Inland Fisheries Ireland has opened an investigation after an estimated 500 fish were found dead in a short stretch of a Co Kildare river.
The State authority responsible for protecting freshwater fish said large numbers of brown trout appeared to have been killed in the river Rye near Leixlip, Co Kildare.
The agency said the cause of the “serious fish kill” was currently unknown, but an analysis would be undertaken of samples taken from the dead fish.
Inland Fisheries Ireland said officials were alerted to reports of a large fish kill in the area on Wednesday evening. In a statement the agency said it estimated the number of dead fish could be more than 500 across a 2km stretch of river.
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“Investigations are ongoing and Inland Fisheries Ireland is not in a position to comment on the cause of the fish kill at this stage pending further analysis of samples taken,” the statement said.
It said the river Rye is an important spawning river for brown trout as well as a key spawning channel for a highly-sensitive population of Atlantic salmon within the river Liffey catchment area.
Michael O’Callaghan, membership organiser of the Leixlip and District Angling Association, described the fish kill in the river as an “ecological disaster”. He said locals had initially noticed a foul smell coming from the river. “One of our members found a lot of dead fish downstream and confirmed the smell and discolouration in the river,” he told RTÉ News at One.
The death of up to 500 fish was “massive” for the river, and would be “absolutely devastating for the local ecosystem”, he said. “It is a wild stock of trout. So it will have to recover naturally. If it ever does fully recover. It is an ecological disaster. It is going to take years for the river to fully recover from this.”
