Reports suggest that farmed salmon, suspected to have fled from Killary Harbour in Connemara last month, have infiltrated Lough Corrib, noted for being a crucial conservation area (Sac) and the largest wild fishery in Ireland’s west side. After a cage failure on August 11th led to the evasion of several thousands of farmed salmon, some have subsequently been located in neighbouring lakes and key fishing rivers for wild Atlantic salmon.
One salmon of farmed origin, similar to the escapees from Killary Harbour, was reeled in by an angler on the Corrib river at the Galway Salmon Weir in Galway city on Monday. The fish was sent to Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) for examination. Billy Smyth, chair of Galway Bay Against Salmon Cages (GBASC), described the escapee as skinny and slatty, indicating that it had spawned, and bearing lesions on its body.
In the aftermath of the primary escape incident, IFI expressed concerns that the escapees of farmed salmon “pose a significant risk to wild Atlantic salmon populations”, as wild salmon in neighbouring rivers were on their repatriation journey to their original rivers to spawn.
There are yet to be confirmed reports of escapees being nabbed in the Cong Canal, north of Lough Corrib, as well as over 100km away on the Kilcolgan (Dunkellin) river in east Galway. The fished had ventured as far as the Owenmore river in Co Mayo.
Smyth claims it will never be possible to establish the number of escapees that have intruded Lough Corrib Sac given the sheer size of the system, thereby making it impossible to capture all escapees. The Department of the Marine, acting as a license regulator, commenced an investigation into the escape at the facility managed by Mannin Bay Salmon Company, but chose not to disclose the quantity of farmed salmon that escaped. Embellished estimates range from 10,000 to 30,000 fish.
The Marine Institute has confirmed that a crash with a maintenance ship in severe weather conditions damaged a cage and allowed salmon to escape, acknowledging that prior to their exit, the fish had undergone freshwater treatment for Amoebic Gill Disease (AGD). Mr Smyth from GBASC shared that there is no concern regarding the escaped fishes carrying AGD since freshwater destroys the amoebae. However, there is a worry that some recaptured salmon showed bodily lesions suggesting exposure to diseases other than AGD. Final confirmation remains pending, subject to tests conducted by the IFI.