Escaped fish farm salmon feared to be breeding weakness into wild cousins

An investigation revealed that escaped farmed salmon from a fish farm in Killary Fjord traveled over 100 km into several rivers in Mayo and Galway, raising alarms about their impact on Ireland's wild Atlantic salmon populations. The presence of sexually mature males poses a risk of interbreeding and genetic contamination, threatening the future of the already declining wild salmon population, which has decreased by 70% over the past 40 years due to pollution, climate change, and other factors. Conservationists express serious concern about these developments.

Dr Seán Kelly of Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), who led the investigation, said: "The substantial geographical spread over which escaped farmed salmon were confirmed - in a critical region for wild Irish Atlantic salmon populations - is particularly concerning."

"They can pose a significant threat to wild salmon populations through genetic contamination, impacting the overall ability of future salmon generations to survive in the wild," said Dr Cathal Gallagher, IFI's head of research.

Read at Irish Independent