CHEMREP2018-002

On behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM), the Marine Institute carries out monitoring of chemical residues in finfish for aquaculture sector. This monitoring is set out in the annual National Residue Control Plan, which is approved by the European Commission, and is an important component of the DAFM food safety controls and is implemented under a service contract with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. Since 1999, the Marine Institute has implemented the National Residues Monitoring Programme for aquaculture. This is carried out on behalf of the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, which is the responsible organisation for residue controls on farmed finfish. The outcome for residues levels in farmed finfish during 2017 remains one of consistently low occurrence. In 2017, in excess of 775 tests and a total of 2,250 measurements were carried out on 141 samples of farmed finfish for a range of chemical substances, including banned and unauthorised substances, various authorised veterinary treatments and environmental contaminants