Slurry pit collapse leads to death of 150 trout in river

Inland Fisheries Ireland yesterday confirmed it is investigating a slurry spill which caused a fish kill in a river near Ballylongford, Co Kerry.

It resulted in the deaths of 150 brown trout, hundreds of stickleback, an eel, and a flounder.

IFI officers responded to a call from Kerry County Council regarding the incident on a farm in the Kilgarvan area last Saturday. The farmer had reported the incident through an emergency number.

The officers found one side of the pit wall had collapsed and a large amount of slurry had escaped. Two cattle were injured and had to be put down.

County council staff also attended the scene.

The slurry entered a tributary of the Ballyline River, which flows into the Shannon Estuary at Ballylongford Bay.

The farmer carried out emergency measures in a bid to contain the slurry and also tried to minimise the impact to fish and wildlife downstream, according to the fisheries’ body.

Samples of the water were taken and the situation was monitored over the weekend, with an inspection carried out on Tuesday.

The section of river from the farm to Gortanacooka Bridge was the most heavily impacted. There is a lot of organic sediment in the river from the farm to the first bridge in Graffa Bog.

An IFI spokesperson said the sediment will not disperse until there is a flood in the river.