MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands considers preliminary studies into developing salmon farming

MLA Teslyn Barkman, said ExCo has agreed that “we need to gather this in-depth information before any further discussions can take place”

The Executive Council of the Falkland Islands discussed a proposal to consider salmon farming in the Falklands. The proposal sought authorisation for Government officers to negotiate a Letter of Intent with the Danish company, Pisco ApS, to evaluate whether conditions in the Islands would be adequate to support the development of salmon fish farming.

 The Executive Council agreed that preliminary studies could go ahead in order to fully gauge the feasibility of such a project. These will include technical studies, an environmental impact assessment and related work, but will also extend to socio-economic impact assessment and the impact of the proposed development on the Falkland Islands economy and the Camp sector in particular.

The Executive Council agreed that a Letter of Intent could be negotiated on the basis that all of this information is researched and taken into account.

MLA Teslyn Barkman, Portfolio Lead for Natural Resources, said: “This proposal naturally raises some interest and questions from the public and I would like to reassure people that the decision today is only to proceed with carrying out this in-depth research. No approval has been granted to develop large scale fish farming, instead the Executive Council has agreed that we need to gather this in-depth information before any further discussions can take place“.

The Falklands elected Member of the Legislative Assembly added that ”there is a precedent in salmon farming at Fox Bay, but to fully understand the implications of salmon farming on a larger scale, we need to analyse the environmental, sociological and economic impacts that it could present.”