Cause of 150 fish dying in Tipperary river still unknown nearly two months later
Around 150 fish, almost all brown trout, were killed in the River Suir outside Templemore in August, with the cause of the fish kill still unidentified.
In a statement to the Irish Independent, Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) confirmed they were investigating the issue.
It is understood that officials were not notified of the fish kill until around 48 hours after it occurred.
In their statement, IFI said they attended the scene in August, and added that live fish were seen in the river.
“IFI staff attended the scene on Thursday, August 6 and found approximately 150 dead fish —almost all brown trout — at a site downstream of Templemore,” the statement said.
“No suspected cause has been established following an examination and monitoring of the impacted stretch of river.
“Live fish have already returned to the location since the incident was discovered. Water samples have been taken for analysis,” IFI added.
At the September meeting of the Thurles Municipal District (MD), Templemore-based councillor Shane Lee said it was “terrible” that so many fish died, and asked if IFI had undertaken a public awareness campaign after the incident.
“Was there any public awareness campaign carried out about what happened on that river?
“Was a water sample taken from that river? No disrespect, but it’s like it was accepted because it was there 48 hours and from my perspective as a public representative that does a bit of fishing and who understands the importance of the fishing industry, I don’t think that’s good enough,” Cllr Lee said.
“150 trout gone, it’s absolutely disgusting and if that was 150 sheep of 150 cattle, there would be uproar over it, so this is of huge importance to local anglers in that area,” he added.
In response, representatives from the River Basin Management Service (formerly LAWPRO) said that, while no official public awareness campaign took place, local anglers and residents were aware of what had happened.
“There wasn’t a public awareness campaign, not a deliberate or a coordinated one, but on the day that we were there, a number of people stopped us and the fisheries officers and people were asking if they were there to do with the fish kill.
“People said they had heard about it at the mart that morning, and people were discussing it, so I think there was an awareness of it locally,” councillors were told.
Independent councillor Jim Ryan questioned if a discharge pipe into the river that caused a previous fish kill was still active, although there was no suggestion at the meeting that it was connected to the August incident.
“A number of years ago there was a fish kill in the river near Thurles, and it was innocently caused by a guy powerwashing a house.
“The run-off obviously had chemicals in it, and it went down the gullies, into the pipes, and one of the pipes went into the River Suir and caused a fish kill,” he said.
Representatives from the River Basin Management Service said they were not aware if that pipe was still active, but would aim to find out.