Anja Murray: Losing our lakes if we don't take action now

A combined, community-wide approach at Lough Carra will hopefully show how collaborative conservation actions can be successful

‘Lough Carra LIFE’ is a five-year project that is pioneering innovative approaches to reducing runoff, restoring marl lake habitats, and raising the conservation status of other habitats and species within the catchment

Ireland is destroying some of the most valuable habitats by overloading land with excess nutrients.

Take the Great Western Lakes, for example. Loughs Corrib, Mask, Carra, Conn, Cullin, Arrow, and Sheelin have long been celebrated as being among the best wild fisheries in Europe. Because of the underlying limestone bedrock, the waters are rich in calcium, giving the lakes exceptional clarity and exquisite turquoise hues. ‘Marl’ crusts — living layers of chalky deposits formed by cyanobacteria and calcium — host communities of tiny life forms. Calcium-rich waters also host some special aquatic plants that thrive in the chalky conditions, acting like tower blocks for a plethora of invertebrate life, which have sustained thriving populations of wild trout since the end of the last Ice Age.