Lab results on Blackwater fish kill due this week

Laboratory results on a major fish kill in the river Blackwater last month that killed thousands of fish are expected this week.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) initially estimated that between 8,000 and 10,000 fish, mainly brown trout, had died in the Blackwater, Clyda, and Awbeg rivers, but local angling clubs in Mallow, Lombardstown, and Killavullen have claimed that as many as 50,000 fish may have been killed.

The fourth meeting of an inter-agency group collaborating to establish the cause of fish mortalities in the Blackwater catchment, established at the direction of minister of state with responsibility for fisheries and the marine Timmy Dooley and co-ordinated by IFI was held on Monday.

IFI, Cork County Council, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Local Authorities Water Programme, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the HSE, the Marine Institute, and Uisce Éireann, along with representatives from government departments, attended the meeting. The group was updated on ongoing work to establish the cause of the fish deaths.

A spokesperson for the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment said further laboratory results are expected this week. These will be examined to determine whether any specific factors can be conclusively established to determine the cause of the fish deaths.

“Following this analysis, the inter-agency group will meet at the end of the week, after which results and analysis will be published,” they said.

They added that IFI is planning drone and kayak surveys along the affected area, with further electrofishing surveys also planned.