ECONOMICALLY AND SOCIALLY SUSTAINABLE
Salmon farming is of significant economic significance to rural areas, in particular, areas
such as Clare Island in Co Mayo, where the community was in terminal decline until the
advent of salmon farming. The increasing technical elements to the industry have also
provided more skilled and technical posts, meaning that highly qualified people, who
would previously have had to leave to find work, are now able to stay in the region. The
Marine Institute’s socio-economic analysis of selected areas and an Údarás na Gaeltachta
study by Ernst Young of the Kilkerrin area, all show the particular significance of salmon
farming in sustaining employment and social cohesion in peripheral areas. In Ireland
some 11,000 people depend on salmon farming for all or part of their income. This
includes approximately 2,600 induced posts and 1,200 people directly employed. The
industry as a whole, is currently worth more than €70 million at first sale value.
ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS
Prior to the granting of a licence to farm salmon, an extensive environmental impact
assessment must be carried out in order to establish the possible consequences of setting
up a farming operation in a particular area. Numerous variables are taken into
consideration including tidal speed and direction of flow, seabed surveys and visual
impact. This, in conjunction with the C.L.A.M.S. process, means that the impact of
salmon farms on the local environment are closely controlled and monitored.
The C.L.A.M.S. process involves the cooperation and inclusion of local interested parties
in collecting and compiling all relevant baseline data. A local C.L.A.M.S. group is then
formed to draft an aquaculture development plan for the area while incorporating, and
extending, the concepts of single bay management. The C.L.A.M.S. scheme is currently
operating successfully in 11 bays. It is a dynamic process, constantly being expanded to
cover more bays where aquaculture is a significant activity.
In conjunction with the CLAMS process a new initiative for environmental management,
known as ECOPACT has been developed by BIM in association with the Irish
aquaculture industry. The Environmental Code of Practice for Irish Aquaculture
Companies and Traders (ECOPACT) is designed to bring about the widespread adoption
of environmental management systems into the industry. To their credit, a number of
companies have already embraced the concept of environmental management by using
accredited systems such as ISO 14000. ECOPACT is designed as a framework to
encourage small companies to set up their own environmental management systems.
These systems benefit all concerned, including the company, the community and the
environment.
Salmon are very efficient converters of feed into muscle. Feed Conversion Ratio (F.C.R.)
is used to represent the efficiency of this conversion. On average F.C.R. of salmon on a
well-run commercial farm is between 1.1 and 1.2 although it has been shown to be as low
as 0.9 on experimental research farms. The ratio of 1.1 means that for every 1kg of fish
produced, 1.1 kg of feed has been fed. In comparison to land animals such as pigs and
cows, this is very low. Conversion ratios for pigs average at 2.5 to 1 and for cows it can
be as much as 8/9 to 1. The high conversion efficiency of salmon means that the impact
of the salmon farming on the seabed and the marine environment is further reduced.
Salmon are poikilothermic, ie. the body temperature of the fish is the same as that of the
environment. This means that they do not expend energy keeping warm. They also have
very low levels of protein destruction when compared with mammals, which also
increases their efficiency in converting food into muscle.