PARTNER PROFILE
SESCo
The South East Shellfish Co-operative (SESCo) was formed in June 1992. To date it has a membership of 41 fishermen. The fishery was first re-seeded in 1992, and consists of three beds sited at Barrow Bridge, Ryan's Quay and Arthurstown.
Cultivation of mussels within the Waterford Estuary starts with the introduction of seed mussels between June and October. Seed is harvested from the Irish Sea off Wicklow and Arklow. These beds are around 100 miles, by sea, from the Waterford Estuary, and the logistics of transporting seed have been carefully considered by SESCo, who have pioneered road transport of mussel seed in Ireland.
Harvesting takes place between October and May in the year following re-seeding. The time of harvest is dependent on the market and the quality of the mussels within the estuary.
Since 1992 SESCo has transplanted 11,276 tonnes of seed in the Waterford Estuary and hopes to have harvested 6,000 tonnes of mussels by May 2000. These figures indicate that the fishery is only achieving a seed mussels to harvested mussels ratio of 1 : 0.53. SESCo 's immediate objective is to increase this ratio to at least 1 : 1 and to stabilise production in the estuary to 2,000 tonnes per year.
SESCO also undertakes cultivation of around 700 tonnes per annum of Pacific Oysters ( C gigas) in the Waterford Estuary.
SESCo will assist with data gathering and will assist with the communication and dissemination tasks, and collation of existing data. They will also undertake evaluation and training tasks in addition to being a member of the Project Management Committee.