Fears are growing that the Marine Institute’s plans for a test site off Spiddal could pave the way for a fish farm in Galway Bay ‘through the back door’.
Campaigners are concerned about a statutory instrument that was enacted by Agriculture Minister, Michael Creed, which change licencing laws for salmon farms for research purposes.
The change to regulations, which was advertised in national newspapers this week, and which was backdated to August 26, will allow salmon farms under 50 tonnes to operate without an Environmental Impact Assessment. Galway Bay Against Salmon Cages said the change, “seems to be an attempt by Minister Creed to remove a major obstacle which would have prevented the Marine Institute getting their lease application in Spiddal sanctioned”.
The campaign group’s chairman, Billy Smyth, said: “We were right to be concerned about the Marine Institutes salmon farming plans for the Galway Bay Test Site at Spiddal. This new statutory instrument proves that we weren’t scare mongering when we said that the Marine Institute were going to allow salmon farms at the site under the guise of research.”
Last month, GBASC indicated it would be opposing plans for a lease for the test site at Spiddal.
The group said Minister Creed’s signing into law the statutory instrument confirms their suspicions that the test site could be used for salmon farming.
Mr Smyth said: “It would be a total waste of taxpayers’ money if the Marine Institute were to set up farmed salmon research stations in Irish waters, as the Norwegians have being carrying out similar research for the last 40 years to try to find out how to environmentally and sustainably farm salmon in open sea cages, and so far they have failed. Wild salmon in Norwegian rivers that flow into Fjords and bays that contain salmon farms are nearly extinct from disease, infestations of sea lice and escapees from salmon farms. Let the Marine Institute just ask the Norwegians for the results of their research and save money.
“It is time that a public inquiry is conducted into the failed salmon farming industry in this country to determine how an industry that employs directly, less than 150 people can acquire tens of millions of euro in State supports for little return, while our hospitals are bursting at the seams and thousands are homeless for the want of funding.”
The Marine institute’s original application stated it was seeking permission to deploy three turbines of 60 metres in height.
However, it has since corrected its application and insists that the “devices” will be half that height.
“A prototype floating wind turbine being tested on the site could have a blade tip at maximum 35m above sea level while wave energy converters would be up to 5m above sea level,” it said. It has applied for a 35-years lease, and the wind turbines will be on site “intermittently”.
The application states that there will be a limit of three ocean energy test devices deployed at any one time for a period of testing “no greater than 18 months”.
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