Investigation launched as fish kill reported in Co Antrim river

An investigation is underway into reports of a fish kill at a river in Co Antrim.

A report of “agricultural effluent” in the Three Mile Water river in Newtownabbey was made on Wednesday.

Stormont’s Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) said the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) was now probing the incident alongside DAERA’s Inland Fisheries body.

The BBC reported on Thursday that the Newtownabbey based Mossley Mill Angling Association had claimed that “a mile and a half of the river is dead” as a result of the pollution.

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The group’s David North said a “chemical smell” had been detected in the affected stretch of river.

A DAERA spokesperson said the NIEA on Wednesday “received a water pollution report indicating that there was agricultural effluent in the Three Mile Water River”.

“The report also indicated the presence of a number of dead fish in the river,” they said.

“NIEA has deployed Water Quality Inspectors to the area to confirm the report and assess the environmental impact and a joint investigation, with DAERA Inland Fisheries, is underway. The investigation under the Water (NI) Order 1999 remains ongoing.”

The incident is the latest pollution spill to cause a fish kill in the north’s waterways.

Last month saw hundreds of fish killed in Co Derry’s River Roe and the Skeoge River on the border with Co Donegal.

June also saw fish kills in Co Antrim’s Ballymoney River and Glenavy River due to suspected pollution, while in May, more than 1,000 brown trout were found dead in the Four Mile Burn tributary of Co Antrim’s Six Mile Water river.

The Three Mile Water has also been the location of fish kills, with two significant pollution incidents in 2021, and one in 2015.