Minister Dooley welcomes publication of summary report on fish mortalities in Munster Blackwater
- Foilsithe:
- An t-eolas is déanaí:
Minister of State (at the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment) with responsibility for Fisheries and the Marine Timmy Dooley has welcomed the publication of the summary report from the inter-agency group investigating the recent fish mortality incident on the River Blackwater.
Minister Dooley, as the Minister of State with responsibility for inland fisheries, has taken a leadership role in the State’s response, having directed the establishment of the inter-agency group on 22 August to co-ordinate the investigation and promote cross-agency collaboration. Last week, he chaired the fifth inter-agency group meeting. Having conducted a review of actions taken by all agencies involved, including full and comprehensive findings from all investigations and recommendations for future action – both in relation to the River Blackwater catchment and other river ecosystems, the group has published a summary report. The report provides a clear account of the response to, and the investigation into, the incident.
The report has been published on Inland Fisheries Ireland's (IFI's) website. IFI collated and published the inter-agency report, drawing on investigative work undertaken by IFI, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Cork County Council, and supported by the Marine Institute, Uisce Éireann, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Health Service Executive, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO).
Minister Dooley said:
"The extensive fish mortalities that occurred on the River Blackwater represent a serious impact to local fish stocks and have had a deeply negative impact on surrounding communities. Although the evidence points to this being a short-term pollution event, Inland Fisheries Ireland estimate that up to 32,000 salmon and brown trout mortalities may have occurred. When incidents of this severity occur, such as on the Blackwater, it is the duty of all State agencies with statutory responsibilities in this area to act decisively: to exhaust all avenues in identifying possible causes and contributing factors.
"The investigation has now concluded. In this instance, a definitive cause could not be identified despite the extensive and significant investigation by members of the inter-agency group. The report does assert that that a waterborne irritant likely entered the river up to 72 hours before the first mortalities were observed, at a point most likely upstream of the mortalities initially observed by IFI. It dissipated quickly, resulting in it being undetectable in subsequent water samples and fish tissue samples.
"The findings in the report do give reassurance that this was a short-lived event, with no evidence of ongoing pollution risks. I want to emphasise that the investigation was exhaustive and involved extensive sampling, testing and monitoring – by multiple State agencies.
"This incident underpins the need to maintain a rigorous and transparent approach. Importantly, the learnings from this incident will now inform future inter-agency approaches to investigating significant incidents impacting water bodies across the country."
Angling is continuing on the Blackwater, with no water quality issues currently detected. Uisce Éireann undertakes monitoring of drinking water supplies in accordance with the requirements of the Drinking Water Regulations. Monitoring results from the Mallow water treatment plant to date have shown that the water is safe to drink.
While fish populations are expected to recover, IFI and other agencies recognise the significant impact this incident has had on the area.
The summary report – from the inter-agency group – is available on IFI's website.
ENDS
Notes to the Editor
This report comprises the report of an Inter-Agency Group (IAG) investigation into fish mortalities in the Munster Blackwater August 2025. It sets out the background to events which led to Minister of State Timmy Dooley (Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with special responsibility for Fisheries and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications with special responsibility for the Marine) establishing the IAG to conduct a joint investigation, led by Inland Fisheries Ireland, with the Environmental Protection Agency and Cork County Council, supported by the Marine Institute, Uisce Éireann, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Health Service Executive, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and LAWPRO, and provides a synopsis of the main findings from each of the agency investigations.