Substantial quantities of farmed salmon, thought to have escaped from a fishery in Killary harbour in north Connemara, have dispersed to prime fishing rivers across the West of Ireland. The volume of fish and the vast distances they’ve travelled since the incident at the Mannin Bay Salmon Company site on 11th August, along with signs that many are sick, has sparked outrage among rod anglers. A leading angler representative claimed this occurrence underscored an ongoing problem of insufficient regulation in the salmon farming industry.
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) announced this week that the runaway salmon “pose a significant threat to the wild Atlantic salmon populations” due to genetic interference and added stress on native species. The authority also confirmed that it wasn’t officially informed of the escape within the obligatory 24-hour window.
Salmon farm operators are mandated to report any “abnormal losses” within 24 hours. It’s estimated that between 10,000 and 30,000 fish escaped after a boat ripped a net in turbulent sea conditions.
Since the incident, they have been discovered in the Dawros river, which flows from Kylemore lakes into Ballinakill Bay, a significant distance from the farm. An angler reported observing six fish removed within a brief period at this location. “They are underdeveloped with petite heads, and you can see the food dye in their mouths that is given to them to cause their skin to turn pink.”
Additional fish have been located in the Bunowen and Carrowiskey rivers. There are also unverified reports of some found in the Owenmore river about 70 km away—all in Co Mayo.
Seamus O’Neill, chairman of Dawros Anglers, exclaimed, “What is alarming is that fishing pressure is low as we are nearly at the end of the season, yet on Wednesday, in 15 minutes, I snagged two and lost two more at the net. It was evident that they had escaped from a farm.”
Mr O’Neill stated that dwindling populations of wild salmon are a significant worry. He pointed out that a decline has been observed internationally, with reduced numbers returning to breed, which is damaging to any river system, including the Dawros.
He also mentioned an incident from three years prior, where farmed salmon had entered the Dawros River. It was confirmed by the IFI that these fish were farmed, yet there were no reports of escapes from fish farms to either the Department of Agriculture, Food and The Marine or the IFI, which is a requisite of their licence. The situation was described by O’Neill as an absolute lack of regulation.
He highlighted that recovery efforts were also hindered due to draft nets not being deployed as they should have been. This was due to the expiration of the draft season, which would have necessitated a bylaw from the Minister of Agriculture. Ten days post-event and nothing had been done despite prompt action being required.
There had been expert predictions that it would take three to five weeks for the farmed fish to transition into freshwater rivers. This turned out to be false, causing Dawros fishermen to rally their members to catch, tag and send the salmon to the IFI for identification over the weekend.
After the licensee flagged the salmon escape, the Department arranged for marine engineers to examine the site on August 15th. The Department is presently assessing the findings of the inspection. Feedback from The Marine Institute, their scientific consultant, was also sought. Once all the required reports are available, a review will be carried out to identify if any licensing conditions were violated.
Meanwhile, the IFI reported ongoing vigilance for any escaped fish in Galway’s local rivers and its research trapping facilities in the National Salmonid Index Catchment on the Erriff. They admitted that it can be difficult to distinguish between wild and farmed salmon due to the absence of obvious markers.