Fish Kills in Ireland in 1985

Abstract

Fish kills reported by the water pollution officers of the Regional Fisheries Boards in 1985 are evaluated as were similar incidents in 1983 and 1984. Trout, Salmo trutta, was the species most widely implicated and the suspected cause of death was oxygen depletion resulting from agricultural activities. The small number of kills (37), compared with other years, was attributed to weather conditions and particularly to high rainfall in 1985. Contrary to expectation, the average numbers of fish killed in an incident were higher and the channel lengths affected were twice as long as in 1983 and 1984. Whether these findings represent a new pattern of water pollution is not known.