The Marine Institute Annual Report outlines the activities of the MI in 2023. It is a large piece of work but our interest is focussed on activities involving wild Atlantic salmon, sea trout and the large scale ranching program being carried out in Burishoole. The trapping system in Burishoole is quite unique in that it enables personnel to physically count all emigrating smolts and sea trout juveniles leaving the system and count and examine adult returnees including ranched salmon. The count is full (except if traps are overwhelmed by flood water) with each fish examined and this allows the removal of adult ranched salmon before they reach the spawning beds.
The data series is unique with data stretching to over sixty years and is one of Irelands index systems which reports to ICES and NASCO.
The wild salmon census indicates a survival rate of 5.6 % of fish who emigrated to sea in 2022 and continues a static and depressed return rate. This return may be slightly upgraded by return of multi sea winter fish in 2024 but these are few in numbers. The sea trout census is again alarming and it is reasonable to conclude that this stock is functionally extinct and the primary cause must be salmon farming in Clew Bay. It is apparent that this population was destroyed in the 1980's (Expansion of Salmon Farming) and obviously reached such a low ebb that recovery is probably out of the question unless salmon farming is removed from the area. It is interesting that sea trout are included in the nature restoration law and what better place to start their rehabilitation where progress in restoration could be accurately followed. At this stage it could take decades to rehabilitate the population back to functioning as a self sustaining stock.
While not having accurate access to the amount of ranched juveniles released it is possible to suggest that their survival has reduced significantly in the past number of years which coincides with poorer returns of wild fish.
The following video gives us a view on how the traps work and how the data is used to inform management of salmon stocks. Interesting facility but we certainly cannot condone the lack of comment by the MI on both the impact of salmon farming on wild salmon and the silence regarding the collapse of sea trout stocks.
