Anglers told not to eat fish from Lough Neagh feeder rivers

A prominent angling group has advised members not to consume fish caught in one of the main tributaries of the UK’s largest lake, Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland. 

Antrim & District Angling Association (ADAA) posted the advice on its Facebook page for anglers on the Six Mile Water river “for the foreseeable future”. 

The recommendations come after research by scientists at Queen’s University Belfast found 13 potentially hazardous microbes in the algal mats that formed on Lough Neagh in 2023 (News, 21 August). The report confirmed the Lough’s hypertrophic status – the worst category of waterways pollution. 

The association’s chairman Maurice Parkinson said the large build-up of algae in the Lough and surrounding rivers was already cause for concern prior to the publication of the research. 

“It’s clearly an unknown situation as we go along,” he said. “We can’t take a risk here, and we’ve got to use the precautions that we understand are applicable at this time. We’re just being ultra-cautious.” 

Trout and Salmon editor Andrew Flitcroft warned that several dogs died last year after drinking water contaminated with blue-green algae but said: “The risks from eating fish from waters heavily contaminated with algae are unknown. It is a problem the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs must police and act upon more urgently through greater regulation.”