Bord Iascaigh Mhara is moving ahead with plans to develop a second salmon farm off the west Coast, while still awaiting a decision on proceeding with development of their proposed massive farm in Galway Bay.
The agency, which is responsible for developing the Irish seafood industry, has tendered for a company to carry out an environmental impact assessment on a site near Inisbofin and Inis Turk off the Galway/Mayo coastline.
Plans for the second farm are at a very early stage but its likely to be just one-third the size of the Galway Bay site producing 5,000 tonnes of fish per year.
The Galway Bay proposal on the lee-side of the Aran Islands will produce 15,000 tonnes if it gets the go ahead.
That application is currently with the Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine.
