Further Kerry landslides feared as salmon and sea trout toll put at 8,000

THE landslide in Kerry last weekend killed at least 8,000 fish.

The full disclosure of the massive fish kill was made yesterday.

Shannon Regional Fisheries Board chief executive Eamon Cusack said the kill was “very serious”.

He feared further landslides at the site, at Kielduff near Tralee, as a lot of water was still lodged in the area.

The board was taking water samples and would, in the event of any evidence being found, use its powers of prosecution.

Compensation would also be sought from those responsible to meet the cost of restoring the affected rivers.

The board is to meet with Kerry County Council engineers today to assess the situation. It is also hoping to arrange a meeting with certain developers in the area, including windfarm promoters, he added.

It is also planned to carry out an electro-fish survey in rivers which have been polluted by the landslide. That survey should give a more accurate reading of the number of fish killed.

Mr Cusack said more than 5,000 juvenile salmon and sea trout had died in the River Glashoreag, into which poured thousands of tonnes of liquefied peat during the weekend landslide.

Also, 3,000 salmon and sea trout were killed after peat got into the River Smearla, of which the Glashoreag is a tributary.

In its probe, the fisheries board is trying to determine who was responsible for the landslide.

“We must first assess the damage to the habitat and once the clean-up is completed will be trying to encourage wild salmon to spawn in the rivers rather than introducing hatchery stocks,” Mr Cusack said.

“Salmon will be coming up the rivers in the next few months and we must try to ensure conditions are right for them to spawn.”

The landslide also disrupted public water supplies, damaged bridges and blocked roads in the area.

Kerry County Council yesterday lifted a boil notice which had been in place all week for people using water from the Lyre reservoir.

Water is abstracted from the Smearla for the Lyre reservoir but, as a result of the landslide and resulting pollution of the Smearla, the council is piping water overground from another river for the reservoir.

Meanwhile, local people are keeping their fingers crossed that the dry spell will continue, as there are fears of further landslides in the area in the event of further heavy rain.