Who got there first – Arctic char or pollan?

Extracts of a letter from Mr. Brian Cahalane.

In my opinion both together. In England many of the lakes which support (or did support) populations of Coregonus also support populations of Char.

• The Schelly; found in the Ullswater, Haweswater and Red Tarn in the Lake District. The Char is also found in Haweswater.
• The Vendace; found in the Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite Lake. The Char is also found in Derwent Water

A typical Irish pollan.

Char were also found in great numbers in Lough Neagh a hundred years ago and indeed they grew very large, up to 1.5kg. Fishermen who I have talked to remember their Grand-fathers talking about “Char Wars” between fishermen on various parts of the Lough over fishing rights for this species.

You are right when you write on your site that Pollan were most abundant in Lough Neagh, but even a hundred years ago they came under pressure owing to the enormous destruction of the fry of those fish at Toome Bridge. Thankfully this practice was soon stopped at this time. The greatest catch of Pollan ever recorded on Lough Neagh was in 1834 when 17,220 fish were taken in three or four draughts of the net at the mouth of the Six Mile river where it enters that lake.

Pollan have also been caught many miles from the lake at Carnroe (25 miles from the Lough) on the Bann (lower) by trout fishermen. One wonders if some of the pollan of the lake do migrate to the sea.

Lough Derg, home of a dwindling population of Irish pollan

A similar situation occurred on Lower Lough Erne when the Hydro Power Station was constructed at Ballyshannon and the fish passes were made. Shortly after its construction fishermen in the estuary at Ballyshannon began to catch numbers of Pollan in their nets, which had grown much bigger than those in Lough Erne and were feeding on food found only in the sea.

In Russia there are species which are marine and run into freshwater to spawn, also in these waters the only fish eating member of the species is found.

The largest pollan caught in Lough Neagh was 39cm but speaking to local fishermen bigger specimens have been taken years ago.

As regards the pollan of Loughs Derg and Ree most people are of the belief that they were never present in great numbers in either of the lakes. This is not true , old books and records which I have going back to the middle if the last Century refer to them as “being so plentiful” in both lakes and to being fatter and stockier than those found in Lough Neagh.

To conclude I would be surprised if in Some small lake in Ireland a population of Char or Pollan still awaits discovery, were there not rumours or records if Pollan being caught in Lough Garadice?

Since The ICCG received this letter four new char populations have been discovered. In the 2003 Kerry Survey the ICCG visited 14 lakes, 12 of which were previously unsurveyed.

Char were recorded for the first time from the following lakes:

• Lough Derryana, Waterville
• Lough Cloonlaughlin, Waterville
• Lough Caragh, Kilorglin
• Lough Cloone, Kilorglin

In addition char were recorded in Iscanmacteray and Accose where the last records are over 100 years old. No Char were found in Currane where the last recorded catch is from the 1950's.

The data collected in this 2003 Survey programme will be the subject of a report which it is hoped will shape the sustainable management policies in these ares. All these new records of char are in lakes which are unaffected by anthropogenic influences.