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 - July 21 ,2003

ANOTHER DISASTER IN INVER BAY - INQUIRY ESSENTIAL

Serious questions arise from the massive fish kill last week in Inver Bay, Co. Donegal, in which more than 500,000 farmed salmon are believed to have died. Save The Swilly has renewed its call for an independent inquiry into the Inver Bay disaster. An inquiry was called for a year ago, when more than 50,000 mature farmed salmon died in a salmon pen owned by Ocean Farm in Inver Bay, and were allowed to sink to the seabed, where they have since been decomposing.

According to the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources more than 230,000 fish had been killed by Friday, but Save The Swilly has been told the final tally is likely to be at least 500,000 dead salmon, equivalent to about 2 million kg, or 2,200 tons. The maximum annual production licensed for Inver Bay is 3,480 tons. One issue is whether tonnage from the cages is consistent with the maximum annual output licensed for Inver Bay. Of the three fish farms in Inver Bay, Ocean Farm has a licence for 2,280 tons, while Creevin and Eany are each licensed to produce 600 tons a year.

The three fish farms in Inver Bay have blamed a prawn dredger for disturbing the seabed and causing the release of hydrogen sulphide. The Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources disputes this explanation, claiming that the deaths were caused by "a water-borne irritant which may be chemical or biological in nature". What is meant by that statement? Were the fish deaths caused by pesticides or other chemicals used to attack sea-lice? Was the cause faeces or excess feed? Or suffocation caused by over-stocking? It is imperative that the source of the contamination causing the fish deaths be established. There has never been a transparent report explaining how the dead fish on the seabed resulting from last year's incident have been dispersed or how those deaths occurred. It is at least a possibility that the source of the material that killed the fish in Inver Bay last week was from the decomposing salmon. If that is not the case, Save The Swilly has asked the regulatory authority, the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, to present evidence to support this conclusion.

"In all the statements on Inver Bay there is no reference to last year's disaster at Ocean Farm's operation. It is obviously the first place to look for a reason for the latest crisis. If that is ruled out, we should be told that it has been investigated and discarded," said Tony Morrison, chairman of Save The Swilly. Ocean Farm, a founder member of Irish Quality Salmon, is one of the three farms in Inver Bay affected by the latest fish kill.

The latest disaster in Inver Bay underlines the risks to the Irish coast-line of intensive salmon farming, and the urgent need for transparent implementation of regulations. "The Department is rewarded for increasing tonnage - not for applying the regulations," Save The Swilly's chairman, Tony Morrison said in a statement. "It is apparent that this industry needs better regulation, and that the regulations must be applied." One suggestion is that fish farms should have their production controlled by issuing quotas for feed. "The industry regularly boasts of its efficient feed conversion ratio. Why not restrict the use of feed to ensure that farms are not over-producing?" Mr Morrison asked. Save The Swilly is advocating the introduction of an Integrated Coastal Zone Management strategy for Lough Swilly. Mr Morrison said the disaster in Inver Bay should be a wake-up call to those who persistently deny the risk that salmon-farming poses to other users of coastal waters.

[back to top]