Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board and Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), Ireland’s Seafood Development Agency will be showcasing the best of Irish Seafood at the upcoming ‘SeaFest 2015’ Maritime Festival in Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork on the 11 July.
Pictured above Martin Shanahan
The fun filled ‘SeaFest’ family day follows ‘Our Ocean Wealth’, a high level conference on the 10th to discuss the potential of the marine sector in Ireland. With total seafood sales generating in excess of €850 million annually and the demand for Irish seafood worldwide on the increase, seafood is an industry with significant potential. In addition to our success on international markets, a key priority for both agencies is to increase sales of seafood on the domestic market. With Irish people consuming only 21kgs of seafood per annum in comparison to 34kgs in France and a staggering 70 kgs in Japan, we are behind not only in terms of buying frequency but also in the variety of fish species we eat. The Bord Bia/BIM ‘Food from the Sea’ showcase will demonstrate the variety of species available in Ireland and with a few simple tips, will show how easy fish is to prepare and cook at home.
Seafood cookery demonstrations from celebrity TV chefs’ Martin Shanahan and Rory O’Connell and demonstrations from expert fishmongers are sure to draw a crowd with a range of delicious seafood recipes, filleting techniques and tastings of locally sourced seafood available throughout the day. BIM will have a large seafood display counter to showcase the huge variety of fish and shellfish species available in Ireland with BIM’s expert fishmongers on hand to advise you how to prepare and cook reasonably priced and delicious seafood meals at home. There will also be an opportunity for visitors to sample and purchase seafood products from 11 Irish Seafood Companies.
As well as tasting our fantastic Irish seafood, the ‘BIM Seafood Experience’ will bring visitors on a visual and sensory journey to explain how our seafood are caught and farmed, how sustainability is a key part of how our fishermen and fish farmers protect their stocks and how new innovative seafood end up on our supermarket shelves This interactive educational tour will include custom built cinemas showing ‘Tales from the Deep’ with personal stories from fishermen to ‘Professor O’Mara’s Undersea Farm’, a specially designed animated character who will explain how our world famous oysters, mussels and salmon are farmed. ‘Staying Safe at Sea’ is another key theme of the ‘BIM Seafood Experience’ and BIM’s experienced training team will be on board the BIM mobile Coastal Training Unit organising regular demonstrations on how to prevent accidents at sea including how to wear your lifejacket correctly. So to taste the best of Irish seafood and to learn about all things fishy, visit us at ‘SeaFest’ from 10.00am until 5.00pm on the 11th July!
For more information, visit www.ouroceanwealth.ie
