IFA Aquaculture Welcomes Publication of the National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture Development 2030

Welcoming the publication of the National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture Development 2030, IFA Aquaculture Chair Michael Mulloy said that “this is a very important government policy document for the Irish Aquaculture sector as it sets out the government policy objectives and key actions until 2030.”

However, he noted that considerable investment and appropriate legislative changes will be required to achieve the objectives of the plan

“If this National Strategic Plan is to be most effective for the development of the Irish aquaculture industry, there must be an immediate effort made to reform, modernise, and improve the aquaculture licensing system,” Michael Molloy said.

“Appropriate legislative changes will be required to facilitate implementation of the strategic objectives and specific actions for the future sustainable development of the Irish Aquaculture sector can only be achieved if the proposed investment is underpinned by appropriate legislation and policy,” he said.

There is also a valuable opportunity to convene a multi-agency stakeholder platform to facilitate implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the National Strategic Plan.

The National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture Development 2030 was published by Minister McConalogue yesterday, following cabinet approval earlier this week.

There are 4 high-level objectives and 58 key actions which include an improved online aquaculture licensing system, increasing knowledge and innovation for the sector, human capacity building and a skills gap analysis to enable career path development among the targets of the plan over the next 7 years.