The Marine Institute is due to sign a £780,000 contract with the Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) as part of a radical shake-up of the State's biotoxin monitoring programme for shellfish.
A fundamental review of the role of the relevant agencies in shellfish testing has also been carried out on the instruction of the Minister of State for the Marine, Mr Hugh Byrne, following one of the worst years for toxins experienced by the industry.
A doubling of capital investment and recruitment of eight specialist staff by the Marine Institute should help Ireland to become the "New Zealand" of the northern hemisphere in terms of efficient, effective testing, according to Mr Byrne.
The CIT activity will be headed by Dr Kevin James, director of the Institute's Ecotoxicology Research Unit, a group which includes 13 researchers and technicians.
Last year's frequent bay closures cost the shellfish industry some £7 million, with a consequent 30 per cent drop in capacity. While few could have foreseen the rapid increase in toxin levels, due to a combination of environmental triggers that cause algal blooms and changes in nutrient levels, the Irish Shellfish Association (ISA) had warned back in 1994 of the need for adequate funding and support for toxin management.
The industry was "dragged to its knees", with delays in testing and poor communication between relevant agencies, according to ISA executive secretary, Mr Richie Flynn. The increase in toxin levels had occurred at a time when the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) had taken over statutory responsibility for regulation. The Minister of State for the Marine, Mr Byrne, approved £2.5 million to help compensate for heavy losses, and the FSAI, hosted a series of regional meetings with very angry producers.
Under the new regime, overseen by Mr Micheal O Cinneide, divisional manager, and Dr Terry McMahon, head of the biotoxin unit in the Marine Institute, a national chemical testing programme has been set up to identify four different groups of toxins, including the relatively recent toxin, azapiracid (AZP). The Marine Institute's laboratory in Abbotstown, CIT, and the Martin Ryan Marine Science Institute at NUI, Galway, are the three approved centres for this.
A national weekly monitoring service for phytoplankton, as an early warning for the presence of potential toxins, has also been established in three bases at Bantry in Co Cork, the Martin Ryan Institute at NUI Galway and the Marine Institute in Abbotstown. There has also been a review of the national bioassay testing (24-hour acetone) programme as part of an increase in funding from the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources.
"Essentially, funding from the department has doubled from £500,000 annually to £1 million," said Mr Micheal O Cinneide. "This means that producers and those responsible for food safety will have more information."
Research is also being conducted into the reason for the increase in toxin levels. The Marine Institute is working with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on a four-year programme to study "harmful algal events " (HAE). The US estimates that such events cost their industry at least $50million annually.
Mr Riche Flynn of the ISA is cautiously optimistic on behalf of shellfish producers. However, the real priority now must be harmonisation of shellfish testing at European level, he said. "Currently we have a situation where the French system of testing their own shellfish is of a much lower standard than that which they apply to imports," Mr Flynn pointed out. "A patchwork of different testing systems across Europe penalises exporting states like Ireland."