An international angling competition organised by North West Tourism on Lough Arrow may prove counterproductive after invited foreign journalists ended up taking pictures of the signs of pollution on the lake.
A number of anglers have confirmed that over the three days of the Lough Arrow International Fly Fishing Competition the total number of fish caught by 160 competitors was 19. Among those taking part were 30 journalists from a number of European countries who were invited by North West Tourism.
Concerns about water quality on Lough Arrow are to be raised by the North Western Fisheries Board at a meeting next week with Sligo County Council. The board will be asking for a monitoring committee to be set up with representatives from different agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Fisheries Board's chief officer, Mr Vincent Roche, said they were concerned about the frequency of algal blooms on Lough Arrow.
He said the monitoring committee was needed to establish exactly what was causing the problem because "clearly there has been a major deterioration in water quality".
Mr Roche said there was a serious algal bloom on the lake over the weekend of the fishing competition on September 20-23rd and said he was concerned that some of the visiting anglers were taking pictures of the algae.
"Hopefully they will not publish those pictures abroad," he said. "Our concern is that it would be counterproductive."
He said the board would even question whether it was a good idea to promote the lake at all.
Mr Roche stressed that the very low number of fish caught at the competition did not necessarily mean that stocks in the lake had fallen dramatically. The algal blooms may have prevented fish from being caught and weather conditions at the time were also poor. The board is to carry out a stock survey early next year.
Mr Roche also pointed out that some £350,000 of EU money has been spent on improving spawning streams at Lough Arrow and while this was effective in increasing trout numbers in the streams, it would not translate into more fish in the lake while water quality was poor.
Mr Roche stressed the problems on Lough Arrow were not unique.
Even more damning evidence has been gathered in relation to the lakes in Co Mayo and the board is to meet all TDs and senators from the county on Monday to impress on them the seriousness of the situation.
Mr Roche said the board would be stressing to the TDs and senators that the decline of the lakes would be "a huge loss" to tourism and the economy of the county generally.
Presentations will show that there has been "a collapse" in fish stocks in Lough Cullin and a serious reduction in Lough Conn.
"In Lough Cullin stocks are down to levels where you really could not regard it any longer as a trout fishery. This is an extraordinary situation given that just 10 years ago it was one of the best fishing lakes in the country," Mr Roche said.
A new group, the Lough Conn and Cullin Trout Federation, has also been formed by anglers demanding that something be done to save the lakes before it is too late.
Mayo County Council has been criticised for failing to introduce by-laws, which were drawn up by its own technical staff, to limit the spreading of phosphorous-containing fertiliser on land. Farmers would have to demonstrate that the fertiliser was actually needed.
Mr Roche said in many cases the land did not need the phosphates and they ended up running into rivers and lakes.
The by-laws, which were drawn up two years ago, have not yet come before the council for a vote. Anglers believe the councillors are afraid to stand up to the farming lobby.
It is believed the council may now try to have the proposed by-laws redrafted to make them more acceptable to councillors and farmers.
The North West Fisheries Board is also objecting to plans for a new sewage treatment plant in Castlebar on the grounds that it will be ineffective.
Mr Roche said sewage from Castlebar had caused the pollution in the Castlebar river and Lough Cullin. He said that at low water during spells of dry weather there was twice as much effluent as water flowing in the river.
The Fisheries Board is arguing that the treated sewage from Castlebar should be pumped the 12 miles to the sea at Clew Bay.
Mr Roche said he believed the situation could be turned around if the proposed by-laws were introduced and effluent from the sewerage plant was kept out of the Castlebar river.
He believed the EU Commission would require the introduction of such by-laws within a couple of years anyway, and the board would be urging the TDs and senators to take these measures sooner rather than later.