Investigation Launched Into Co Cavan River Fish Deaths

An investigation has been launched into the cause of death of a large number of freshwater crayfish in a Co Cavan river.

More than 600 crayfish were found in the Bruskey/Erne River at Killydoon, near Ballinagh, Co Cavan.

Preliminary results, using DNA analysis, indicate the cause of the kill is Crayfish Plague, a water-borne disease. The situation is of concern to both Inland Fisheries Ireland and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

Investigations are being carried out to establish how the disease got to the Bruskey River and whether it has spread from the initial area of infection.

It appears that either the disease was accidentally introduced on contaminated equipment, such as wet fishing gear or boots or boats used recently in affected waters in the UK or elsewhere, or that non-native species have been illegally introduced to the area and have now passed the disease to the White-clawed Crayfish.

If the disease outbreak was accidentally introduced on contaminated equipment, then containment may be possible, but if non-native crayfish have been introduced then the disease is likely to become established with severe and probably irreversible ecological impact on freshwater fauna and flora.

The NPWS and IFI are asking anglers and members of the public to take precautionary measures to help stop the spread of the disease. People are asked to alert the authorities to any reports of mass mortalities of crayfish, sightings of unusual crayfish (e.g. red claws, large size) and in particular to dry or disinfect boots or angling equipment before moving from one water to another.

The crayfish plague disease can be carried on wet equipment so ALL equipment (clothing and fishing gear) that has been in freshwater must be treated with a disinfectant and then completely dried before moving to another area. This will avoid the accidental spread of the disease to other areas.

(MH)