Process in limbo.
The Journal reports that 22 salmon farms are currently operating with expired licences and without environmental impact assessments having been carried out. Eight farms have been operating for between 10 and 15 years as they wait for their licences to be renewed.
The Department of the Marine told the publication that this was down to it’s focus “since 2008 has been on the shellfish licensing backlog” that has now been “effectively eliminated”.
Authorities added that it has received a number of Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) or Environmental Impact Assessment Reports (EIAR) from salmon farms and that all are due by 30 June and that it would evaluate the records received and make a decision as to whether the farms should be granted new licences.
Ireland is a clear success story for Mowi when it comes to profits per kg. But the salmon farmer has long expressed frustrations about the licencing process.
A Mowi spokesperson told the Journal that the licensing system “isn’t fit- for-purpose” for all stakeholders, but that it was “confident that recent changes within the Department bode well for a long-overdue improvement in our licensing regime.”
