Ireland’s National Seafood Centre at Clogheen, Clonakilty, Co. Cork., officially opened on Friday.
The co-located facility is describes as a “one-stop shop” for the seafood-related functions of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority and BIM (Bord Iascigh Mara).
It’s the state’s first facility dedicated to the development of new, high-value seafood products.
Irish Fisheries Minister Simon Coveney was on hand to usher in the new facility.
“We’re focused on firstly moving away from selling 85 percent of our seafood production in commodity form and instead developing new high-value processed seafood products in Ireland,” said Coveney.
“Secondly, I want to attract a higher percentage of the near 1 million tons of seafood caught around Ireland to be landed into Ireland and serviced from Ireland,” he added. “Thirdly, I am focused on significantly expanding and developing sustainable aquaculture in Ireland. I want this expansion to be in traditional finfish and shellfish farming, but also I am taking new initiatives to drive on new large scale deep-water aquaculture which I see as a game changer in terms of jobs and economic activity for our aquaculture industry and coastal communities.”
