Investigation launched after white discharge spotted in North Cork river

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has confirmed that an investigation has been launched after locals spotted a white discharge in the water on the north bank of the River Blackwater in Fermoy yesterday.

In a statement, the IFI said a probe is being carried out by their officers and Cork County Council, who attended the scene in Fermoy yesterday.

“Cork County Council staff have taken water samples from the discharge point, and is further investigating to try to identify the source of this discharge,” the statement read.

At this juncture, it is not thought to be connected to the ongoing multi-agency investigation into fish mortalities on the River Blackwater.

Separately, IFI estimated that between 8,000 and 10,000 fish were killed along an 18km stretch of the River Blackwater earlier this month. Local anglers and conservationists insist that more than 40,000 fish died at that time.

Sampling

Diagnostic sampling of affected fish was carried out in Mallow. Last week, the IFI confirmed that deaths of thousands of brown trout were caused by a pollution incident.

In a statement on their website, IFI said that IFI, Cork County Council, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Marine Institute, and Uisce Éireann are working together to advance the ongoing investigation of fish mortalities on the River Blackwater, stating: “Potential actions to progress the investigation have been discussed, including testing riverbed sediment, analysis of fish mortalities to identify potential harmful substances, and sampling of macroinvertebrates.”

Meanwhile, Jason Corcoran, who owns the Blackwater Trout and Salmon Fishery, said there seems to be no sense of urgency about the new discharge among State bodies.

Substance

He was made aware that there was a substance in the river at 4.30pm on Thursday, and travelled to Fermoy to take footage of it on his phone.

“I live about 8km from it, so I jumped into the car and drove straight in,” he said.

“I took a video of it. It is absolutely crazy.

“I have an active trout and salmon fishery in Fermoy, and I have a bed and breakfast in Fermoy, which are all being hugely impacted.

“I am practically closed since the incident in Mallow.

“To be quite honest, it is my living and my business. Everyone I had booked in since three weeks ago [in the fishery] has cancelled.”

Fish kill

Mr Corcoran said people have travelled from all over the world to fish in the River Blackwater, with the recent fish kill causing huge damage to his livelihood.

“Everything is gone,” he said. “I contacted IFI when the fish kill happened, looking for direction, and you are getting zero help from them. They stopped replying to me.

“I am a conservationist. I bring people in from all over to go fishing. I have been doing this all my life.

“I started this when I was 13, and I am hitting on 50. My dad is at it since 1956. We know what we are talking about.

“The river temperature in Fermoy this morning [Friday] is at in and around 16C. The water discharge that was coming out of that drain was at over 24C.

“That is fatal for every living thing downstream of that. I was shocked.”

Fears

Mr Corcoran said that he fears for the future of various species in the river.

“It is very easy to irritate trout. Salmon are very robust,” he said. “They will look after themselves as long as they are left alone to look after themselves.

“Where all of this is happening is in active spawning zones. There is no reproduction rate going to be able to come back in. Salmon are below conservation levels as we speak.”