Donegal fish kill investigations under way
IFI said juvenile brown trout and European eel were among the fish killed
- Published
Two separate investigations are under way into a fish kill in County Donegal near the border with Londonderry.
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) said more than 300 fish had been killed in an incident on a tributary of the Skeoge River in Bridgend on Wednesday.
It is now investigating the cause of the kill, adding that juvenile brown trout and European eel were among the dead fish.
Donegal County Council has also begun an investigation.
Donegal County Council said officials were alerted to the kill by a member of the public
A council spokesman said: 鈥淎 senior central laboratory staff member carried out an inspection at the scene that evening and samples of effluent discharging to a tributary of the main river were taken for analysis, with the results awaited鈥.
The tributary runs to Farland Bank on Inch Level, a special conservation area.
Follow up investigations, the council spokesman added, 鈥渕ay lead to enforcement action being taken under the relevant legislation鈥.
'Probing the cause'
IFI, which is the body with responsibility for freshwater fish and their habitats in Ireland, said the kill covered around a one kilometre stretch of water.
A total of 263 brown trout and 26 elver have now been collected, the IFI added.
鈥淚FI is actively probing the cause of this harmful ecological event, but it鈥檚 too early to definitively establish how it occurred,鈥 the agency said in a statement.
鈥淢onitoring and assessment of the impact will continue to be undertaken to identify the cause of the fish kill, and the quality of the water鈥.
A number of water samples have been collected, IFI said, 鈥渢o gather evidence of the discharge鈥.
The IFI added that a separate investigation is being carried out by officers from Donegal County Council.