Minister of State visits site of massive Cork fish kill as probe continues

Inland Fisheries Ireland said it is continuing to investigate a large fish kill in Cork, as the junior marine minister visited the site yesterday.

Inland Fisheries Ireland said that present indications suggest there are now between 8,000 and 10,000 wild fish mortalities — mainly brown trout — recorded over an 18km stretch of the River Blackwater.

Affected trout were observed in the River Blackwater around 6km downstream of Mallow, up to 12km upstream of Mallow and at the Awbeg and the Clyda rivers.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is the State agency responsible for the protection, management, and conservation of the inland fisheries resource across the country.

Sean Long, director of IFI’s south-western river basin district, said:

 “The Marine Institute, the authority for fish health in Ireland, conducted diagnostic sampling of affected fish on site on August 14.

“IFI expects to receive a related report within 20 days of that date.

“Disease outbreaks can occur in wild fish populations, and are influenced by numerous factors, including environmental change.

“No evidence of a polluting or harmful discharge has been detected to date in the river,” 

Mr Long said.

He added that Inland Fisheries Ireland is continuing to consult with Uisce Éireann as well as with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Cork County Council, and the Marine Institute on the issue.

He said that the Marine Institute’s Fish Health Unit has advised that the removal of dead fish from the water is not necessary, adding that IFI officers will continue to monitor the watercourse in the coming days.

The chairman of the Mallow Trout Anglers Club, John Ruby, told The Echo at the weekend that the incident is potentially “the biggest fish kill in the history of the country”.

He said that up to 20,000 fish have since been killed as a result of the incident.

“At the moment we’ll be lucky to hold on to any species [in the River Blackwater], because they’ve been decimated completely,” Mr Ruby said, adding that it may require years of work before a full restoration of the marine area can be expected.

Labour TD for Cork North Central Eoghan Kenny yesterday urged the minister for agriculture, food, and the marine, Martin Heydon, to attend the site.

“While I appreciate that there has been communication and investigative work done on the river over the course of the week, we are still none the wiser as to what is the cause, man-made or not,” he said.

Today minister of state at the department, Timmy Dooley, said he had visited the site yesterday.