Endless paperwork and negotiations. Brand new rules and protocols every year. A road to development blocked by "regiments of bureaucrats armed with ever more cunning ways to make us lose sleep at night".
This was the scenario outlined by one of the west's most successful fish farmers, James Ryan, in a stinging attack on State systems during a conference in Westport, Co Mayo, late last week.
The conference was Bradβn, the annual gathering of salmon farmers.
Mr Ryan has just completed his four-year term as chairman of its representative association.
"Everyone knows the story of the four blind men examining the elephant," he said.
"Today the Irish [fish farming] industry is being regulated and examined by a plethora of organisations and agencies, many of whom aren't aware of the objectives or activities of the others."
Mr Ryan said that in his last 10 years in Killary he had spent half his time dealing with licensing, regulation and the effects of inadequate regulation.
He had spent more than £200,000 and two years on a court case over the effect of his salmon farm on sea trout, and effectively won because of the lack of hard evidence in the plaintiff's case.
Mr Ryan compared the state of the French shellfish industry - thriving, supporting 100,000 in oyster production alone and living happily with tourism, because of strong central support - with its very weak British counterpart.
Even the marine institute had let the industry down, he said. Its job appeared to be to regulate it, rather than to bring forward plans for research.
His solution?
The establishment of one single agency which would deal with development policy and grants on an all-Ireland basis, while also co-ordinating marine and freshwater regulation and publishing an annual report on the state of the environment.