County Kerry Arctic char are internationally important

One of the Kerry char recently found in a previuosly unsurveyed Derrianna Lake.

The Arctic char have been of interest to scientists for some time and at one stage it was believed that there were at least three different species occurring in County Kerry alone. The char in the Killarney loughs were called the blunt nosed char (S. obtusii) because of their blunt snouts. In Coomasaharn lough near Killorglin they were referred to as the Coomasaharn char (S. fimbriatus) on account of the fact that they have more gill rakers (used for filtering out plankton from water) and the fish are of a different shape (they are believed to be a dwarf population) than any other char populations in Ireland. Scientists still believe that they are unique and recent studies by Dr. Johan Hammar of the Fisheries Research Institute indicate that their internal parasites indicate a very ancient origin.

Concerns
Serious concerns have been raised about the survival of Arctic char in County Kerry. Loughs such as Lough Leane in Killarney have experienced algal blooms and pollution problems which are known to be detrimental to Arctic char survival. The fishlife in most loughs in County Kerry had never been surveyed before and little was known about the status of Arctic char. Therefore in 2002 the Irish Char Conservation Group, which is a non-profit voluntary NGO, commenced detailed scientific investigations into loughs in County Kerry. Amazingly we identified four undiscovered populations of char in Kerry in 2003 and confirmed their presence a five other loughs.
Alarmingly our results also showed that some loughs in Kerry are suffering the effects of pollution and thoughtless introductions of non-native fish such as rudd, e.g., Lough Currane.

What can we do?
Arctic char need clean water and if we are to conserve these beautiful fishes for future generations to appreciate we must plan and implement our development in a sustainable way. Building houses on the side of hills without adequate treatment systems or spreading animal manures inappropriately will damage these loughs further and result in more extinctions. Introductions of non-native fish such as rudd, roach or pike into these loughs these will also cause problems. Humans and Arctic char can live happily side be side – the question is do we humans want to?

Remember: The Arctic char is a unique treasure in County Kerry. Lets look after them and by doing so, look after our waters for us all to enjoy.

Survey results
First record for Loughs Carragh, Cloon, Derriana and Cloonloughlin
Arctic char presence confirmed for the Killarney lakes, Accose, Coomasaharn, Iskanamacteara and Inchiquin.
No Arctic char confirmed for Lough Currane – last record 1956
No Arctic char confirmed for Lough Anascaul – last record 1987
More populations will disappear unless water quality is looked after in these loughs.
Brown trout in many of these loughs were also found to be genetically unique – recent results from Queens University Belfast

A typical arctic char habitat; the corrie lake.

Acknowledgements

The survey work was carried out by Irish and international scientists together with the assistance of private individuals and the following agencies: National Parks and Wildlife Service, Southern regional Fisheries Board, Heritage office of Kerry Co. Council and River Monitoring Technology Ltd.