AUGUST 2004

€1.2m for Inishowen Mussel Company

Tardrum Fisheries Ltd., a Greencastle based company which has been involved in cultivation mussels on the bed of Lough Foyle for the last five years, has been awarded a grant of more than €1.2 million. "We are absolutely delighted," company director Gerard Kelly said. "We currently export 3,000 tonnes of mussels each year, mainly to the Netherlands and France. With this funding we will be able to order a specially built new vessel, which will increase the capacity to 5,000 tonnes per year. "

Mr Kelly pointed out that, with the level of export, mussel cultivation is proving to be one of the most successful, yet invisible industries in Inishowen. "We've undertaken a lot of research and development and gradually increased our capacity each year. There is virtually no visual impact or effects on other users on the Lough were bottom cultivation of mussels takes place. There is a huge business going on in Lough Foyle but to look at the water you would never guess the business existed."

The grant aid will assist in the purchases and modernisation of mussel dredgers, capital equipment for oyster and clam production, together with the expansion and modernisation for salmon farming operations.

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