The fish farm industry has been described as ‘out of control’ after it was confirmed that salmon farm owners in the West of Ireland failed to report potentially harmful escapes to the authorities, despite being legally obliged to.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) published a report this week confirming that up to 500 farmed fish entered rivers in Galway and Mayo last Autumn – with potentially serious impacts for wild salmon populations.

Fish farms are obliged, as part of their aquaculture licences, to report escapes to the authorities but in this instance, last September and October, the Department of Agriculture was not informed. Paddy Gargan, Senior Research Officer with IFI, told the Connacht Tribune that the exact number of escaped farmed salmon is not known but this was the largest number of farmed fish to ever be discovered in rivers in the West in the past 30 years.

It is not unusual to encounter one or two farmed fish in the wild but the scale of the discovery of escapes in rivers in Galway and Mayo was greater than he’d experienced before, he said.

The escaped fish were discovered in Delphi, Erriff, Kylemore/Dawros, Newport and Bunowen rivers in counties Galway and Mayo.

The IFI report said, “that the presence of sexually mature farmed salmon in rivers poses a potential threat to local wild salmon populations from interbreeding and other ecological effects.”

Mr Gargan explained that the time of year of the discovery of the escapes, and the sexual maturity of some of the male escapes meant that it potentially could have a bigger impact on wild populations. Cross-breeding between wild salmon and farmed salmon reduces the wild populations ability to survive in the wild – because farmed fish don’t have the same survival instincts – and overall wild populations decrease as a result of escapes, he said.

His colleague, Dr Cathal Gallagher, Head of Research and Development, said: “While a small number of farmed salmon spawning in a catchment may not have a detectable long-term effect on the wild salmon population, repeated escapes of large numbers of farmed fish have the potential to cause serious damage to vulnerable wild salmon populations. The large number of escaped farmed salmon entering into these rivers, with a high proportion of males likely to be sexually mature, presents a potential threat to local wild salmon populations. IFI will continue to monitor the situation and may need to conduct longer-term genetic studies on the impact of the presence of these farmed salmon.”

Galway Bay Against Salmon Cages (GBASC), which was the organisation that first brought the escapes to light, said it was “shocked but not surprised” by the findings of the report.

Last October, the group feared that the escapes would interfere with the genetic integrity of wild salmon, severely damaging local wild populations.

“Our worst fears have now been realised in this report,” a spokesperson said.

“Salmon farms that repeatedly fail to manage sea lice levels on their salmon farms have no financial penalties imposed on the licensees unlike in Norway. Inshore fishermen have reported to the relevant authorities farmed salmon slaughter ships dumping blood and offal into bays in Connemara. No action has been taken against them.

“According to Agriculture Minister Michael Creed there were 41 instances of disease outbreaks on salmon farms in 2016 and 2017 but no information as to where these disease outbreaks occurred can be obtained. Now we have this report from IFI indicating that a salmon farmer did not report a large escape from their farm which they were legally obliged to do.

“In light of this we believe that the unregulated and unsustainable salmon farming industry is now out of control and is a massive danger to our marine environment. It has already resulted in the displacement of hundreds of jobs in inshore fishing and angling tourism,” GBASC said.

The organisation said the IFI report has strengthened its resolve to oppose plans by Údarás na Gaeltachta for an Aquaculture Business Park in Cill Chiaráin “which we believe will be a launching pad for the increased production of farmed salmon in Connemara”.

The Board of Inland Fisheries Ireland said: “Inland Fisheries Ireland has been charged with the protection of wild Atlantic salmon and continues to have concerns regarding the impacts of fish farms on Ireland’s precious wild fish.

“The licencing regime and best management practice should provide assurance to the State that controls are in place that safeguard our heritage. This does not appear to be the case in this instance. Inland Fisheries Ireland supports sustainable fish farming but cautions against the renewal and/or award of licences where conditions are not being adhered to.

“The Board recommends immediate strict enforcement and audit of existing licence conditions to ensure compliance and ultimately a sustainable resource for all.”

Pike to blame for declining trout and salmon numbers

The introduction of pike into the Owenriff River “has been a significant factor” in declining stocks of native brown trout and salmon, new research has confirmed.

Having now conceded that pike is responsible for depleting native species, Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), the body charged with protecting those native populations, has published its plan to rehabilitate salmon and trout in the Galway water catchments.

IFI this week published the Owenriff Fish Population Rehabilitation Plan, an 83-page document which outlines the problem and how it intends to restore salmon and trout. Among the objectives in the plan are to rebuild the brown trout and salmon population; prevent further decline of fish stocks in the Owenriff catchment; improve habitat for all life stages of brown trout and salmon; improve survival rates of brown trout and salmon by reducing/mitigating against the impact of the introduced pike; and improve the opportunity for adult fish to reach their spawning habitats.

The rehabilitation plan comes on foot of another IFI report – Owenriff Fish Stock Survey 2017 – which confirmed pike was responsible for the decline of salmon and trout.

It said: “As there are little or no major anthropogenic pressures in the catchment to cause the decline in fish stocks, it is reasonable to infer that the introduction of pike and their subsequent range expansion in the Owenriff catchment is the main factor causing the decline of brown trout and salmon in the Owenriff catchment. Research from Europe and North America supports this finding.”

The Owenriff catchment is located on the north-western end of the Lough Corrib and the main Owenriff River drains into Lough Corrib Upper downstream of Oughterard. The Lough Corrib catchment is the largest and most important wild salmonid catchment in Ireland and Lough Corrib is considered the premier wild brown trout fishery in Ireland.

The plan to tackle the problem of invasive pike comes months after Europe launched an investigation into claims IFI failed in its responsibility to safeguard the Owenriff River.

In what is being described as a ‘triple tragedy’, freshwater pearl mussel, Atlantic salmon and the European otter face being wiped-out on the County Galway river.

The Connacht Angling Council, the Federation of Lough Corrib Anglers, Trout Anglers Federation of Ireland and National Association of Rod Anglers – with a combined membership 21,500 – and the Federation of Irish Salmon and Seatrout Anglers appealed in September to Europe to intervene.

The EU Committee on Petitions confirmed it was investigating and asked the European Parliament to conduct an investigation into the threat to three EU protected species on Owenriff due to the State’s failure to control pike.

Welcoming the publication of IFI’s reports, Minister of State Sean Kyne, who has responsibility for IFI, said the organisation has acted “swiftly” since the interim results of the 2017 survey became known in January. “The purpose of the rehabilitation plan is to develop a fisheries rehabilitation project that can be undertaken on the catchment to promote the recovery of the brown trout, both resident and migratory Corrib, and salmon populations in both lakes and rivers. It will take time and will be costly, but we are already underway with this very constructive and positive roadmap,” said Minister Kyne.