Press Releases

Archived Press Releases:

 May 12 ,2007
ELECTION 2007: How clean is Donegal’s water, and other pertinent political questions…?

 September 25 ,2006
OYSTER CRISIS EXPOSES "SHAMBLES" IN MANAGEMENT OF SWILLY

 July 11 ,2005
ATTEMPT TO DOUBLE SALMON-FARMING OUTPUT IN LOUGH SWILLY

 August 23 ,2004
WHICH PART OF "NO" DON'T THEY UNDERSTAND?

 June 02 ,2004
COULTER CALLS FOR POLITICAL CHANGE IN DONEGAL

 December 15 ,2003
PORTSALON SALMON-FARMING LICENCE REFUSED BY ALAB

 November 05 ,2003
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY FEDERATION OF IRISH SALMON AND SEA TROUT ANGLERS, FRIENDS OF CLEW BAY AND SAVE THE SWILLY

 September 24 ,2003
PRIME TIME EXPOSES AQUACULTURE'S SHORTCOMINGS

 July 24 ,2003
SAVE THE SWILLY CALLS FOR FARMED SALMON MORTALITY MONITOR

 July 21 ,2003
ANOTHER DISASTER IN INVER BAY - INQUIRY ESSENTIAL

 July 17 ,2003
"RURAL DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY"

 June 21 ,2003
ANOTHER DISASTER IN INVER BAY - INQUIRY ESSENTIAL

 February 08 ,2003
SAVE THE SWILLY MEETS INISHOWEN POLITICIANS

 February 03 ,2003
BLUE FLAG BEACH THREATENED BY 80-ACRE FISH FARM

 January 29 ,2003
SAVE THE SWILLY 10,000-SIGNATURE PETITION ACCEPTED BY EUROPE

 January 28 ,2003
NEW ALLIANCE FORMED IN SWILLY

 December 16 ,2002
"STOP RIPPING UP THE SWILLY" INDIGENOUS PEOPLE DEMAND

 December 13 ,2002
LOUGH SWILLY'S INDIGENOUS FISHERMEN SPEAK OUT

 October 01 ,2002
Press Releases Save The Swilly 1 October 2002 PUBLIC MEETING TO DISCUSS INTEGRATED COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT

 September 25 ,2002
SAVE THE SWILLY WELCOMES EU STRATEGY ON COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT

 August 12 ,2002
'Lough Swilly ICZM Report'

 August 02 ,2002
QUESTIONS OVER DECOMPOSING SALMON IN INVER BAY

 June 03 ,2002
NO ROOM FOR TRADITION IN LOUGH SWILLY

 May 03 ,2002
Save The Swilly opts for "Swilly First"

 May 03 ,2002
Save The Swilly/Green Party candidate withdraws

 May 01 ,2002
Save The Swilly/Green Party candidate to contest Donegal North-East

 April 18 ,2002
COULTER TO BE "AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE" FOR SAVE THE SWILLY

 March 25 ,2002
Save The Swilly presents 10,000-signature petition to EU

 March 12 ,2002
Study of Lough Swilly launched

 November 30 ,2001
STS letter to Hugh Byrne, Minister for State for the Department of the Marine

 November 27 ,2001
ICZM AND OSPAR - NOT CLAMS - FOR SWILLY

 October 17 ,2001
SALMON FARM WANTS STILL MORE LICENCES INSHORE

 September 17 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY MEETS LABOUR PARTY

 September 13 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY MEETS MINISTER OF STATE BYRNE

 September 01 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY BEGINS FUNDRAISING DRIVE

 August 28 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY WELCOMES I.F.A. INITIATIVE

 May 15 ,2001
EXPANSION OF SALMON FARMING TRAGIC FOR SWILLY

 April 09 ,2001
MUSSEL BARRELS ADRIFT IN LOUGH SWILLY

 March 22 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY PRESENTS PETITION

 March 13 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY QUESTIONS MINISTER BYRNE

 March 11 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY REAFFIRMS CALL FOR MORATORIUM

 February 20 ,2001
LAUNCH OF SAVE THE SWILLY WEBSITE

 January 24 ,2001
An open letter to the people on the shores of Lough Swilly:

 January 16 ,2001
Delegation meets Minister Hugh Byrne

 January 09 ,2001
Save The Swilly (from looking like Mulroy Bay)

SAVE THE SWILLY - August 02 ,2002

QUESTIONS OVER DECOMPOSING SALMON IN INVER BAY

Save The Swilly is calling for an independent inquiry into the recent fish kill in Inver Bay, Co. Donegal, where at least 50,000 mature farmed salmon have been decomposing on the sea-bed for two months. It is not known how many live fish escaped during the incident, but thousands of suffocated salmon were allowed to sink to the bottom by the licence-holder.

Responsibility for this matter rests primarily with the company concerned, Ocean Farm (one of the two founding members of Irish Quality Salmon), as well as with the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and the Northern Regional Fisheries Board. The Donegal County Council, which is responsible for water quality in the county, also has a duty to reassure the public that it is fulfilling its monitoring function.

A spokesman for Save The Swilly said a full and independent investigation was needed to establish the cause of the salmon kill, and to address the response of the licencee and the Department of the Marine, the risk to water quality in Inver Bay and the optimal strategy for the necessary clean-up. It was irresponsible to dismiss this environmental disaster as a "technical accident", he said.

"Thousands of fish died in this cage and were allowed to drop to the seabed. This is not a routine matter, but an example of the risks to the coastal environment posed by this industry," the spokesman said. "It is not good enough for the salmon-farming industry to deploy its spin-doctors in an attempt to minimise the gravity of the situation. The public has a right to know how this occurred, why it has taken two months to come to light, and what the Department of the Marine's response is. If the operator is deemed to have been careless or negligent or in any way in breach of its licence there must be some sanction. It is imperative that the Department of the Marine issue a statement on the action being taken to clean up Inver Bay immediately, without waiting for a report from the fish farmer."

Save The Swilly has commissioned a Scoping Study for an ICZM strategy for Lough Swilly, and the group's spokesman said the Inver Bay salmon kill was clear evidence that the current practice of self-regulation of the fish-farming industry in Ireland was unreliable. "It is high time the Department of the Marine accepted its responsibilities as the guardian of Ireland's coastline, instead of pandering to the aquaculture industry. The Irish government and the European Commission continue to pour hundreds of thousands of euro in subsidies into this industry in Donegal and elsewhere in the country, and we must question whether this money is well spent. Action is demanded, not least in the interests of all stakeholders in Inver Bay."

[back to top]