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Current Status |
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Arctic char are one of four members of the salmon family native to Ireland. They are restricted to freshwater lakes in Ireland and the majority of char populations are located in deep, cold mountain lakes in the southwest, west and northwest of Ireland. Populations have also been noted in more shallow lowland lakes, in the past. Although arctic char are important in a native biodiversity context, these populations are either highly threatened or extinct. Arctic char are also a useful water quality biological indicator fish species, as they require pristine conditions. |
Lough Nafooey, a typical
Irish char lake. This lake is situated in the mountains between loughs
Corrib and Mask |
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The status of arctic char in
Ireland is described as ‘vulnerable’ in the Red Data Book (Whilde
1993). It is evident that many populations have become extinct or are
on the verge of extinction. Since the turn of the century char have disappeared
from at least 7 lakes in Ireland (the most notable of which are the char
stocks of Loughs Conn and Corrib). Three char populations disappeared
less than 20 years ago, and it is probable that char have also disappeared
from at least another two lakes.
Recent interest in arctic char, a species now faced with extinction in Ireland, has exposed the dearth of knowledge on the subject in Ireland. Although the species was researched intermittently since the middle of the last century, and much raw data was accumulated by various interested parties, little of this information is available to the public. Furthermore there is no published information on the biology of char to date (Giller 1998). Read about Ferox Trout Read about Gillaroo Read about Sonaghen Coming Soon Read More About Char The biology of Arctic Char, Salvelinus alpinus L. The How and Why of Arctic Char in Ireland.
 Copyright
2003. ICCG ©2003 |
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