Salmon affected by sea lice. (Photo: Stock File)
EC decides to close sea lice investigation
The Environment Directorate of the European Commission’s decision to close investigation into salmon sea lice management and control in Ireland due to lack of evidence stirs opposing viewpoints.
On the one hand, this decision taken by the European Executive, which is the second closure decided after concluding that the Irish State has no case to answer in relation to the complaint raised, was welcomed by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) and by Irish Farmers' Association (IFA).
“The closure of this complaint by the EU Commission confirms three things. First it shows that there was no evidence to support the suggestion that salmon in Irish rivers are being adversely affected by sea lice from salmon farms. Second, it is a clear demonstration that the EU Commission accepts the science, developed by the Marine Institute of Ireland, which shows that sea lice have only a very minor influence on wild salmon survival and third, the closure of the case upholds Ireland’s excellent sea lice monitoring and control programme on salmon farms, which commission officials have classified as being the ‘best in Europe,’” stated Donal Maguire, BIM’s Director of Aquaculture Services.
“Hopefully the formal closure of this pilot investigation will mark a turning point in the long running and sometimes bitter debate about salmon farming and wild salmon stocks,” he added.
Meanwhile, IFA Aquaculture Section considered the EC's decision represents a proof of its first-class credentials. And it stressed in a statement that "meeting EU and national targets for ‘Blue Growth’ are realistic and incredibly positive goals for coastal communities, with associated jobs in farming, processing and service sectors."
Besides, the association pointed out that the country has a chance to capture high value markets while still reminding relatively small in international terms but incredibly important locally.
"Ireland needs to send a strong and positive signal to consumers and communities that we can move forward in a sustainable way to satisfy strong market demand for our fish, particularly those grown to organic standards, as well as provide raw material for our key processing and smokery industry," pointed out IFA Aquaculture Executive, Richie Flynn.
On the other hand, Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE), whose 2009 complaint to the Commission led to the investigation, consider that this closure does not close the debate, since it is based on the fact that they require ‘uncontested scientific evidence,’ which they deem as impossible requirement, given the nature of science and the European Court of Justice’s legal test of ‘the balance of probability.’
FIE informed that a review published recently by top international scientists from Norway, Scotland and Ireland of all 300 available published studies on the effects of sea lice concluded that sea lice have "negatively impacted wild sea trout stocks in salmon farming areas in Ireland, Scotland and Norway" and that "sea lice have a potential significant and detrimental effect on marine survival of Atlantic salmon with potentially 12-44 per cent fewer salmon spawning in salmon farming areas."
“BIM’s statement today that there is ‘no evidence to support the suggestion that salmon in Irish rivers are being adversely affected by sea lice from salmon farms’ is unscientific and unsound,” the NGO highlighted.