Fish farm phase-out appears inevitable

An IFI spokesperson told Fish Farming Expert that their farms annually provide approximately 2,500 yearling & 57,500 2-year-old brown trout; 34,000 yearling and 40,000 2-year-old rainbow trout; and 70,000 salmon smolts – mainly for stocking angling waters, while the rest are used for research purposes.

They also employ 13 people, although IFI has assured these employees that there will be no compulsory redundancies as a result of this move and that their employment with IFI will continue.

IFI’s main fish production unit is located near Roscrea, while supporting facility used largely for maintenance of broodstock is located at Cullion (Mullingar).

Reasons for leaving

According to IFI, the Roscrea site is based on physical structures and facilities designed and built in the late 1950s, and the institute has cited the following factors for abandoning the programme:

• IFI fish farms have provided a significant operating loss over the past 5 years.
• IFI has made significant efforts to reduce costs and increase efficiency in aquaculture operations but have not been able to bridge the gap between costs and revenue.
• IFI has experienced significant cuts in budgets and human resources over the past 5 years.
• The IFI Board has had to focus its resources on core functions across all divisional areas.
• Environmental risks and risks in relation to bio-security on the farms.
• The physical fish farm infrastructures are dated, inefficient and identified as in need of upgrading or replacement.
• The current system for farm management does not provide data to support efficient production strategies.
• Roscrea Fish Farm has an issue with the available levels of water supply as required by the current production model. This pressure will increase over time through climate change and an increasing demand for water from other local interests.
• The current fish farm operations are subsidised by wider IFI resources, as the price of fish for sale does not reflect the real cost of production.

As a result, the Board of IFI has decided to exit freshwater aquaculture operations; it has instructed the executive of IFI to develop a plan to facilitate exiting of this business while making efforts to ensure continued supply of trout for stocking for anglers.

Have your say

IFI has therefore asked stakeholders and individuals affected by IFI’s decision to exit fresh water trout production to provide comments, with a particular focus on the potential impact of the decision and possible measures that could mitigate this impact.

Submissions should be made in writing on or before 5pm on August 19th, to: Fish Farm Consultation, Inland Fisheries Ireland, 3044 Lake Drive, Citywest Business Campus, Dublin D24 Y265, Ireland. Or to fishfarmconsultation@fisheriesireland.ie