It's official: farmers and green fields are no longer synonymous. Following in the footsteps of salmon farmers, the State's £15 million shellfish industry is to be represented by the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA). Some 400 shellfish farmers joined the IFA yesterday at a reception in Dublin which was attended by the Minister of State for the Marine, Mr Hugh Byrne, and the IFA president, Mr John Donnelly. The priorities for the new wing are to develop the shellfish industry to meet the Government's £40 million output targets and to formulate a national fish health management plan.
It also intends to improve market information for shellfish growers and to ensure that the new aquaculture licensing legislation is implemented. Mr Donnelly said fish farmers' "pioneering spirit" reflected the ideals of the men and women who established the IFA over 50 years ago.
Oyster, mussel, clam and scallop producers in almost every coastal county had increased the value of their output by 51 per cent from 1995 to 1996, he said. The sector was particularly important as an employer in remote coastal regions and offered opportunities to the agricultural community in disadvantaged areas.
A national shellfish conference is planned for March 1998 in Cork.
