Published on Wednesday21stDecember2016

Creed appoints independent Aquaculture Licensing Review Group

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Pictured are Lorcan Ó Cinnéide, CEO of the Irish Fish Processors & Exporters Association, Mary Moylan, Chair of the Review Group, Agriculture Minister Michael Creed and Ken Whelan PhD, Adjunct professor in the School of Biology and Environmental Science at UCD

Agriculture Minister Michael Creed today announced the appointment of an independent Aquaculture Licensing Review Group to review the process of licensing for aquaculture and its associated legal framework in keeping with actions identified in Food Wise 2025 and Ireland’s National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture Development.

On the need for a review of the existing licensing process Minister Creed said:

Our aquaculture sector has enormous potential to sustainably grow its production of seafood to meet the opportunities presented from growing world demand for safe, sustainable seafood.  Ireland’s National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture Development aims to sustainably grow our production across all species by 45,000 tonnes.

Both Food Wise 2025 and the National Strategic Plan identified issues with the current licensing system and recommended an independent review to examine the existing challenges and propose improvements in line with best-practice internationally.