Seafood

Working in harmony with nature

As an island on the edge of Europe, Ireland is surrounded by the cold clear waters of the wild Atlantic Ocean and some of the richest fishing grounds in the EU. In the vast marine environment surrounding Ireland, a huge diversity of aquatic life flourishes and the cold clear waters provide ideal growing conditions for a wide range of species. Our location puts us uniquely close to a diverse range of fresh, premium quality seafood including Irish whelks, crab, oysters, lobster, scallops and langoustines. We are also renowned for our Irish organic Atlantic salmon and mussels. Irish seafood producers not only adhere to the EU’s high food safety standards, but through their membership of Origin Green – Ireland’s leading edge national food sustainability programme – they do so much more.

EU Safety Standards

A proud member of the European Union (EU), Ireland’s thriving fishing industry produces seafood according to the high food safety standards of the EU. An EU-operated quota system sets limits on the fish species that can be caught each year, supporting their long-term viability, while participation in environmental quality schemes provides comprehensive assurances around the traceability, provenance and environmental management of Ireland’s wild fish stocks. Ireland has pioneering credentials in the farming of seafood and is one of the world’s leading producers of organic Atlantic salmon. Ireland has also built a strong reputation for farming organic mussels which are extensively grown and harvested along the country’s wild Atlantic coastline.

Origin Green

In addition to meeting EU standards, Irish seafood producers make further commitments to protecting the country’s marine resources and harnessing them in a responsible manner through membership of Origin Green. Ireland’s leading edge sustainability programme, Origin Green is operated by Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board. Origin Green commits Irish seafood producers to delivering improved performances in areas such as raw material sourcing, emissions, energy, waste, water, biodiversity and social sustainability. See www.origingreen.ie for more detail.

Exports

Ireland exports more than €631m worth of seafood to over 70 countries annually. Key exports for Ireland include Irish organic salmon, mackerel, langoustines, brown crab, and organic mussels. Shellfish account for 36% of Irish seafood exports, with pelagic fish also at 36%, freshwater fish at approximately 19%, and whitefish accounting for the remainder of export sales.

Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board plays a key role in driving awareness of Ireland as source of premium, high quality and sustainable seafood through communicating the benefits of Irish seafood to international consumers.

About Bord Bia

Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board is a government agency that reports into the Department of Agriculture in Ireland. The role of Bord Bia, is to act as a link between Irish food, drink and horticulture suppliers and existing and potential customers throughout the world. Bord Bia has 14 offices overseas in Europe, Middle East, Asia and North America, in order to promote trade in international markets. Through its international office network, Bord Bia plays a key role in assisting the Irish seafood sector in developing sales in a wide range of seafood export markets. Through the range of services provided to seafood clients in areas such as trade research, customer profiling, buyer-supplier contact events, in-store and online seafood promotions and trade awareness events, Bord Bia has been instrumental in assisting the Irish seafood sector to establish a foothold in these markets.

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