Leading figures in Seafood Climate Action met in Athlone for the Bord Iascaigh Mhara and Marine Institute Seafood Climate Action Seminar. Pictured (l-r): Dominic Rihan, Director, Economic and Strategic Services, Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM); Joan Mulloy, Blackshell Mussel Farm; Friederike Ziegler, RISE Institute Sweden, Keynote Speaker; Kathriona Devereaux, broadcaster; and MC Ciaran Kelly, Director of Fisheries Ecosystems Advisory Services, Marine Institute.

Industry figures meet in Athlone for Seafood Climate Action seminar

Published: Wed 29 Nov 2023, 5:19 PM

Last updated: Wed 29 Nov 2023, 6:15 PM

An Irish seafood industry climate action seminar, which was held in Athlone on Tuesday, heard that the sector has a low carbon footprint and accounts for less than 2% of Ireland's total carbon emissions.

The one-day seminar in Athlone was hosted by the State agency Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), in partnership with the Marine Institute, and it brought representatives from across Ireland's seafood sector together with experts in the fields of climate change, marine, renewable energies, and greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting from the fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing sectors.

A study by Bord Iascaigh Mhara found that carbon emissions in seafood were minor in the context of national emissions.

The report sets a greenhouse gas emissions baseline for the Irish seafood sector, incorporating the Irish fishing vessel fleet and aquaculture, creating a benchmark to measure future emissions.

It revealed that the total Irish fish catch and aquaculture segments represented just 1.76% of Ireland's total carbon emissions. Farmed mussels, oysters and wild-caught mackerel in particular had very low carbon emissions, it stated.

The comprehensive study pulled together seafood carbon data for the first time, and identified areas to minimise carbon emissions associated with seafood production. Its findings demonstrate how the sector is producing a beneficial and nutritious food with low environmental impacts.

However, it was noted at the seminar that the Irish seafood sector is diverse, and the carbon footprint of different seafood products varies depending on the species and the methods used to cultivate or catch them.

"The Irish seafood sector is undergoing a transformation in how we do things, how we fuel our fleets, how we grow our shellfish, and feed our salmon," Dominic Rihan, Economics and Strategic Services Director at BIM explained at the opening of the seminar.

"The industry is looking at a range of new technologies, alternative fuel sources as well as operational changes to reduce their carbon emissions."