The phrase ‘clamming-up’ indicates refusal to talk, so that the acronym CLAMS may seem a bit contradictory when it is used to describe a process that is outgoing, Co-ordinated Local Aquaculture Management Systems is an initiative by the State agency – Bord Iascaigh Mhara, to manage the development of aquaculture in bays and inshore waters around Ireland which has been adopted by fish and shellfish farmers in Irish bays and inshore waters as a way of public consultation about current operations and future plans.
This was brought to the fore at the annual conference and general meeting of IFA Aquaculture which is the representative body for the country’s fish farmers.
“Building a social licence, communicating with the public about the developments of the sector is essential for the future of aquaculture,” the Chief Executive of Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Caroline Bocquel, told the annual conference.
Developing what is being called ‘a social licence’ to gain better public understanding and acceptance of fish-farming, is getting a new emphasis, as the Chairman of IFA Aquaculture, Michael Mulloy, told me. He is based in Westport, Co. Mayo and owns Blackshell Farm in Clew Bay, where he began mussel farming in 1983. “You have to have a passion for Aquaculture,” he said. (You can hear the interview with him on this month’s Podcast and read it on the March edition of the MARINE TIMES.)
It was good to see so many young people attending the aquaculture conference in Limerick.
