Marine Minister Charlie McConalogue today (Tuesday 28 June) announced the launch of Phase 1 of the new state-of-the-art Aquaculture Information Management System (AQUAMIS).

The online viewer was developed as part of Phase 1 of this project, which will develop an overall aquaculture management information system for aquaculture licences in Ireland.

Commenting on the launch, the minister said: “I’m delighted to deliver on the Government’s commitment to the further implementation of the recommendations of the Aquaculture License Review Group. This is the first step in digitising our aquaculture licensing application process.

“I’d like to acknowledge the excellent work of the department in digitally mapping this activity and integrating datasets from the Marine Institute and the National Parks and Wildlife Service. This innovative portal will for the first time provide a valuable online search facility for licensed aquaculture activity available to the general public and all our stakeholders.”

The online viewer will allow members of the public to freely access and view licensed aquaculture sites and mapping information through a public portal and was developed in collaboration with the Marine Institute.

Speaking at the announcement, Marine Institute chief executive Dr Paul Connolly said: “The Aquaculture Licensing Sites Viewer provides an important digital tool to facilitate the management of aquaculture in Ireland’s marine and fresh waters. The system will assist with the licensing and management of aquaculture operations throughout the country.

“This new digital application enables high-quality marine data and information to be more readily available for all, and is part of the Marine Institute’s service delivery to government, industry and the public.”

The viewer can be accessed at dafm-maps.marine.ie/aquaculture-viewer/