A protest at the Cork office of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development will take place tomorrow, Saturday. A number of anti-fish farm groups will march to Minister Simon Coveney’s Carrigaline constituency office as part of the demonstration. They include No Salmon Farms At Sea (NSFAS), the Federation of Irish Salmon & Sea Trout Anglers (FISSTA), Save Bantry Bay, Save Galway Bay and Friends of the Irish Environment.
The protest comes as the organisations object to fish farming operations across the country, including the €3.5m plan by Marine Harvest to expand its salmon farming operations off Bantry Bay.
The NSFAS stated that the wild Atlantic salmon is “now under serious threat” and in recent years, stocks have become critically low. “To the extent that many rivers in Ireland have been closed to angling,” said the group. “Now, one of the greatest threats to this species is the government backed proposal to dramatically develop the salmon farming industry around our coastline.”
The protest will congregate at Carrigaline Secondary School at 12 noon before marching to Minister Coveney’s constituency office, where invited speakers will address those in attendance.
The Cork News.ie
14 December 2012
Save Bantry Bay 