Irish Shamrock Fisheries begin a project in Cork Harbour to rear clams for the export market.
In a new shellfish pilot scheme, Irish Shamrock Fisheries Limited, with the support of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and Bord Iascaigh Mhara, plants second-generation American clams at Rostellan in Cork Harbour. The clams, hatchery-reared in Wales, are being cultivated for export. This is an addition to the scheme for fattening Norwegian spat oysters there.
Dr Alec Gibson of the Department of Fisheries lays the clams on trays in the new beds in Cork Harbour. It will take them approximately four years to grow to marketable size. Then the clams will earn about £50,000 annually in the export market.
Rostellan is highly suitable for the cultivation of the clams, and Irish Shamrock Fisheries are hopeful for the success of this unique experiment, the first of its kind in Europe.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 6 April 1970. The footage shown here is mute.
