Pollution Incident Raises Alarm for Young Salmon in County Tyrone
Anglers have expressed concern that "hundreds" of juvenile salmon may have perished following an agricultural pollution spill in a tributary of the Derg River, located in County Tyrone.
The pollution was detected this morning at Tievenny Burn, situated between Ardstraw and Victoria Bridge. Local anglers noted that the affected area is a short distance upstream from a site where drinking water is extracted.
Officials from the Loughs Agency have reportedly been present at the scene to assess the situation.
Survey and Impact Assessment Underway
Brendan Winters, a fisherman from Sion Mills and a member of the Foyle Association of Salmon and Trout Anglers, is assisting in surveying the river for dead fish. He emphasized the need for stricter penalties regarding such incidents and highlighted potential public health risks.
"We have our smolts, which is the juvenile salmon, getting ready to go back out to sea, so they're going through a very sensitive change and they're very susceptible to this type of pollution.
Now, how much of an effect it has on these fish, we'll not know the fallout of that until the next few hours, days.
But I would imagine at the source it’s coming down, there will be an effect on not just fish, but all aquatic insects and vertebrates and stuff."
Winters noted that salmon populations have been declining "rapidly" over the past two decades. He warned that pollution events like this have "the potential to wipe out" salmon stocks in the River Mourne.
"The one thing we can do is try and look after them when they're in the river, and the potential to wipe out next year's growth as a result of killing these smolts is massive."
Authorities Contacted and River Significance
Requests for comment have been made to both the Loughs Agency and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.
The Derg River is a principal river in County Tyrone, flowing from Lough Derg on the Donegal/Fermanagh border into the Strule and subsequently the Mourne River. It serves as a critical habitat for spawning salmon and is also recognized for its populations of brown trout and sea trout.
