Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue TD has paid tribute to Ireland’s seafood sector for its continued efforts to reduce the country’s marine waste as part of the Clean Oceans Initiative.
To date, the sector has collected more than 600 tonnes of mainly plastic waste during shore and pier clean-ups. A new focus is the drive to help Ireland’s fisheries harbours with their waste management systems in collaboration with gear manufacturers to manage fishing gear throughout its life cycle.
Speaking at the pier in Greencastle, Co Donegal, Minister McConalogue commended the industry and coastal communities for helping to reduce what he described as ‘the plastic pollution pervading the marine environment’.
Mr McConalogue also highlighted the ongoing work to better manage gear to prevent it from entering oceans in the first place and the efforts to remove waste from the marine environment.
“The Irish seafood sector is a leading example of what can be achieved through collaboration,” he said. “This collective approach is the key ingredient needed to tackle the plastic pollution pervading the marine environment.
“I am ever impressed by the level of ingenuity being taken by the sector and this new focus to address the problem of marine waste is helping to protect Ireland’s marine environment for future generations,” he added.
The Clean Oceans Initiative is being led by Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Ireland’s Seafood Development Agency, and supported by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.
