River restocked with fish after years of pollution

A Co Antrim river is being restocked after being brought back to life following years of constant pollution.

As the first fish were put into the Glenavy River today the authorities and the courts were told they must come down hard on those who flagrantly and consistently flouted the law and polluted the river.

The Glenavy has been polluted nearly 80 times in the past decade but there have been no more than a dozen prosecutions.

The river has been brought back to life through the work of the Glenavy Conservation and District Angling Club.

Members of the club released 500 large 1lb Brown Trout into the river and has been given a permit to re-introduce 50,000 Salmon fry donated by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure’s Inland Fisheries and 10,000 Dollaghan fry in mid-April, as well as many more Brown Trout fry.

The long-term aim of the club and the local community is to create a public pathway along the banks of the newly rejuvenated river which will give access to those who want to fish or simply enjoy the beauty of the local countryside.

Club chair Lady Bain said they were ready to hunt down the polluters: “We now have 24 private water bailiffs sworn in by the courts to ensure that the industrial and agricultural polluters along the river continue to meet the letter of the law in relation to their discharges and that the statutory authorities police any infringements with appropriate vigour.”

She said they believed the rejuvenation of the river would be a tremendous tourism asset by creating a wonderful fishing and leisure venue on the most valued local resource, Lough Neagh.

It had taken 40 years to bring a ’dead’ river back to life, she said. “For other communities throughout Northern Ireland this is proof that people power works in protecting the environment, bringing life back to our countryside and providing our children with a meaningful legacy.”

Urging everyone to get involved in the fight to save the environment she added: “We simply cannot depend on the authorities along to police our environment, we have to take responsibility to be proactive.

“But the quid pro-quo is that the authorities and the courts must support the community by applying the full weight of legal and financial sanctions against those who flagrantly and consistently flout the law.”