#Seafood - Wild Atlantic salmon is now available at fish counters around Ireland.
This salmon comes from sustainably managed traditional net fisheries on estuaries and rivers around Ireland, where the number of returning salmon allows fish to be harvested while maintaining a healthy stock of spawning fish for future generations.
In total, the commercial quota for the wild Atlantic salmon harvest is just 11,131 from a total of 58,599 (angling and commercial combined), which makes it a premium and sought-after product.
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) says wild Irish salmon can be regarded as truly organic, having lived its life in the wild, fed on wild fish and krill, and travelling thousands of miles on its long ocean migration, ensuring firm flesh and high levels of healthy Omega-3 oils.
Salmon conservation measures ensure that only appropriately tagged and recorded wild salmon, commercially caught within the state, may be sold.
As part of the wild salmon and sea trout tagging regulations, all legally caught wild salmon must have a valid gill tag (green in the case of draft net, white in the case of snap net fishing) or tail-tag, in the case of imported wild salmon, before processing, and only authorised dealers or commercial licensed salmon fishermen may sell them. It is not permitted to sell rod caught wild salmon within the state or sell wild salmon without a valid gill or tail tag attached.
Sean Kyne, Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, said: “Wild Atlantic Salmon is a premium product. We all have a duty to ensure that conservation measures continue to be effective. Buying or selling illegally caught salmon jeopardises Ireland’s potential to have a sustainable salmon fishery into the future.”
Farmed salmon and organic farmed salmon is a very different product to wild salmon. Farmed salmon is widely available year round. If consumers have any doubts as to the origin of the salmon, please ask the supplier and help conserve Ireland's wonderful wild salmon resource. Farmed salmon being sold as wild should be reported to the Food Safety Authority. For more information visit www.fisheriesireland.ie.