IN ONE of those ecological mysteries that occur in nature every so often, a plague has broken out in the bream population of the Shannon.
Hundreds of the fish are dying, and their bodies can be seen floating around the bathing area near Portumna on Lough Derg and uncomfortable thought close to the intake pipe for Portumna's water supply. There's a justifiable fear among locals that, as the dead fish decay, they may contaminate drinking water.
It will not be the first time the people of Portumna have put up with suspect drinking water. Last year, raw sewage from a holding tank went into the Shannon above the intake pipe 70 per cent of the population had to get their drinking water from another source.
Greenpeace has been alerted to the calamity of the dying bream but, surprise, surprise, is finding it difficult to pinpoint responsibility so as to have something done. The reports of the plague came only a few days after some Greenpeace people ended a Shannon tour.
According to Ms Iva Pocock, of Greenpeace, the Department of the Marine only became aware that fish were dying in Lough Derg after she sent a sample of a dead bream to the Department's fish health unit 10 days ago.
Ms Pocock said that, before that, as far as Greenpeace can ascertain, the only analysis of samples was carried out by biochemists in University College Galway, on behalf of the ESB, which owns the fisheries on Lough Derg.
The Shannon Regional Fisheries Board, apparently, is also relying on the results of the UCG analysis for some clue as to why the fish are dying.
Not unnaturally, Greenpeace is" exasperated by the lack of co-ordination among the various bodies supposed to be responsible for the protection of Lough Derg and the Shannon. "This sort of haphazard approach is typical and makes it difficult to accept that the Government is taking the health of the Shannon ecosystem seriously, "said Ms Pocock.
In the past week, Greenpeace has met members of the Save Lough Derg organisation, local public representatives, tourism interests, anglers and other local environmental groups.