Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) says its teams are monitoring, trapping and sampling farmed fish encountered in rivers in Co Galway and liaising with fishery owners and anglers following an incident in Killary Harbour last week.
The agency says it is also monitoring for, and removing, any escaped fish intercepted at its research trapping facilities in the National Salmonid Index Catchment, River Erriff.
Identification of farmed fish is currently proving challenging as there are no clear markers to identify farmed fish from wild species, IFI says.
The State body for the protection, management and conservation of Ireland’s inland fisheries and sea angling resources says it believes the escaped farmed salmon from Killary Harbour pose a significant risk to wild Atlantic salmon populations.
It’s understood that a “very significant number” of farmed salmon are now in the marine environment, and can travel up nearby rivers. It is possible that these fish may swim into neighbouring counties over time.
IFI 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.
Wild salmon are already under threat from water quality, habitat degradation, illegal fishing and climate change.
IFI adds that it has not been provided with the official total number of salmon that were in the impacted facility.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine manages the licensing of fish farms, and conditions attached to same.
Meanwhile, the Ballisodare River catchment in Co Sligo has reopened for angling on a catch-and-release basis following a major fish kill last month.
As previously reported on Afloat.ie, a large number of wld Atlantic salmon were found dead in the lower Ballisodare River south of Sligo town in mid July.
Salmon of any size and sea trout over 40cm may be fished for on a catch-and-release basis only for the remainder of the season, up to 30 September.
All lakes on the system have also reopened for angling as of Thursday 22 August, and local regulations apply as normal.
Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan has signed a new conservation bye-law regarding the reopening.
IFI says it has been investigating the salmon mortalities at the watercourse, and will provide information on the causes of these deaths in due course.
