Over 70,000 salmon have escaped from a fish farm off Colonsay after their cage was damaged in stormy weather.

Norwegian seafood firm Mowi confirmed the fish had broken free from a tear in specialist netting surrounding the enclosure during rough seas caused by Storm Brendan earlier this month.

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The company said an estimated 74,000 salmon had escaped - the third major incident from the firm’s sites in the last 12 months.

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Last year, more than 48,000 fish escaped from Mowi’s enclosure on uninhabited Hellisay.

Concerns have previously been raised over the impact of cross-breeding between farmed salmon and wild salmon, which could weaken the wild gene pool.