‘I looked into the river and saw all these dead fish’

Niall McCrackenBBC News NI Mid Ulster reporter15 July 2026, 00:01 BSTFisherman and wildlife photographer Plunket Scullion knew something was seriously wrong when he discovered hundreds of dead fish in his local river.A slurry spill had polluted the water creating what was described at the time as a “dead zone”.It was just one of 65 separate pollution incidents in rivers and waterways that have killed more than 50,000 fish in the last five years.It has put him off returning.”It’s not just our wee river, it’s all over the country, when you hear 50,000 fish killed, I think it’s an absolute disgrace,” Scullion said.Of the 50,000-plus fish killed in Northern Ireland because of water pollution incidents, most took place in counties Armagh, Tyrone and Fermanagh.In almost half, authorities took no further action.The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) said where the source of the pollution could not be identified, no enforcement action was taken.’I’ve given up fishing in the river’Plunket ScullionScullion was one of the first people to spot pollution in the watercourse near Clonoe.An incident from June 2022 saw almost 4,500 fish killed because of a slurry spill and resulted in the largest single fine for such an incident of just over £6,000.It related to pollution in the Torrent River in County Tyrone.At the time, it was said years of work to improve biodiversity in the waterway was “wiped out in hours”, leaving a dead zone.”I just remember looking into the river and seeing all these dead fish and I knew something was seriously wrong, I haven’t fished in it since then, it’s never been the same,” Scullion said.”You see the odd smaller fish, but a lot of anglers would say they don’t really bother coming to this part of the Torrent River anymore.”What is causing fish kills in rivers?Daera has said it investigates every water pollution incident that is reported, with a view to identifying the source, preventing further pollution, taking action to minimise the environmental impact and undertaking enforcement action against the polluter where appropriate.According to the data, almost half of the fish kill incidents were agriculture-related pollution.Other pollution sources included industry and Northern Ireland Water.In a statement, the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) said fish kills and water pollution incidents were “extremely serious”, but pointed out that agriculture wasn’t the only source of pollution.A spokesperson added: “The overwhelming majority of farmers take their environmental responsibilities seriously and work hard to manage nutrients, slurry and farm infrastructure properly.” …

Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source