Inland Fisheries Ireland is investigating a large discharge of slurry as the likely cause of a major fish kill in the Owentaraglin river in Co Cork.

More than 1,200 fish were killed along a 2km stretch of the Blackwater tributary near the village of Kiskeam and the incident is one of four slurry discharges reported to Inland Fisheries Ireland.

The counties where investigations are taking place are Cork, Kerry and Waterford.

The Owentaraglin discharge was reported to a confidential hotline on Monday 5 December, and fisheries officers, who were assisted by gardaí from Millstreet station, are investigating its source.

Confirmed

On Wednesday, Inland Fisheries Ireland confirmed “a number of reports of slurry discharges in the southwest over the last week, all of which are under investigation”.

Sean Long, director of the South Western River Basin District, said it would take years for the river Owentaraglin to recover.

This is an important spawning river for many fish species, and the dead fish included salmon, brown trout, eel and stickleback, as well as significant numbers of gravid (egg-carrying) hen salmon.

“Inland Fisheries Ireland is reminding farmers of the importance of complying with EU regulations on the storage or movement of slurry,” Long said.

Under the Nitrates Directive rules, slurry spreading is prohibited from 15 October.