INLAND FISHERIES IRELAND has said the escaped farmed salmon from Killary Harbour in Co Galway “pose a significant risk to wild Atlantic salmon populations”.

Various organisations, including Salmon Watch Ireland and Galway Bay Against Salmon Cages, were informed of a “major escape of farmed salmon” from Killary Harbour on 11 August.

However, Mannin Bay Salmon Company told The Journal that the escape happened on or after 12 August.

The cage at Killary Harbour is licensed to Docon Limited in Co Mayo but operated by the Mannin Bay Salmon Company.

In its statement to The Journal, Mannin Bay Salmon Company said: “We confirm that an escape of VERY HEALTHY fish that had NEVER been exposed or treated with pesticides, whatsoever, did occur at our farm on/after August 12th.”

However, Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) said it is “concerned that interbreeding with farmed salmon could compromise the genetic integrity of the local salmon population, which could impact their resilience in the long term”.

Mannin Bay Salmon Company had also claimed that the “number that escaped was insignificant”.

However, Salmon Watch Ireland estimated that around 10,000 salmon escaped from the cage and that large numbers could be seen in the harbour.

Meanwhile, Galway Bay Against Salmon Cages said the figure of 10,000 was its lowest estimate and that the number could be as large as 30,000. 

In a statement today, IFI said it “has not been provided with the official total number of salmon that were in the impacted facility”.

IFI – the State environment agency responsible for protecting, managing, and conserving Ireland’s inland fisheries – previously said it was not formally notified of the salmon escape at Killary Harbour within the mandatory 24-hour period.

Salmon farm operators are required to inform the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and IFI of any “abnormal losses” within 24 hours.

However, Mannin Bay Salmon Company told The Journal that “all Statutory agencies were notified of this event as soon as was possible”.

The company added that it had “cooperated fully with these agencies to investigate the root cause and put in place mitigation measures including recapture of any farmed stock”. 

IFI teams are currently monitoring, trapping, and sampling farmed fish encountered in rivers, and liaising with fishery owners and anglers following the Killary Harbour salmon escape.

IFI teams are also monitoring for, and removing, any escaped fish intercepted at its research trapping facilities in the National Salmonid Index Catchment, River Erriff.

The National Salmonid Index Catchment comprises the Erriff Catchment and Killary Harbour area, with research activities further extending out into the adjacent marine zone.

However, IFI warned that identification of farmed fish is “currently proving challenging as there are no clear markers to identify farmed fish from wild species”.

IFI added that it is operating so as to protect wild salmon and avoid the accidental removal of wild fish.

IFI also said it “understands a very significant number of farmed salmon are now in the marine environment, and can travel up nearby rivers”.

“Wild salmon are already under threat from water quality, habitat degradation, illegal fishing, and climate change – and this incident poses an additional challenge to salmon populations in rivers in Galway and Mayo,” said IFI in a statement today.

“It is possible that these fish can swim into neighbouring counties over time.”

In a statement earlier this week, IFI said it “remains concerned about the impacts of salmon farming, including such issues as escapes and sea lice on our wild Atlantic salmon and sea trout stocks – whose continued sustainability remains under threat from a range of pressures”.

It added that the nearby Erriff and Delphi (Bundorragha) wild salmon and sea trout stocks “in particular have been negatively impacted over a long period by sea lice associated with salmon farming”.

If local anglers catch farmed salmon, a blue salmon gill tag must be placed in the fish and this can be replaced by IFI when surrendered to its staff.