Galway Bay fm newsroom - The Marine Institute has confirmed that significant numbers of farmed Salmon in Galway have been stung to death by an influx of deadly jellyfish.
In a statement to Galway Bay fm news, the institute says there is no health risk to the public and it is monitoring the situation.
The Marine Institute says it has been made aware of a significant number of Salmon mortalities at three aquaculture sites in Galway in recent weeks.
These are Killary, Kilkieran and Bertraghboy.
The deaths were caused by blooms of stinging jellyfish, including the Mauve Stinger and the Muggiaea Atlantica.
The latter is widely thought to be responsible for a catastrophe in Irish salmon stocks in 2003, when up to one million fish were lost.
While the Marine Institute has not given an exact number of Salmon lost to the recent influx, Galway Bay Against Salmon Cages believes it could number in the tens of thousands or beyond.
The institute says that all mortalities are being disposed of at authorised rendering plants in compliance with the animal by-products regulations.
It further advises that the presence of a listed disease has been ruled out in all cases and there is no health risk to the public.
