Anglers fear up to 46,000 fish dead after ‘devastating’ kill on Blackwater in Co Cork

Olivia Kelleher

Anglers in North Cork have expressed concern after the ‘devastating’ loss of up to 46,000 wild fish in a kill on a 30km section of the River Blackwater between Lombardstown and Killavullen.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) confirm that they are continuing to investigate the large fish kill.

They say that present indications suggest that between 8,000 and 10,000 wild fish mortalities have occurred over the stretch of river.

They are basing these numbers on IFI observations and data submitted by local stakeholders.

However, angling clubs say that the numbers are much higher and impact on every species present in the river including trout and salmon parr, stickleback, dace, adult trout, salmon and fresh water eels.

Long time Co Cork angler, Dan Dennehy, described the fish kill as “devastating.”

“Salmon, eels, trout — thousands and thousands of them. We don’t know the extent of it or what is causing it.

The fish have gone to the labs for testing. They are saying between eight and ten working days to establish what exactly caused it. It impacted on a stretch of the Blackwater. Now it’s 20 or 30 kilometres. Why it stopped at a certain point we don’t know. There is a load of unanswered questions in relation to it.”

Mr Dennehy, who is the club secretary of Kanturk and District Trout Anglers, says that it is one of the biggest fish kills ever seen in the country.

“This is just massive. Minister Timmy Dooley and Minister Michael Moynihan were there yesterday and they met the local anglers from Mallow, Lombardstown and Killavullen. They had a very constructive meeting. I presume they will bring in experts to regenerate the river.

It is desperate to see. If you see the glory of the trout in the river and then you see them dead there is no comparison. The numbers are just savage.

The IFI are playing down the numbers killed. I don’t understand that. This is an off the scale kill.

"I think there are anglers on that river who will never see the river again because it will take so long to recover.”

Mallow Trout Anglers, anglers in Lombardstown and Killavullen and Salmon Watch Ireland are among those who have been left “horrified” at the sheer scale of the kill.

An Alliance of Game Angling Federations has described the fish kill as a “wipeout of the river.”

Meanwhile, Sean Long, Director of IFI’s South-Western River Basin District, said said that the Marine Institute conducted diagnostic sampling of affected fish on site on August 14th at Mallow in Co Cork.

“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.”

IFI continues to consult with Uisce Éireann, the EPA, Cork County Council and the Marine Institute on the matter.

The Marine Institute’s Fish Health Unit has advised the removal of dead fish from the water is not necessary.

IFI officers will continue to monitor the watercourse in the coming days to further assess the incident.

Separately, the EPA said that “preliminary sample results indicate no causal link between the fish kill and discharges from EPA licensed sites.”