Concern at county’s latest fish kill

Over 1,000 fish have died in the county’s latest fishkill.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has confirmed it is aware of “a significant fish kill” on the Crover River near Lough Sheelin.

Believed to have happened in Friday, over 1,000 juvenile trout were killed, with crayfish, lamprey, stone loach and invertebrates also found dead in a 1.5km stretch of the river.

The Crover River is a tributary of Lough Sheelin.

“Officers from the Shannon River Basin District became aware of the incident late on Friday evening (August 12”, a statement from IFI confirmed.

“While investigations into this fish kill incident are ongoing, Inland Fisheries Ireland is not in a position to confirm the cause of the fish kill.”

The Lough Sheelin Trout Protection Association (LSTPA) said it’s “extremely disappointed and concerned” by the latest fish kill on the river.

It says the 1,000 estimate for the number of fish killed “is probably an underestimation as numbers of dead fish were washed downstream and into the lake”. In a lengthy statement, it also notes areas upstream from the site of the kill appear to be unaffected.

“This is the third major pollution incident on this stream within the recent past including a major fish kill a number of years ago. The LSTPA in conjunction with Inland Fisheries Ireland, using funding from the Midland Fisheries Fund, invested in major rehabilitation work on this stretch of river.”

Extensive work was carried out by the organisation in recent years with pools, riffles, and gravel introduced to the stream to improve habitat for trout and other aquatic life.

The LSTPA describes as “very concerning” the fact the stream enters Lough Sheelin close to a public swimming area which, given the good weather in recent days, was busy with families.

“It is also very concerning that this stream enters Lough Sheelin at a popular swimming and bathing area. We understand that dead fish, washed down by the stream, were seen by young people using the area to swim, bathe and enjoy the recent good weather.

“It is deeply concerning that whatever poison killed the fish in the Crover Stream could also have affected other users of the lake.

Inland Fisheries Ireland has urged members of the public to report fish kills or water pollution on its new confidential 24-hour hotline number on 0818 34 74 24, which is open seven days a week.

The organisation says investigations are continuing into a seperate fish kill on the Ballinagh River last month.

150 fish were killed in that incident, including brown trout, stickleback and minnow.

IFI says it is continuing to investigate that incident.

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