LOUGH NEAGH IS 'BLEEDING TO DEATH'

A TOUR boat operator has claimed that Lough Neagh is ‘bleeding to death’, while a councillor has called the appearance of algae blooms and bacteria in the water as ‘a major catastrophe’ after witnessing fish struggling to survive in the thick sludge.

And a picture taken from the air has laid bare the crisis facing the area - as the body of water appears to have turned green - with fishermen begging for improved management of the water as soon as possible.

The blooms have led to bathing bans and warning signs being erected at popular tourist sites across the borough, with warning also issued about the dangers to pets and farm animals.

Sharing a video of the water, a spokesperson for Lough Neagh Discovery Boat Tours said last week: “As someone who works on the waters of Lough Neagh daily, this weekend has seen the worst conditions yet, even with not that high of a temperature and with anything but calm conditions, it is the worst we have ever seen, it is if Lough Neagh is bleeding to death.”

Sinn Fein councillor Henry Cushinan visited Cranfield at the weekend and was shocked by what he saw - swathes of thick green sludge.

“When I received reports of renewed blooms of blue green algae on Lough Neagh nothing could have prepared me for the sight that met me when I visited Hutton’s Quay and Cranfield.

“A major catastrophe is unfolding on the Lough.

“Young fry that should be feeding along the shore are lying dead on the surface as there is obviously no oxygen in the water. The sludge is so thick that the boats you see were unable to gain access to the open water to fish today. There is a foul smell emanating from this mess.”

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) has previously said that algae blooms can occur when there is abundant sunlight, still or slow-flowing water and sufficient levels of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus.

However, ownership of Lough Neagh is itself, rather muddy. The Earl of Shaftesbury, Nicholas Ashley-Cooper is said to own the banks and bed of the lough, but not the water itself.

The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute says that scientists are continuing to observe and monitor changes to the ecology of Lough Neagh - the largest body of fresh water in the British Isles, which is bigger than Malta.

In July the institute deployed an additional data buoy to monitor water quality and provide real-time early warnings of low-oxygen levels that can potentially occur as algal blooms decompose.

The organisation recently revealed statistics which showed that the Lough is at least one degree warmer than it was in the mid 1990s and in 2023 was three times as clear as it was in 2019, meaning that wildlife was more exposed to predators.

There was also an explosion in the population of the invasive zebra mussel and in 2022, there was 78% less chlorophyll compared to 2019, meaning less material for plankton to feed on, - the latter being a major source of food for fish living in Lough Neagh.

Blue-green algae can rapidly increase in warm weather and sunlight if fed by enough nitrate and phosphate nutrients, mainly from farm run off, sewage and fertiliser.

The mussels have in turn revealed the extent of the algae, as they fileter the water to make it clearer, allowing sunlight to penetrate to greater depths.

A Ballyronan fisherman posted a picture of his boat trailer covered in green slime, saying: “The algae will die when the sunlight reduces and the temperature falls and when it does it will rot and steal the oxygen out of the water.” he said.

“Then the fish and eels will die through lack of oxygen including this years hatchlings and next year there will be a massive drop in fish numbers. The phosphorus in the rotting fish will either be flushed out of the Lough or stay in the sediment to provide the nutrients for next year’s algae growth which would be bigger. If a tipping point has been reached then this green Lough Neagh is here to stay for decades.”

Others have claimed that some daily catches of eels - a vital part of the fishing industry in the borough, providing a livelihood for generations of families - has ‘collapsed’, with some catching as little as three stone.

Many boat owners have apparently stopped going into the water, as it is not worthwhile - and some have reported that the sludge is so thick that it will damage their engines and motors trying to push through it.

People who live on the lough said it is the worst they have ever seen and there are fears that angling, sailing clubs and tourism will all suffer if action is not taken.

A foul odour being reported along parts of the loughshore is the algae decaying and rotting, releasing what the Environment Agency describe as a ‘pungent smell like rotten eggs or rotting plants’ and many residents have erroneously reported suspected gas leaks, so strong is the smell.

Gerry Darby, strategic manager, Lough Neagh Partnership has called for an inter-governmental strategic management plan for Lough Neagh, adding that his group has been lobbying for more than 20 years to be granted more control and responsibility and that the lough does not even have a basic navigation authority.

The Six Mile Water Trust, which monitors the river which flows through Antrim into the Lough, has been calling for action for many years, citing a number of fish-kills due to pollution.