data on the location of Irish cockles in previous studies.
Cockles are a well-known shellfish across Europe, valued for their “meat, cultural symbolism and ecological value”.
The UCC scientists involved in a Europe-wide “Cockles” project state that records can be found throughout history, from a wide range of sources including museums, scientific works and fisheries records.
A buried cockle
However, they have described as “worrisome” the lack of “focus” in previous work.
“An understanding of cockles’ past survival is essential in order to predict how species will fare in a future of climate change,” they say.
The data included locations of where they were found, and how many were there, according to Kate Mahony, of UCC’s School of BEES, AFDC, MaREI and Environmental Research Institute.
“Growing up in Ireland, cockles were part of my childhood. One of the first songs you learn here is about Molly Malone, selling “cockles and mussels” on the streets of Dublin,” she said.
“Because of the importance of the species, here and across Europe, I wasn’t surprised that we were able to gather large amounts of data,” she said.
However, this data was gathered and reported in an inconsistent manner, highlighting the lack of focus on studying the historic and geographic trends of this species, she said.
The scientists compared cockle density (the number of cockles in an area) with changing climate in the Atlantic.
They said it was “evident that cockles were influenced by a wide range of parasites, temperature fluctuations, and varying methods of fishing and legislation”.
The team also examined the sources of their information. Despite the large volume of data, large differences existed in data quality and methodology.
“What really stood out to us was the lack of communication between stakeholders such as scientists and fishery managers,” co-author Dr Sharon Lynch said.
“ We examined the sources of the data and found a large knowledge gap between researchers and those that require this information practically”.
The researchers recommend ensuring improved, knowledge-based fisheries by “standardising monitoring and creating an online portal to increase the knowledge transfer both locally and internationally”.
“These steps will be vital in order to protect this emblematic species into the future,” they state.
Their study is published in the online journal Plos.Org here
A Polish man says he has quite literally turned oyster farming on its head - by inventing a revolutionary device that allows for three times more oysters within the same area of seabed.
Grzegorz Skawiński developed the product over two years which uniquely has a rotating cage system.
Oyster sacks are placed one above the other, rather than traditional farming of side by side on trestles, saving space on the seabed and increasing production.
And when the device rotates, it allows the oysters to move freely, aiding growth.
Normally each oyster bag is turned by hand – five in a row on a trestle. Grzegorz’s system allows 16 to be turned in one rotation.
The project currently in prototype stage has other benefits.
Along with a high-quality oyster in terms of shape and meat, the device can farm in deeper waters, previously inaccessible.
And because of the rotating system, back pain is relieved, common in the industry.
Sea pollution is also eliminated as rubber bands that hold bags in place on a trestle, are not required on the device.
He developed the product having worked in oyster farming in Co. Waterford for eight years.
He saw the potential of a new product to help with ease of farming and plastic pollution, but vitally production levels and increased profits.
Grzegorz said: “When you work with oysters, you understand intimately how farming methods work, and importantly for me, how they can be improved.
"The idea of rotation was born while working on the project. The main goal of the project was to place as many oysters as possible on the seabed surface."
Grzegorz first started on the project in 2017 and created the device for testing and research purposes.
It’s currently patented in Ireland, along with patents expected in the UK and France.
Grzegorz is now keen to move on with the next phase of the business – either to sell the licensed patent or work with a manufacturer to market the product globally.
€3.4m Investment in 15 Aquaculture Enterprises
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Barry Cowen T.D. today announced €3.4 million in new investment by 15 aquaculture enterprises, with his Department’s European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Programme providing grants of €1,282,277.
Minister Cowen said, “I am delighted to announce the approval of a €3.4 million investment by 15 aquaculture enterprises with €1.3 million support from my Department’s EMFF Programme. The latest investments are aimed at boosting production at oyster, mussel and salmon sites around our coast. It is heartening to see this continuing confidence in the future by these ambitious aquaculture enterprises. While recent months were challenging for many aquaculture businesses, the overall trend has been one of growing world demand for our seafood products.”
As SMEs, most of the aquaculture businesses received grants of 40% towards the cost of their investments, with one non-SME receiving 30%, a new entrant to the sector receiving 50% and one investment in organic certification also receiving 50%. The grants are co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union and are subject to terms and conditions.
Grant approvals - Sustainable Aquaculture Scheme
|
Beneficiary |
Location |
Project |
Total Investment |
EMFF Grant |
Rate |
|
Derrylea Holdings |
Galway |
Organic Certification of Farmed Atlantic Salmon |
€7,500 |
€3,750 |
50% |
|
Sliogéisc Inisheane Teoranta |
Donegal |
Capacity increase in oyster seed production |
€28,723 |
€11,489 |
40% |
|
Feirm Farriage Oileán Chliara Teoranta |
Donegal |
Phase 3: Installation of grid frames and construction of Aquaculture Workboat |
€761,595 |
€228,478 |
30% |
|
Glenn Hunter |
Sligo |
Construction of an oyster handling facility |
€68,747 |
€34,373 |
50% |
|
Ocean Farm Ltd |
Donegal |
Phase 3: Upgrade of salmon farm technology |
€1,261,663 |
€504,665 |
40% |
|
Skipper Shellfish Ltd |
Kerry |
Phase 2: Increase capacity of oyster farm |
€25,876 |
€10,350 |
40% |
|
Northern Bay Oyster Ltd |
Donegal |
Increase capacity of oyster farm |
€29,670 |
€11,868 |
40% |
|
Mulroy Bay Mussels Ltd |
Donegal |
Investment in new handling equipment |
€75,900 |
€ 30,360 |
40% |
|
Killary Fjord Shellfish Ltd |
Galway |
Upgrade of rope mussel farm to continuous longline system |
€17,120 |
€6,848 |
40% |
|
Woodstown Bay Shellfish Ltd |
Waterford |
Phase 2: Increase capacity of oyster farm |
€606,815 |
€242,726 |
40% |
|
Oceanic Organic Oysters Ltd |
Donegal |
Phase 2: Increase capacity on oyster farm |
€183,145 |
€73,258 |
40% |
|
Rosmoney Shellfish Ltd |
Mayo |
Increase capacity of oyster farm |
€124,980 |
€49,992 |
40% |
|
Seastream Ltd |
Mayo |
Purchase of smolt feeding system |
€60,000 |
€24,000 |
40% |
|
Rodeen Fish Farms Ltd |
Cork |
Phase 3: Introduction of continuous rope mussel system |
€83,197 |
€33,278 |
40% |
|
Seal Harbour Enterprises Ltd |
Cork |
Phase 3: Upgrade of rope mussel equipment |
€ 42,100 |
€16,840 |
40% |
|
Total: |
|
|
€3,377,031 |
€1,282,277 |
|
The Future of Irish Aquaculture from Mono to Multi
Seafood is a popular and healthy food product in Ireland with the average Irish person consuming about 22kg of fish per year.
People recognise the health benefits with fish being low-fat and a good source of omega-3 fats, which are vital for brain function, heart and many other benefits. Salmon is the most popular fish bought by Irish families. In Ireland most of our salmon are farmed, and along with mussels and oysters, are the main farmed species in the country. Aquaculture is the farming of animals in the water and has been practised for centuries, with the monks farming fish in the middle ages. More recently the technology has progressed and the aquaculture sector is now producing in the region of 50 thousand tonne annually and provides a valuable food product as well as much needed employment in many rural areas of Ireland.
A typical fish farm involves keeping fish in pens in the water column, caring for them and supplying them with food so they grow to market size. Or for shellfish, containing them in a specialised unit and allowing them to feed from natural plants and materials in the water column until they reach harvestable size. While farming fish has a lower carbon and water footprint to those of land animals, and a very efficient food fed to weight gain ratio compared to beef, pork or chicken, farming does require protein food sources and produces organic waste which is released into the surrounding waters. Finding sustainable food sources, and reducing the environmental impacts are key challenges facing the sector as it continues to grow.
One innovative solution being investigated to deal with these issues is called integrated multi-trophic aquaculture, or IMTA.
Growing of scallops at Lehanagh Pool
IMTA is a different way of thinking about aquatic food production and is based on the concept of the ´food chain’. It involves farming multiple, complementary species from different levels of the food chain together for their mutual benefit, where the waste by-products from the fish providing food for another species. Shellfish filter out microscopic plants and organic content from the water column to grow, and seaweeds and plants absorb the minerals from the water for them to grow. Growing shellfish and seaweed species in close proximity to fed fish mimics these natural cycles in the seas and creates a local ecosystem where the wastage and impacts are reduced, and the productivity and diversity of products from the site is increased.
The Marine Institutes’ aquaculture research site in Lehanagh Pool in Connemara is an example of IMTA, where salmon are reared on site, with scallops and seaweeds growing alongside helping to remove the organic inputs. IMTA is seen as a promising solution for sustainable aquaculture development.
The Institute is coordinating the innovative Horizon2020 IMPAQT project which is working to promote aquaculture production based on IMTA, by addressing the lack of data and tools to assess the factors that affect IMTA, and to enable a real-time response to production challenges, environmental impacts and seafood quality.
Growing of seaweed on a line
The project is developing a computerised, artificially intelligent, management platform which analyses the environment, the fish behaviour, and data from other sources such as satellite data, image analysis, and inputs from the farmer on site. This is used to inform fish welfare and water quality and to provide real-time operational feedback and advice to the farmer on the management of their site. The technologies include new sensors, wireless communication systems, and state of the art software utilising the internet of things. This system is being designed and tested at the Institute’s research site in Lehanagh Pool, at Keywater Fisheries IMTA site in Sligo, in collaboration with our international partners at other sites across Europe, and in Turkey and China.
Concerns Over Mass Use Of ‘Cleaner Fish’ In Irish Salmon Farms
Campaigners against salmon farms have raised concerns over the state of Irish wrasse stocks after it was confirmed the fish have been taken en masse to help clean lice from farmed salmon.
As Donegal News reports, a number of salmon farms in Donegal, Galway and other areas owned by Mowi — the former Marine Harvest — have between them moved in tonnes of wild wrasse, a known ‘cleaner fish’ that feeds on sea lice, over the past four years.
Responding to a Dáil debate question from Catherine Connolly TD this past summer, Marine Minister Michael Creed confirmed that “several special of cleaner fish are used in Ireland as a method of controlling sea lice”.
But there are fears that the mass withdrawal of wrasse and other such species from the wild could tip the balance of Ireland’s delicate marine ecosystem.
“The absence of wild wrasse in bays may result in stress and disease in other large species of fish which rely on wrasse to keep them clean of parasites,” said Billy Smyth, chair of Galway Bay Against Salmon Cages.
Donegal News has much more on the story HERE.
