The Irish seafood industry says it is giving a “guarded welcome” to the Government’s recently published “Future Framework” policy statement for offshore renewable energy (ORE).
The Seafood Industry Representatives Forum (SIRF), a collective of eight fishing and aquaculture representative organisations formed to deal with issues associated with ORE and their impacts, welcomed “important changes” made to the draft policy first published in January of this year.
Described by Minister for Environment and Climate Eamon Ryan as “Ireland’s most exciting industrial opportunity for decades”, the “Future Framework” published in early May sets out the pathway Ireland will take to deliver 20GW of offshore wind by 2040 and at least 37GW in total by 2050.
The framework includes 29 key actions and is built on an analysis of economic opportunities to encourage investment and “maximise the financial and economic return of offshore renewable energy to the State and local communities”.
“Amongst the important changes now included in the updated policy is a recognition that fishing, aquaculture, and processing are vital socio-economic activities and sources of income and employment for coastal communities,” a statement from SIRF says.
“This, along with a Government acknowledgement of the potential socio-economic impacts of ORE on communities (visual impact, construction disturbance, economic displacement etc.) is an essential step towards a more balanced debate on the future scale, location, and direction of offshore renewables in Ireland’s exclusive economic zone,” the group says.
“Critically, the revised “Future Policy” also recognises the importance of the State undertaking socio-economic and environmental cost-benefit analyses before incremental changes are agreed in key area,”it says.
The group’s chairman John Lynch stressed that “SIRF recognises and accepts the State’s need to develop offshore renewable energy at an appropriate scale to address the threat of climate change”.
“However we must also recognise and accept that fishermen and shellfish farmers are amongst those most likely to be adversely impacted by these developments,”Lynch said.
“ Rather than portray fishermen as the bad guys trying to prevent ORE, we should, instead, give proper consideration to the wider socio-economic and environmental priorities along with the benefits to local communities. This is the best way to help facilitate a stable political consensus and drive investment,”he said.
Quoting from the new policy, Lynch emphasised that “future initiatives must include maintaining and bolstering existing relationships, as well as developing additional government/stakeholder working groups to provide opportunities for policy input”.
This is provided for in Action 21 of the “Future Framework”, and Lynch pointed out that “the seafood industry is calling on Minister Ryan to establish a working group comprising seafood industry representatives and officials of his department where we can ‘knock heads together’ and find solutions to the problems that currently threaten the orderly roll out of offshore renewables”.
“ This group would complement the excellent work already being done at an industry-to-industry level by the Seafood ORE working Group chaired by Capt Robert McCabe,” he said.
SIRF said it “noted” the publication of the draft South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan for Offshore Renewable Energy (SC-DMAP), also released by Ryan early this month.
Lynch said the group would be making a submission on this in due course.
He pointed out that the revised “Future Framework” now “recognises the importance of policies that will collectively ensure that seafood and commercial fishing activity can continue to take place within and around wind farm areas where appropriate”.
“This is an example of what can be achieved when government and industry work together,”he said, and stressed that “future generations will not thank us if we do not get this right”.