Over 20,000 fish estimated to have been killed in Louth river

By Bairbre Holmes, Press Association

More than 20,000 fish have been discovered dead on the River Glyde in Co Louth, Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has said.

The state agency said the “locally significant fish kill” was reported on Tuesday evening, affecting a “considerable stretch of the river”.

Speaking on RTÉ News at One, Ronan Matson, director of the IFI’s Easter River Basin District, said he believed it had been caused by an agricultural discharge upstream of Tallanstown.

Recovery will start immediately… the pollution will wash out relatively quickly. But it can take a few years for the fish to come back

The IFI have taken samples of river water to be sent for laboratory analysis to confirm the cause and said local authorities have been notified.

Mr Matson said all species of fish in the river have been impacted, but the majority of the dead fish are minnow and stickleback.

Salmon, eel, brown trout, roach, and pike have also been killed.

Monitoring and assessment of the impact will continue to be undertaken by the IFI staff.

“Recovery will start immediately… the pollution will wash out relatively quickly,” Mr Matson said.

“But it can take a few years for the fish to come back.

“So if there are fish there that are two or three years old, it will take those two or three years for those fish to recolonise.”

He said it was “good news” that most of the spawning happens upstream of the area.

“So there should be good regeneration, once the source of pollution has stopped, which we are confident it is.”