Irish Examiner view: Blackwater fish kill is nothing short of an ecological disaster

First reported in the 'Irish Examiner' last week, the suspected fungal infection outbreak is a catastrophe that clearly demands urgent action

Amid the fish killed in the Blackwater — which flows from Kerry into Cork and on to Waterford — there are now reports of atypical behaviour by other species including cormorants. File picture: Des Barry

Yesterday, this newspaper carried more dispiriting news from North Cork, where the large-scale fish kill first reported here last week has devastated several rivers in the area.

Thousands of fish — mainly brown trout but also salmon — have died in the Blackwater, Clyda, and Awbeg rivers, and while Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has estimated the total number of fish killed as between 8,000 to 10,000, local anglers believe the number to be far higher.