Raw slurry blamed for North Cork fish kill
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) received a call to its confidential hotline at 11am on Monday and were on scene at the Owentaraglin river, a tributary of the Munster Blackwater, within a matter of hours.
However, they found the dead fish spread over a 2km stretch of the water near the village of Kiskeam.
IFI said Owentaraglin is an important spawning river. The species affected by the pollution included salmon brown trout, eel, and stickleback.
“In particular, significant numbers of gravid hen salmon were among the mortalities,” it said.
“Aside from the large number of fish killed, there was significant damage to the spawning beds and wider aquatic habitat, which will have implications for the fish population in the area into the future.”
It said it is following a direct line of inquiry in relation to the large discharge of raw slurry into the river.
“It will take years for River Owentaraglin to recover to its former condition as a result of this pollution,” said Sean Long, director of the South Western River Basin district.
“Inland Fisheries Ireland is reminding farmers of the importance of complying with EU Regulations on the storage or movement of slurry.”
Mr Long said recreational angling contributes €836m to the Irish economy annually and supports upwards of 11,000 jobs, often in rural and peripheral communities.
“Inland Fisheries Ireland is committed to protecting the fisheries resource for the communities it serves across the country and we are grateful to landowners and the farming community for their assistance in maintaining a clean and healthy environment in our lakes and rivers.”
Green Party Senator Grace O’Sullivan, who is also her party’s spokesperson on tourism and the marine, described the fishkill as “sizable” and said it would have an immediate impact on the food chain and biodiversity of the river.
She said raw sewage would impact, not only on the water quality, but on oxygen levels in the river.
“In Ireland we rely on angling as a source of tourism and source of revenue,” the Waterford senator said. “These kinds of incidents are bad news stories for people who come to Ireland to angle on our rivers.
“Inland Fisheries Ireland has done a lot of good works with regards to protecting our rivers. But the Government has to ensure these sorts of situations do not occur.”
She called for resources to put towards remedial works which could rehabilitate the affected waters.
“I welcome the fact that inquiries are ongoing to pinpoint the source,” said Ms O’Sullivan. “Someone has mismanaged the slurry.”
Inland Fisheries Ireland has a confidential hotline number to enable members of the public to report incidents by telephone 1890 34 74 24 or 1890 FISH 24.
The phoneline is designed to encourage the reporting of incidents of illegal fishing, water pollution, and invasive species.
