Farmers warned, as agriculture cited in quarter of 2016 fish kills

Farmers have been warned to take extra care to avoid polluting rivers and waterways after Inland Fisheries Ireland said more than a quarter of last year’s fish kills were linked to agriculture.

There were 31 separate fish kills across the country in 2016, with eight of these directly attributable to agricultural activities, three of which were in Co Cork alone. Other incidents occurred in Meath, Kilkenny, Kerry, Sligo, and Galway.

According to Inland Fisheries Ireland, fish killed in these incidents included brown trout, eel, Atlantic salmon, stone loach, and stickleback.