Press Release
Salmon Watch Ireland Expresses Deep Concern Over Major Fish Kill on the River Blackwater

Salmon Watch Ireland is alarmed at the scale and extent of the recent fish kill on the River Blackwater. This tragic event highlights the ongoing pressures on the catchment, which continues to suffer from excessive nutrient inputs linked to agricultural intensification and inadequate wastewater treatment infrastructure.

In addition, several licensed discharge points associated with dairy processing and other industries contribute further stress to the river system. While such licences may be deemed acceptable under normal conditions, the reality of increasingly frequent low rainfall and higher water temperatures significantly reduces the river’s capacity to assimilate these discharges.

Current conditions have already resulted in extensive algal growth on the riverbed. The subsequent die-off of this algae can rapidly deplete dissolved oxygen, causing major mortality among fish and the invertebrate species that sustain the ecosystem. Elevated water temperatures compound this oxygen loss. Fish weakened under such stressful conditions are also far more vulnerable to secondary impacts such as fungal infections, further accelerating mortality and undermining the long-term resilience of populations.

Salmon Watch Ireland believes this incident underscores the urgent need to address the Nitrates Derogation within the catchment and to review the licensing terms for discharges to surface waters. A comprehensive, catchment-wide remediation strategy is required, with full involvement of all stakeholders, if the ecological integrity of the Blackwater is to be restored.

We await the outcome of tests being carried out by the relevant state agencies and call for full clarity on the causes of this ecological disaster.