Large discharge of raw slurry blamed for fish kill
A large discharge of raw slurry has been blamed for the death of at least 1,200 fish in a 2km stretch of the Owentaraglin river in Kiskeam.
The river, known locally as the Araglin suffered huge devastation as salmon, wild brown trout, eel and stickleback as well as millions upon millions of salmon spawned eggs were also lost.
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) received a call at 11am on Monday and were on the scene within a matter of hours.
Sean Long, Director of the South Western River Basin district painted a very bleak picture and said aside from the large number of fish killed, there was also significant damage to the spawning beds and wider aquatic habitat, which will have implications for the fish population in the area in the future.
“It will take years to recover,” he said. He also said Inland Fisheries is reminding farmers of the importance of complying with EU Regulations on the storage or movement of slurry.
Since 2010, Inland Fisheries Ireland has been responsible for the conservation, protection, management, marketing and development of the nation’s inland fisheries and sea angling resources
There are various acts open to the Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) to bring a case against a person or persons when a river is polluted. However, the primary act is the 1959 Fisheries Consolidation Act, but there is also the Water Pollution Acts 1977 and 1990.