Number of fish that escaped from Irish farm claimed to be 'insignificant'

A salmon farmer in Ireland has told The Irish Times that the number of fish that escaped through a tear in a net was “insignificant”, although an anti-fish farming group claims that between 10,000 and 30,000 were on the loose.

The escape occurred at Mannin Bay Salmon’s farm in Killary Harbour, County Galway, eight days ago, on Sunday, August 11.

The Irish Times reported that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), which is the licensing authority, received notification of the escape on August 13.

“The licensee has advised that the damaged cage has been repaired. The department’s marine engineering division is currently preparing a report on the incident,” it added.

Net replaced

Galway Bay Against Salmon Cages (GBASC) said it was informed by a source connected to the salmon farming industry in Connemara that up to 30,000 fish were suspected of escaping, and claimed the fish would a devastating impact on local salmon rivers if they weren’t recaptured.

Mannin Bay Salmon told The Irish Times that “divers discovered a tear on one of our nets on Monday morning on the routine dive”.

“This followed on from works that were conducted on Sunday during rough weather. Upon discovery the net was repaired by the divers in the water and was subsequently replaced with a new one,” it added.

Minimal survival

Recapture nets have been set out, which it is hoped will much reduce the possibility of any of the fish heading up rivers into wild salmon fisheries.

“From a ‘genetic pollution’ point of view it should be noted that these fish will not mature until winter 2025 at the earliest and survival till then will be minimal. We are obviously very upset at this occurrence and will now have a detailed review to arrive at a plan to prevent such a recurrence in the future,” Mannin Bay Salmon stated.