Fish farmers have been urged to aim for "quality rather than quantity" to overcome serious difficulties within the industry.
Such difficulties represent an opportunity to "rebuild the sector on more sustainable foundations", Mr Donal Maguire, of Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), told farmers at Bradan 2003, the Irish Salmon Growers' Association (ISGA) annual conference, in Clifden, Co Galway, yesterday.
Unofficial estimates suggest that the annual output of Irish farmed salmon has dropped to its lowest level for six years, at around 15,000 tonnes, but organic salmon production represents about 20 per cent of the total.
The ISGA says this is due to increased mortalities - losses ran at 10-15 per cent of harvest this year - and the loss of almost one million fish at three farms in south Donegal since late July.
The ISGA believes this kill was caused by spoil dumped in the €50 million Killybegs harbour development being carried out by the Department of the Marine, but the Marine Institute has not as yet identified the source.
Poor prices have also curtailed production, but Mr Maguire, BIM's aquaculture development manager, said world prices were on the increase. Irish producers should take advantage of this by concentrating on "niche marketing quality-assured" fish, which would fetch higher premiums than "mass produced" fish from Norway and Chile.
Mr Maguire called on the industry to "urgently embrace the suite of marketing and environmental initiatives that have been established with State assistance", including ECOPACT environmental certification, and participation in links with local communities through the CLAMS (Co-ordinated Local Aquaculture Management Systems) scheme.
Mr Richie Flynn, chief executive of the ISGA, said the organisation supported the "quality" approach. State aspirations to double production or expand to 50,000 tonnes annually were now unrealistic, and the aim now was to be "the best, not the biggest".
Earlier yesterday the Minister of State for Labour Affairs, Mr Frank Fahey, endorsed a €2.5 million initiative to support aquaculture projects in peripheral coastal communities in Ireland, Spain and Norway.
AquaReg is a new partnership between the Border Midlands Western (BMW) region of Ireland, Galicia in Spain, and Trøndelag in Norway.
The programme's aim is to tackle key issues for the development of the aquaculture industry such as research into the cultivation of new species, education and training for the aquaculture industry and improved coastal zone planning and management. It will be administered in Ireland by the Marine Institute.
Galway County Council says that farmed fish dumped illegally in Connemara, which were discovered in late July, have now been removed from the site for rendering under the supervision of its officials. It could not comment on whether it was taking any further action against the fish farm responsible for the illegal disposal at Doire an Fhiach, Casla, Co Galway.