15/10/2003 - PRESS RELEASE ON RTE TV FISH FARM REPORT The Federation of Irish Salmon & Sea Trout Anglers has once again called on the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Dermot Ahern TD to make a statement arising out of the very worrying revealations in the RTE Primetime programme. He can no longer ignore the appaling sealice results and control failures by salmon farms nationwide and to take action on this form of pollution now. FISSTA also support calls by Eamon Ryan TD for the Minister to review the Ministerial appointments of the Marine Institute and Bord Iascaigh Mhara following the exposure by RTE Primetime of some very serious abuses within the finfish farm industry. The programme has caused outrage from all who have witnessed smilar cover ups in the past. Any fish farm practice that wipes out our wild stocks of salmon and other wild fish must be made to cease immediately. Instead of a full industry review and promise of reform, the state bodies have ignored the public outrage by increasing grant aid packages to the industry. Even the credibility of the quality monitoring company has been eroded as published in the Phoenix recently. An Udaras na Gaeltachta executive dismissed the negative publicity by announcing a €1m. handout to fish farmers to confirm "business as usual" policy by the Government. FISSTA had already complained to the Minister that lice controls to March 2003 had been breached 29 times by salmon farms which have already done untold damage to wild salmon and seatrout stocks. It is past time for the Minister to take immediate action to clean up the industry now if Irish fish farmers are ever to be considered as responsible producers in the future. The environmental crimes revelaed in the Adrian Lydon RTE programme has informed the consumer why self regulation measures will always fail in favour of profit. It is the responsibility of Minister Ahern to restore credibility into an industry that has been severely damaged and this can only be done by prompt investigations into the reported dumping offences in Donegal and Galway fish farms. FISSTA support the Green Party calls for Directors of BIM and Marine Institute cited in the Adrian Lydon programme to resign immediately so that a full enquiry into the allegations can take place in a climate of openness and transparency.