Anglers on the east coast are reporting the capture of salmon believed to have escaped from a farm, prompting warnings of the danger to the wild population.
As many as 5,000 salmon escaped from the fishery in Glenarm Bay, some of them caught by anglers and weighing between seven and 14 pounds, 3-6kgs.
Gary Houston, chair of the Ulster Angling Federation, said there “appears to have been a large escape of farmed salmon at Glenarm”.
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) said a report was made on Sunday evening “that a rip in the net of a farmed salmon cage had been identified at the site in Glenarm”.
“The business has repaired the cage and now has divers servicing and inspecting the remainder of cages in both Glenarm and Red Bay,” a department spokesperson said.
“Assessments are still ongoing, but an initial estimate suggests up to 5,000 farmed salmon, between 3-6kg in size, may have escaped. DAERA Fisheries staff are currently assessing the situation and any actions that need to be taken.”
“These fish, which are large and sexually mature, have been caught by anglers in Glenarm Bay and we would have various concerns regarding this escape,” Mr Houston said.
Mr Houston said the fish may be “unfit to eat having no withdrawal period from antibiotics or anti sea lice chemicals” .
There are also fears the farmed fish will enter local rivers and “due to their maturity will breed with wild populations, altering the genetic structure for the worse, causing populations to be less able to survive and reproduce”.
“Salmon populations are under a severe threat of extinction from farm escapes, pollution and poor in-river and sea survival,” Mr Houston added.
The federation has informed the Loughs Agency and Inland Fisheries Ireland “as the escape could impact rivers in the Republic and....has the potential to be a major cross border incident”.
In August, farmed salmon escaped following a collision between a fish farm boat and the salmon cages in Killary Harbour in Connemara, near Galway. It was reported more than 10,000 fish escaped.
The main threats to the wild population are diseases and parasites, particularly sea lice. The longer term impact may be the loss of genetic diversity in wild stocks because of interbreeding with escaped farmed salmon.