Group Demand Salmon Deaths Probe
THE Lough Swilly Preservation Group said today it has viewed the unfolding environmental disaster in Inver Bay in Donegal with shock and horror. It was the biggest fish kill in the history of Irish aquaculture and it was likely that close to half a million salmon weighing almost 1,500 tons will have died in the waters of Inver Bay in the past few days.
They added: “Last year a major fish kill occurred on the Ocean Farm site on Inver Bay. To date a report by the Depaertment of the Marine into the cause of that disaster has not been published and it is now vital that their findings on that occasion are made public. Farmed salmon from Inver Bay are still being harvested and sold to the fish markets. Are these fish safe to eat? The current disaster also involves Ocean Farm, a company that has received substantial grant aid in the past 12 months. We must now question the wisdom of providing scarce public funding to a company and an industry that clearly poses a serious threat to our coastal environment.”
They now demanded a full public enquiry into events leading to the fish kills in Inver Bay in 2002 and 2003.
“Best practice in major salmon-farming areas such as Norway and Scotland is recommending that the industry move out of bays to offshore sites.”
And Donegal County Council must get involved in keeping the beaches and shores of Donegal clean and safe.
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