Galway Advertiser

[the weasel]

The Galway Advertiser has just arrived in the door and in it is a flyer saying,Deep Sea Fish Farm,Galway Bay and underneath it,
TELLING OUR STORY and im not even going to bother reading it straight to the bin with it.

Regards
John Ainsworth
Galway

[The Austrian]

put it in an old envelope marked 'return to sender' pop it in a letterbox and let them pay the postage.

[mojo]

I was shocked to see this come through the door today.
I wish they could be truthful regarding many aspects this project.

Before I start let me state that I support aquaculture which is sustainable and environmentally friendly. And yes there is many aquaculture types which fall in to this. Even salmon can be farmed with sustainable methods. I work internationally in the field of aquaculture as a researcher, designer and consultant specialising in renewable and sustainable land based re-circulating technology and I have given guest lectures in NUIG.

As far as I know Irish salmon farming still doesn't make a profit and must receive funding to stay afloat. This is due to the high cost of feed. Feed costs are predicted to continue rising as fish meal prices rise. Salmon feeds use up to 80% protein which is mainly sourced from fish meal. So I ask how are we creating jobs when those jobs have to be paid by the taxpayer?

This farm will generate huge amounts of pollution from fish and feed wastes. 15,000 tonne of salmon will need 120,000 tonne of feed per year. That's is allot of waste. They seem to have the belief that the waste will be harmlessly flushed out to sea. Anyone remember the red tide from last summer? Elevated waste levels can cause further phytoplankton blooms (red tide). And we have to trust information from the Maine Institute which took 7 weeks to issue a public warning regarding last summers red tide. At that point at least 30 people in Galway had experienced the horrors of shellfish poisoning.

The current waiting time for an aquaculture license is 7 years, how has this project gotten pushed forward? How about the government fixing this issue to help create jobs. Or maybe using the same money to create start-up packages for new business? Or invest in non polluting forms of aquaculture such as seaweed farming (their is a high worldwide demand). In fact rope grown seaweed culture could be paired up with a project like this to minimize pollution from wastes. If this farm was paired with muscle and seaweed culture the same waste would be used as a food source for the muscles and seaweed. The fact is aquaculture in this country is very far behind most countries, this is mainly due to issues regarding licensing. We have no separation between land based and ocean based aquaculture in our licensing procedures. I have personal experience with the 'brick wall' situation this creates (1 yr planning + 7 yrs licensing + 5 yrs startup capital return = 13 years to make a profit = no business opportunity)

Sea Lice? Our native Galway Bay salmon will have to pass these cages on their migration routes as smolts and again as returning spawning salmon. How do they plan to address the as of yet unsolved sea lice problems from sea cage farming? I am very doubtful of their statements when many studies have been published with opposite conclusions (including many from Irish institutions). Is this project gets the go ahead I believe we can say goodbye to native Corrib salmon and sea trout.

If anyone wants to find references to my statements simply 'google it'! All the facts are out there for everyone to read.

We live in an age where information is more freely available than any age before, yet this is one of the greatest ages of ignorance.

Thankyou for taking the time to read this and please share with everyone.

[The Austrian]

well said mojo

[The Austrian]

here an excerpt from the FB page 'Gatheringireland Againstsalmonfarms'
https://www.facebook.com/gatheringirela ... almonfarms

"Incredible waste of tax payer's money. Lets stop this madness now and join us on SATURDAY MARCH 2ND in GALWAY at 12 EYRE SQ FOR PROTEST RALLY against BIM/IRISH GOVERNMENT'S "insane" proposal for 15,000-30,000ton 1126acres 7million Salmon(yes million! ) Industrial Salmon feedlot for GALWAY BAY . Dont allow BIM/ IRISH GOVERNMENT destroy our Bay!

The Irish Government wins the "Most Shameless False Advertising Award" for their advert in this week's Galway Advertiser!

Read advert in full online here: http://donstaniford.typepad.com/files/b ... h-2013.pdf"

CALLING ALL CONCERNED ANGLERS, CONSERVATIONISTS, ENVIRONMENTALISTS, HOSPITALITY B&B OWNERS ETC... Countdown: less than 7 days left to organize for the Galway Protest.. Great news folks, just to confirm Orri Vigfusson, the Icelandic environmentalist, shall be one of the main speakers at the rally next Saturday, this gentleman received the Goldman Environmental prize back in 2004 and is referred to as the European hero for his works on saving endangered species. His objectives are to restore the wild Atlantic Salmon species on both sides of the Atlantic ocean ..Things can only get better folks, we need to fill those buses and show Orri we care about our fish species, the environment, & Ireland's West Coast.

[joyster]

it amazes me to read such rubish!!
firstly, salmon farming is a profitable bussiness in this country and is not being proped up by state funding, on the contrary, i work on a salmon farm that exports 6 million euro of top quality salmon to markets world wide with no state funding.
the assertion that it takes 120,000 tons of fish food to produce 15,000 tons of salmon is wrong. the normal FCR,which means food convertion ratio, is about 1.5/1,or put another way, it should take 22,500 tons of food to produce 15,000 tons of salmon.
if the author is so well up on onshore salmon farms he would now that in this country due to the high energy costs it is not feasable to operate one,there was one operating in kelincha in the south years ago but this has long ceased production,
i would encourage the author to spend more time educating himself on the industry before he puts out the article,or maybe read the flyer in the galway advertiser.
whilst i would agree that the industry is not flawless, it would be better for people to read fact not fiction.

[The Austrian]

we all know where you're coming from joyster and please do not try to convince us that salmon farming is a clean, controlled and environmentally friendly business. Because it is NOT. Irish people are not so naive as some like to believe
And oh, before I forget - I will ignore all your comments from now on and put you on my 'persona non grata' list here on the SAI forum. Ignoring Trolls like you is the only way to preserve what's left of my sanity.

[joebhoy]

Well said Martin! If this goes ahead it will be a grave mistake and will destroy the native migratory salmonoids that pass the cages. I for one will be heading up to Galway to support the protest. This on top of the discard issues is full proof the government is morally bankrupt.

[mojo]

Well Joyster, thank you for you information. As i said " as far as i know" meant that i was unsure of this figure. The last I had heard the FCR for salmon was 8/1. I am glad to hear that FCRs have improved for salmon feeds however i feel the a 1.5/1 ratio is an extremely low figure unless one considers wild foods (zooplankton) entering into the cage and into the salmon's diet. A 1.5/1 ratio is a very low figure for any fish, never mind a pelagic species such as salmon. I only ask in the interest of gathering truthful facts regarding this project. I don't want to start a insulting competition.

I am glad to hear your farm is making a profit, I know too many out of work Marine Biologists from farms that did not. How much does it cost your farm to produce the 6 million worth of salmon? Which salmon farm do you work on?

I never claimed to be a salmon expert, in fact my expertise lies with mainly tropical species. However i Plan many types of projects and all fall in to the same framework regardless of species. The systems just need to be customized for each species. And yes I did read the flyer.

I am completely aware that onshore farming of salmon is this country is not cost effective. This is due not only to high energy costs (which could be greatly lowered if supplied at cost) but also the fact that many designs use outdated technology and methods. Waste recycling and energy efficient design could bring success.

I am curious as to your thoughts on the other areas I mentioned. As a salmon farmer you could really help to bring a positive light to this proposed project.

If this farm can be sustainable, not pollute our bay and ocean, create real jobs and not harm our native salmon then really I would support it completely.

Pleas lets gather the facts on this farm in the interest of protecting our seas.

[mojo]

Don't take my word for it. Here is some real information from Dr. O'Sillivan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... b_k6FWHvv8#!

He mentioned a few more points I had left out.

Salmon escapes, inevitable given the proposed area experiences very rough seas regularly. One of the largest waves in the world is found very nearby.

Antibiotics, hormones and other chemicals which can be included in the salmon feeds. These would enter directly into the surrounding sea.

[mojo]

Here is a very important recent article on sealice from 2012.

http://www.undercurrentnews.com/2013/02 ... S_866JFCSp

Sea lice are tiny, imagine just how many it takes to create this kind of damage.
And this is in Norway where they have the most experience farming Atlantic salmon.

This was taken from the Gathering Ireland Against Salmon Farms facebook page. I think this is a rather important detail overlooked by the flyer.

"This Inisheer (Smallest of the Aran Is) " pristine" beach closest landfall to ONE of the sites proposed by the Irish Governement for a 15,000-30,000ton 1,100 acres industrial Salmon Cage complex for Galway Bay. About twenty years ago there was another Salmon Farm 500ton here It lasted about a year and a half and was wrecked by storms resulting in massive fish escapes (about 100,000) and mortalities, Service vessels couldn't approach the structure for 3 days because of weather. The venture failed with financial losses and damage to the environment. The promised jobs didnt materialise (only 5or 6 over 30 were promised). Four 50ton anchors still remain on site. it was supposed to be the latest in technology of its time better than anything that was there before. During its time fish mortalities were buried ashore on the island and people complained of rashes after swimming on the beach. Please join us on MARCH 2ND in GALWAY for protest rally against another insane proposal(but 30times bigger)"

The Greed of Feed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i5N03o0iVc

[joyster]

as isaid in my last post, salmon farming is not a flawless bussiness, i dont think there are many that are.
the facts and figures that i put out on the forum are true for the farm that i have worked on for 27 years.
the proposal to put this size of a farm anywhere in ireland is daft.
the bim application has very little to do with producing salmon and more to do with securing the financial future of bim by leasing the site to a salmon farm company.
i would speculate that at some time in the recent past the dept of finance told bim that they could no longer fund them and that they would have to find their own fundsto exist.

[mojo]

Thanks for that joyster, true this farm seems to have more political motivations than economic ones.

Its such a shame this government lacks the skills to allow licensing of projects that actually work.

I have planned to emigrate within the next few years because of the brick wall situation regarding licensing.

In one of my last projects the license board had no clue as to anything regarding my project, they even had the nerve to ask "what is it" (a common sea species I can't name due to politics)
The stupids could have made themselves seem less stupid by not asking me and just fecking look it up on wikipedia after they put down the phone.

I that particular case I actually didn't need a license under 'development and innovation of novel species'.
However I was unwilling to proceed with the project without an official statement from the department, I didn't want to risk being shut down by another stupid (logical with the start up investment involved).

My case was given to the marine institute where no one knew anything. Further emails to the government resulted in them stating "they had not heard back" and "were waiting for information from them". That was 2 years ago! And this for a project that did not need a license, had no environmental impact or risk of invasive species! That project would not have need and government funds and would have created real jobs! Phone calls to the marine institute resulted in only reaching the front desk where I was told I needed the extension for the person on the case?????? WTF, Brick wall!

As a result I am currently working to start working farms in other countries as I have been left no choice. I am a foreigner who came to Ireland with dreams of improving our lives here. 17 years later I am left with a bitter taste in my mouth from the oppression caused by government incompantantcy and the lack of local support. I am sorry Ireland, I really tried.

I hope the future here improves the situation for the good of Ireland.

[The Austrian]

Join us tomorrow March 2nd in Galway at 12 noon at Eyre Square for a protest rally against the proposed industrial salmon cage complex for Galway Bay. Don’t allow the Irish Government to destroy Galway and its natural resource for the profit and greed of foreign companies!
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xpvet_ ... TDS91evOKY

[Bradan]

I will be there, looking forward to seeing a few of ye!

There are serious questions being asked today about the cost of this flyer, and why it was produced this week, just before the march. Considering the public consultation for this project ended months ago, why are BIM spending thousands of euro on publicity now? The minister will be asked whether or not he considers this a proper use of public funds. Given the current cutbacks, especially to disabled services, to have a govt agency spending money like this is a disgrace.

Bring on the march tomorrow, let's show Coveney and his cronies that we will not allow this white elephant project to go ahead in our bay!

[mojo]

I wish I could make it, but I have work.
Best of luck with the protest, I will be there in spirit.
I really hope this farm doesn't go ahead.
Tear them a new one boys.

[Bradan]

http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0302/371734 ... fish-farm/

Great turnout today, glorious weather, and lots of noise! Well done to all who marched, and thank you to everyone who came along to show your support.

[Ashley Hayden]

Regarding mojo and joysters contributions, having worked in recent years exporting trout from a significant aquaculture operation I would agree that it is possible to work a profitable farm in its own right. However, fish farming trout and salmon using marine based protein feeds is totally unsustainable and environmentally unfriendly.

Yes the conversion ratio on site for trout can be 1:1 or a little above, with sea caged salmon a little higher, that said it takes at least 3 x kilo's of wild fish to make 1 x kilo of feed. That figure I recently confirmed with the farm manager that I used to work alongside, who has decades of experience within the aquaculture sector.

The salmon farming industry always tries to circumnavigate that 3:1 ratio. It doesn't make sense to remove three kilo's of fish from the sea just to make one. In effect salmon and trout aquaculture projects within this jurisdiction are subsidised by natures capital and always have been.

It's called being honest with the truth.

[Caz-Galway]

Glad to see that the 3:1 ratio has been mentioned and a bit of balance about FCR's (Food conversion ratio).

However whats always overlooked in these discussions is the fact that a lot of fish meal comes from off-cuts from fish being used for human consumption. Where do you think all the heads, tails and bones go from your purchased fillets.

More importantly is that Cow, Pigs, Chickens and sheep are also fed fish meal.

Caz

[Ashley Hayden]

Again, I've enquired re fish meal made from off cuts and cannot get a definitive answer as to the percentage of fish meal made from heads, tails, etc, as against actual fish caught for the purpose of rendering down.

A company in Wales which I believe no longer trades, Dragon Feeds, a subsidiary of Dragon Baits was producing high protein pellets from farmed ragworm. The industry should look further at the possibilities here as having talked to the Dragon Feeds directors a few years ago it certainly seemed environmentally friendly, and the trade price then, although dearer, wasn't a million miles off the competition.

Again dare I say it, when it comes to money, stuff the environment.