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Staff of the Western Regional Fisheries Board have recently been carrying out survey operations in Lough Corrib. During the course of this survey, a large rainbow trout of farmed origin was caught (see attached photo).
Rainbow trout are not farmed in the locality of Lough Corrib, and it is believed this fish must have escaped from a fish farm possibly in Connemara. However, the Western Regional Fisheries Board has not been advised of any escape from any fish farm in the region as is required under the conditions of fish farm licences. It is not known how many other rainbow trout may have escaped, if any, or how many have entered other rivers and lakes in the area. Rainbow trout are not native, and can cause ecological damage when released into the wild by competing with, and predating on, wild fish.
The Western Regional Fisheries Board is urging anglers and fish farmers to be vigilant and requests that any other sightings of rainbow trout in the wild be reported to the Fisheries Board immediately.
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