Water Pollution Blamed for Extinction of Native Fish

Ireland to face the wrath of the EU Commission for Failure to Implement the Dangerous Substances Directive.

Lough Conn - a lake in trouble. Available as a .pdf file (210K) here Read the question posed to the EU Commission by Patricia McKenna MEP and the response recieved here

A recent publication from the Irish Char Conservation Group (ICCG), "Lough Conn - a Lake in Trouble" points to a national scandal - that of dangerously high levels of pollution found today, not only in ground waters, as published in the media last week, but also in Irish lakes and rivers. It also points, more importantly to the Government's lack of action against the polluters.

The Irish Char Conservation Group, is a voluntary Non Profit Organisation, whose mandate is the protection of Arctic Char (a native trout like fish found in deep lakes in Ireland) and other threatened Irish fish. In their recent publication, they point specifically to eutrophication (over-enrichment) of Lough Conn. In the early eighties the population of Char was sizable according to surveys that were undertaken at that time. By 1990 the Char were extinct from the lake. Survey work showed that the Char spawning beds were affected by sedimentation attributed to enrichment effects caused by excess phosphorus from mainly agricultural sources such as slurry and fertiliser run off.

According to the Group, surveys on various lakes throughout Ireland, show that Lough Conn is not the only one that has lost one of our native fish to pollution. Famous trout loughs such as Ennell, Inchiquin, and Owel, that once held this ice age relic, are now devoid of Char. These studies point squarely to pollution as the main source of the spiralling decline of this fish. The Char are the first species to go, trout and salmon follow closely behind, as is happening in Lough Conn where trout numbers have recently crashed.

The Irish Char Conservation Group are not alone in trying to highlight this growing problem. Ireland faces the full wrath of the European Commission later this year when the Irish Government will be taken to the European Court of Justice for failure to act with regard to the Dangerous Substances Directive.

The European Community Dangerous Substances Directive deals with the pollution of water caused by an extensive list of dangerous substances including heavy metals, biocides and the nutrient, phosphorus. Member States are required to adopt pollution reduction measures. In Irelands case there has been a general failure to adopt pollution reduction programmes for most substances covered by the Directive. Early last year the EU Environment Commissioner Margot Walstrom in a statement, commented that "as regards the 1976 Dangerous Substances Directive, I would urge the Irish authorities to do more. For the most important substance, phosphorus, Irish measures need to go further".

Dr Fran Igoe, Irish Scientific Advisor to the Irish Char Conservation Group said of the fish that "The Arctic Char are one of the most beautiful members of the salmon and trout family but are very susceptible to water pollution. Environmental Protection Agency reports show that "eutrophication" or enrichment, an insidious form of pollution is the primary cause of water degradation. This pollution is upsetting the ecological balance of Ireland's rivers and lakes and many Char populations have now become extinct. Salmon and trout stocks are also seriously affected. ."

Commenting on the growing threat to our fresh waters Dr Igoe added "We as a nation have a collective responsibility to address the problem of pollution. One sector putting the blame on another is not going to solve anything and there is a need for everybody impacting on our fish environment to get real and cooperate to solve the problem. This will require public participation, education and Government commitment at both a local and national level. Phosphorus enriches the water far beyond what can be handled by the water ecosystem, so that most pollution sensitive animals are killed. Char for example were most affected in Lough Conn as they are most susceptible to the effects of water enrichment."

Why should the general public be concerned? Not only are one of our heritage species now extinct in some of the larger lakes but the disappearance of Char signals worsening water quality. It is not in the public interest to allow these internationally renowned lakes decline, from a heritage, conservation, public health and tourist perspectives. If preserved, these lakes hold great potential for tourism development. This could form an important part of the local economy at a time when rural life in Ireland is under threat from reducing farm incomes. We should be thinking about how we can conserve what we have and develop it sustainably in the interest of everyone on this island and not be looking for ways to shirk our responsibility.