The North Western Regional Fisheries Board has confirmed that zebra mussels have been found in Lough Gill in Co Sligo. It is the first time the species has been found in the region, and there is concern that they could spread to other important fishing lakes nearby.
The board has appointed consultants to determine if there is a viable population of the species in Lough Gill. Zebra mussels first appeared in Ireland on the Shannon about seven years ago, and it is believed they were carried on the hulls of boats imported from England or Holland.
The chief executive officer of the board, Mr Vincent Roche, said the long term consequences for fishing lakes were still not known. "If they were to cover the bed of the lake they could affect the hatches of certain types of insects," he said.
In other countries they had caused problems for local authorities by clogging water pipes. Mr Roche pointed out that these countries did not have salmon and trout lakes like those in Ireland's northwest, where the introduction of any new species posed a threat.
He said that because there was a lot of movement of boats between Loughs Gill, Arrow and Conn there was a danger that if the zebra mussels took hold in Gill they could be spread to other lakes.
On the Shannon and in Lough Derg it had been found that mussels helped to reduce algae, but this could be a very short-term benefit. If it were found there was a viable population in Lough Gill, Mr Roche said, there was very little that could be done because they reproduced at such an enormous rate.
Meanwhile, the fisheries board has objected to plans by Eirtricity Ltd to build one of the biggest wind farms in the State in the Ox Mountains in south Co Sligo. It would involve the erection of 67 wind turbines and the construction of a 25-mile access road.
Mr Roche said it would be difficult to see how excavated material could be prevented from entering watercourses, including the upper section of the main Moy channel and the Ballisodare river. The board believed that the amount of excavation required at such a high altitude in an area with very high rainfall would affect water quality.
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