‘Taste the Atlantic’ trail to promote Connemara seafood to visitors – Kyne

“A new seafood trail ‘Taste the Atlantic – a Seafood Journey’ will open up the Wild Atlantic Way to food tourism, and promote the best of Connemara seafood to visitors”, says Fine Gael TD for Galway West, Sean Kyne.

“Bord Iascaigh Mhara and Fáilte Ireland have joined together to launch ‘Taste the Atlantic – a Seafood Journey’, a new dedicated seafood trail located on the Wild Atlantic Way.

“Restaurants that source their seafood from prestigious producers across Galway, Mayo and Clare are featured on the trail, including the Connemara Smokehouse, Kelly’s Oysters, Croagh Patrick Seafoods, Killary Fjord Shellfish, Keem Bay Fish, Marty’s Mussels and fishermen Gerry Sweeney and Gerard Hassett.

“Food tourism is a growing area and Connemara has so much to offer to visitors in this regard. This project is about highlighting the wonderful seafood on offer in the West of Ireland, but is also about giving people an insight into the production of this premium product. This is an opportunity for people to learn of the commitment and passion that goes into putting a world class fresh and healthy product on people’s plates.

“Restaurants and smokehouses on the trail will be promoting the ‘Taste the Atlantic – a Seafood Journey’ with promotional materials supplied by Fáilte Ireland and all seafood on their menus will list the featured seafood producers. Chefs and front of house staff on the trail are receiving training, including on-site trips to the local mussel and oyster farms to build and improve their knowledge of seafood and to advise the chefs in particular, how to plan a seafood menu within their allocated budget.

“BIM has commissioned a special promotional video to highlight the seafood trail which shows our seafood, the producers and the local scenery off to great effect. Check out www.bim.ie to watch the video and learn more about the new seafood trail.

“The number of overseas visitors to Ireland is up over 11% for the first six months 2015. This is the best ever result on record for the period January to June. The Wild Atlantic Way has been a great success but we must continue to innovate in order to attract visitors. This new seafood trail is a great example of this, attracting visitors to the Wild Atlantic Way for a very specific reason. The planned improved visitor experience at the Connemara Discovery Point at Derrygimlagh is going to be another innovative attraction, telling visitors the story of the Marconi Wireless station and the first non-stop transatlantic flight taken by Alcock and Browe in 1919. It’s these kinds of attractions that will ensure the continued success of the Wild Atlantic Way and show off the best of what the West of Ireland has to offer.”