Sea urchins seem certain to appear soon on the growing list of animal and plant species being farmed commercially by the Irish aquaculture industry, after they performed well in a new type of land-based rearing system designed by the Aquaculture and Fisheries Development Unit at University College Cork

This will be welcome news for Ireland’s tiny seaweed industry, which can expect to see the knock-on benefits from supplying the sea urchins with their preferred diet of high-quality native seaweeds.
 
Dr Gerry Mouzakitis, a former manager of the AFDU, told Inshore Ireland that the UP System  “had proven beyond doubt” that Paracentrotus lividus, a native sea urchin once plentiful in Irish coastal waters but now rare because of over-fishing “has enormous farming potential.”

He declined however to reveal any details of the UP System before it is protected by a world-wide patent due to be issued later this month.

Mouzakitis is confident however that within a decade, the new system will have revolutionised the farming of Paracentrotus lividus in Ireland and probably worldwide.

A key component of the new Common Fisheries Policy, which was reformed in late 2002, was the formation of Regional Advisory Councils (RACs) to give stakeholders a greater say in the way fisheries are managed in areas they cover. The first of six bodies, the North Sea RAC, was created late last year, writes Gillian Mills.

According to the European Commission, these bodies will provide a permanent framework linking stakeholders at regional and local level and the Commission and the member states concerned. “They will enable the fishing sector to work more closely with scientists in collating reliable data and discussing ways of improving scientific advice.”

The RACs will also provide a forum for the fishing industry to enter into dialogue and to work with other interested parties on identifying options regarding the management of specific fisheries. Their recommendations and suggestions can then be submitted to the Commission and to the relevant member states.

In an era of rapid change, farmers in Ireland are getting used to constantly assessing the most profitable and sustainable strategy for their enterprise. As part of that change, an awareness of impacts on the water environment has come to the fore, writes Gearóid Ó Riain, director, Compass Informatics.

At the same time, farm enterprises and water resources organisations alike are looking to mapping and geographic technologies to assist with decision-making and efficient management. These technological tools now play valuable roles in making the most of what both the land and the water offer, and in minimising conflicts over what happens where and when.

Another real spin-off of this awareness of the connection between farming and the water environment on one hand, and the value of geographic technologies on the other, is the employment created in companies providing these technical services and designing new solutions and tools.