Green Party Councillor Ray Cunningham warns that agricultural pollution is devastating fragile Irish river ecosystems, with fish turning up dead in alarming numbers
Dead brown trout and eel found by IFI at Tolka River fish kill(Image: IFI)
Serious action is needed “if we want to have any fish left in our rivers” according to one Dublin city councillor.
Citing increased instances of dead fish found in Irish rivers, Green Party Councillor Ray Cunnngham has taken to social media to warn against the impacts not just of climate change, but of intensifying agriculture production. He called out the impact of dairy processing and the effects of fertiliser and slurry on river life.
“There have been a lot of fish killed in Irish rivers this year. Hundreds of fish were killed in the Tolka, Moynalty, and Rye and thousands were killed in the Glyde,” Cllr Cunningham said in a video posted online.
“Some of this is down to climate change. Drought means water levels are lower, heat waves mean water temperatures are higher. The river is in a fragile state and then it’s hit with pollution. It’s the combination of all these things that makes the consequences so serious.
“We have to do whatever we can to reduce climate change, but all we can do is try to limit future warming. We can’t turn the clock back on the damage we have already done. If we want to have any fish left in our rivers we have to tackle pollution. In Ireland, that is largely pollution from dairy processing and runoff from fertiliser and slurry.”
Green Party Councillor for Ballyfermot-Drimnagh Ray Cunningham
Climate change has left rivers “more vulnerable to pollution” and Cllr Cunningham warns that if it is allowed to continue “our river life will collapse completely”.
Earlier this month, hundreds of fish were found dead in the Tolka River near Damastown in Dublin. Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) revealed that dead brown trout, eel, stickleback, lamprey and minnow were found along a 2km stretch of the river.
Just last week, hundreds more trout were found dead in the Moynalty river in County Meath. More than 20,000 fish have died in an incident along a 25km stretch of the River Glyde. Investigations into all instances are ongoing.
Information from the National Dairy Council confirms that agriculture, followed by municipal wastewater discharges, are the leading causes of pollution of Irish rivers. The main pollutants include silage effluent discharges, sediment and runoff of various nutrients, such as phosphorus, during fertiliser spreading, pesticide application or irrigation.
There are strategies in place to address this pollution like the EU Water Framework Directive. Examples include fertilisers only being spread at certain times of the year when land is typically drier, which aims to reduce the chances of farmlands polluting rivers.
But Cllr Cunningham states that these strategies don’t go far enough, as he told Dublin Live experts point out that fertilisers seep through the soil and find their way rivers no matter what time of year they are spread. He said the only way to address the problem is to stop extending Ireland’s derogation under the Nitrates Directive and to limit the amount of fertilisers that can be spread.
Head of Advocacy at An Taisce Dr. Elaine McGoff agrees that agriculture is the main driver in the decline in Irish water quality. She said that farmers are now finding themselves in “an impossible situation” where they have expanded and intensified in line with government advice, but that has then led to the pollution of Irish water bodies.
“We’re not seeing the necessary improvement and water quality won’t improve because the measures are not effective. They have no evidence base that the measures even work to prevent nitrogen pollution,” she said.
“Legally speaking, the deal is we get to keep the derogation on the condition that it does not pollute our rivers, our lakes, and our seas. We are not holding up our end of the bargain and that’s why the nitrates derogation has to be challenged.”
The fines issued to those who are found to be in breach are not large enough to lead to any meaningful change according to Cllr Cunningham. He pointed out a creamery which was found to be compliant in the illegal pollution of a nearby river but said the fact it was kept open to continue causing damage highlights a lack of proper enforcement.
Cllr Cunningham said it is “hard enough to prove who is responsible for a fish kill,” but that when people are found culpable the punishment does not fit the crime. “It’s cheaper to pay the fine and keep on doing what you’re doing than to make any changes,” he said.
Ireland’s river life is already in a vulnerable enough position, as Cllr Cunningham explained the effects of climate change are causing sustained periods of drought and higher temperatures. “Fish just can’t survive. They’re on the edge as it is. Then when there’s pollution the situation is so fragile,” he said.
This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
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