Farmer facing prosecution over fish kill in river

A farmer is facing prosecution over a leaking silage pit which has been blamed for a major fish kill on a tributary of the Clare River – one of two discovered in North Galway in a week.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) said they were alerted about the first fish kill last Wednesday and despatched officers to the Yellow River near Dunmore, which flows into the Clare River.

They discovered large numbers of dead fish in the river over the course of almost one kilometre downstream.

“We think it may have been going on since the weekend so a lot of the dead fish had been taken by predators, mainly mink. So going by what we found, it was a considerable kill – in the hundreds,” said Galway IFI spokesman Kevin Crowley.

Young trout and salmon, sticklebacks, lamprey and crayfish were among the species found.

Staff traced the source of the pollution to effluent leaking from a silage pit on a nearby farm.

“Samples and photographs were taken and a prosecution will be taken in light of the severe nature of the pollution,” he said.

“The stream in question is an important spawning and nursery habitat for young trout and salmon.”

A second kill was uncovered on the Dawros River, another Clare River tributary at Milltown last Friday.

The source of this pollution has not been detected and is unlikely to be at this stage after such a heavy period of rain.

The organisation reiterated its appeal to farmers to exercise vigilance when harvesting and making silage at this time of year.

“Water levels are low in many rivers, so any pollution has a much greater impact. It is vital to prevent any leakage from silage pits, and to ensure slurry is only spread in suitable conditions and well away from streams and drains.”

Fish kills such as this were common some years back but have become a rare occurence in the Western River Basin District as farmers switch from pits to silage bales.

“Silage effluent is extremely polluting. Bales eliminate that risk. If using a pit, farmers must ensure they are properly sealed,” reiterated Kevin.

Dr Ciaran Byrne, CEO of Inland Fisheries Ireland, said protection of fish stocks is vital to maintaining an extremely valuable natural resource for the benefit of local and tourist anglers alike.

“Recreational angling in Ireland is worth over €836 million to the economy and supports over 11,000 jobs. Salmon and sea trout angling in Ireland is worth €210 million to the economy and supports 3,200 jobs Salmon and trout in particular, depend on good water quality to survive and IFI is committed to protecting water quality in our rivers and lakes.”

The Clare River is the main tributary of Lough Corrib and is one of the most important salmon fishing rivers in the west of Ireland, with six angling clubs and hundreds of local members.

It provides fishing from upstream of Milltown right down to Lough Corrib, with salmon fishing permitted from March to September.

The IFI has called on members of the public to assist fisheries staff by reporting all instances of illegal fishing or pollution to their confidential 24-hour hotline number at 1890 347 424.