The latest investigation from TheJournal.ie’s Noteworthy platform looks at the impact of salmon farming on marine biodiversity — and the findings make for sober reading.
Concerns over the impact on wild Atlantic salmon from sea lice and disease in salmon farms, as well as farm escapes that threaten hybridisation, are high on the agenda.
In spite of claims that the State’s monitoring system is “robust” and is “representing best practice”, Ireland received a rating of unsatisfactory from the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO) earlier this year.
One study has identified a possible link between reduced salmon runs and high rates of sea lice infestation in salmon aquaculture projects over a 30-year period.
And methods of controlling sea lice have not escaped scrutiny, either, with the practice of harvesting wrasse from sensitive reef habitats to act as ‘cleaner fish’ raising concern.
Meanwhile, it’s emerged that 22 salmon farms in the State have expired licences and are missing environmental assessments required under EU law.
Documents seen by Noteworthy reveal tensions within the Department of the Marine as to its handling of potential licence breaches, which may include discharges of ammonia and phosphates.
The investigation also reveals that the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) issued 11 licences to shoot seals — a protected species — to salmon farms between 2015 and 2020, with at least five seals believed to have been killed as a result. Seal Rescue Ireland argues that there is “no scientific support” for this cull.
Find much more in Noteworthy’s three-part ‘Troubled Waters’ investigation HERE.