Irish farmed salmon production was worth over £39 million last year and reached 12,000 tonnes, the Minister of State for the Marine, Mr Eamon Gilmore, has said. Speaking at the weekend at the publication. in Galway of a new code of practice for producing quality Irish farmed salmon, he said the industry generated more than 2,000 much-needed jobs in rural communities along the west coast.
The code of practice, which was drawn up by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), sets the highest standards and practices for growing, harvesting, packing and preparing farmed salmon. It was drawn up in consultation with the Irish Salmon Growers' Association, and is part of a quality and environmental programme funded by the EU and the board.