Escaped fish compromise purity of wild salmon
Scottish gamekeepers on the Isle of Mull have raised fears that the “genetic purity” of wild salmon has been compromised after more than 11,000 farmed fish escaped and entered local rivers.
The mass escape from the Scottish Salmon Company farm at Geasgill was discovered last month after employees recorded low numbers during routine grading.
The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) said the incident was likely to lead to the cross-breeding of farmed salmon and wild fish, leading to “unknown biological consequences”. It said only 250 of the escaped fish had so far been recovered, with many entering rivers including the River Ba, one of the few in the west of Scotland rated class 1 for salmon conservation.
Local ghillies have been ordering any farmed salmon caught in local rivers to be killed and not returned to the water, but there are fears that some fishermen will not be able to tell the difference.
Greg Marsh, a member of the SGA’S fishing group, said people in the area were “up in arms” about the incident and called on the Scottish Government to take action.
“What effect is this going to have on the wild fish? What will fisheries be offering in three or four years’ time? Fish of unknown genetic purity,” he said. “We can continue to catch and dispatch as many of the escaped fish as we can, but the damage has been done because lots won’t be caught.”
The escape was reported to Marine Scotland, which is responsible for managing the nation’s seas and ensuring that freshwater fish are looked after sustainably.
It is not the first time that farmed fish have escaped on Mull this year. In April around 21,300 went missing from a Scottish Sea Farms plant at Bloody Bay.
Mr Marsh said fishermen could spot a farmed salmon by examining their tail and pectoral fins, which were usually smaller and often “shredded”.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Salmon Company said: “During a routine fish handling exercise at our site on Mull we identified a reduction in salmon numbers. This was reported to Marine Scotland and investigated in line with standard procedure.