A major fish kill has been confirmed on a tributary to a cross-border river flowing into the Inch Lake wildfowl reserve close to Derry.
Approximately 250 juvenile fish, including Atlantic salmon, brown trout and European eel, have been found dead in the tributary to the Skeoge River at Bridgend on the Derry-Donegal border.
The River Skeoge rises in Derry and flows across the border to enter Inch Lake, a popular destination with ornithologists and nature lovers.
A spokesman for the Republic’s Inland Fishers Ireland (IFI), confirmed that its inspectors were investigating the incident. IFI also described the fish kill as a “pollution incident”.
The IFI spokesman said: “IFI continues to probe a fish kill in Donegal in which up to 250 fish may have died.”
Fishery environment inspectors were called to the scene on Thursday morning and have gathered evidence of a pollution discharge into the tributary. The spokesman said IFI would continue to monitor the impact of the incident.
Inishowen Sinn Féin councillor, Terry Crossan said when he arrived at the scene after being alerted he was able to see a “milky detergent like” substance in the water along with a number of dead fish.
He told Highland Radio: “This is a significant kill on a very important tributary which goes directly into the Skeoge River which goes directly then into Inch Lake.”
He said it wasnt the first fish kill on Skeoge River.
“Any kill of this nature or of this extent could take years for these stocks to regenerate,” Mr Crossan said.
