Sustainable farming at Achill

Happy sealife & delicious oysters, now & forever

For centuries, Irishmen & women from the rugged west coast have lived off the sea – including the last five generations of us, the O’Malleys. Since April 2014, we’ve been steadily helping to establish this ancient way of life in the modern world, and to cement its place in the future. With a firm commitment to green farming methods, and to supporting our local community, we’re hoping generations more can live off our stunning coastline, in just the same way.

Achill Oysters has become a verified Origin Green member, in recognition of our work on environmental sustainability. The help of Bord Iasciagh Mhara (BIM) was instrumental in getting us to this goal. We have also to voice our thanks to Bord Bia in recognising us.

As eco-friendly as our oysters

You probably know that oysters are good for your health. They provide an excellent form of protein, and are high in several key minerals including iron and zinc. What you may not know is that oysters are also good for the sustainability of the environment. They clean the bay, collect carbon in their shells, and do not need damaging medicines to help them mature.

Here on Achill, we like to complement our oysters’ planet-friendly nature, in the way that we do business. From the day we started, we’ve worked our environmental and social responsibilities into what we do, including our choice of site. In fact, this idea continues all through our processes, right up to the point our oysters are finally delivered to your door.

We use trestles and bags to grow our oysters. The trestles are left out in the bay for the duration of their growth, and removed when the farming is finished. There are no foods or additives given to the animals that would compromise the well-being of the bay.

Working to promote irish farmers

Through working as a cooperative, Achill Oysters allow fellow seafood farmers to bring their products to market, and expose the work that they do in a way that would not have otherwise been possible. We provide expertise, marketing, technology, processing and transport that these amazing producers need to get their products to the consumer.

Ireland is a small country. In order for a rural and maritime life to continue, we must come together. This is something that we have all agreed on. We do this to sustain our way of life, environment and economy. We believe that a fair price to all means a better product, and vice versa, so we work with our customers to tailor a product that is perfect for them.

Sustainability initiatives

Sustainable practice is about running a business model that will benefit our employees, our stakeholders and broader society in the short and long term – and it has certainly helped to improve standards of quality with our own produce. We compliment best practice in food safety with our environmental work, which we believe is equally vital to the long term future of the business. Our employees, customers, suppliers, community and environment all benefit from these small changes. They include:

• Using small tractors that are fit for purpose
• Grading the oysters by hand
• Supporting community groups
• Providing local employment and mentoring
• Using nature to wash the oysters
• Traditional road building techniques
• Tending to the shoreline
• Recyclable packaging
• Lean process engineering