Anglers in north Co Cork believe up to 46,000 fish may have died in a “devastating” kill on a section of the river Blackwater.
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is investigating the cause of the kill, saying that present indications suggest between 8,000 and 10,000 wild fish mortalities occurred on a 30km stretch of the river between Lombardstown and Killavullen as well as tributaries such as the Clyde and Awbeg.
The State agency is basing the estimate on its observations and data submitted by local stakeholders.
However, angling clubs say the numbers are much higher, at up to 46,000, and impact on every species present in the river including trout, salmon, stickleback, dace and fresh water eel.
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Dan Dennehy, club secretary of Kanturk and District Trout Anglers, described the fish kill as “devastating” and “off the scale”.
“Salmon, eels, trout – thousands and thousands of them. We don’t know the extent of it or what is causing it,” he said.
He said it was one of the biggest fish kills he was aware of in the State. “There is a load of unanswered questions in relation to it,” he added.
Mr Dennehy said Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Timmy Dooley and Cork North-West TD and Minister of State Michael Moynihan visited the river and met local anglers.
“I presume they will bring in experts to regenerate the river,” he said. “It is desperate to see. If you see the glory of the trout in the river and then you see them dead there is no comparison. The numbers are just savage.”
An alliance of game angling federations described the fish kill as a “wipeout of the river”.
Seán Long, director of IFI’s South-Western river Basin District, said the Marine Institute conducted diagnostic sampling of affected fish at Mallow on August 14th. He said a report was expected within three weeks.
“Disease outbreaks can occur in wild fish populations and are influenced by numerous factors including environmental change,” he said. “No evidence of a polluting or harmful discharge has been detected to date in the river.”
He previously said it appeared that many of the dead fish had a fungal infection, though it was not clear if this was the primary cause of their deaths.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said “preliminary sample results indicate no causal link between the fish kill and discharges” from sites it has licensed.
IFI is consulting with Uisce Éireann, the EPA, Cork County Council and the Marine Institute on the matter. The institute’s fish health unit has advised that the removal of dead fish from the water is not necessary.
