'It's a disgrace how rivers have been left after thousands of fish kills'

There have been more than 50,000 fish killed in Northern Ireland because of water pollution incidents during the past five years.

The kills were caused by 65 separate pollution incidents in rivers and waterways.

Most of the fish kills took place in counties Armagh, Tyrone and Fermanagh and in almost half of the incidents, authorities took no further action.

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) said where the source of the pollution could not be identified, no enforcement action was taken.

A Daera spokesperson added: "The department investigates every water pollution incident that is reported, with a view to identifying the source, preventing further pollution, taking action to minimise the environmental impact and undertaking enforcement action against the polluter where appropriate. "

According to the data, almost half of the fish kill incidents were agriculture-related pollution.

Other pollution sources included industry and Northern Ireland Water.

In a statement, the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) said fishkills and water pollution incidents were "extremely serious", but pointed out that agriculture wasn't the only source of pollution.

A spokesperson added: "The overwhelming majority of farmers take their environmental responsibilities seriously and work hard to manage nutrients, slurry and farm infrastructure properly."

In a statement NI Water said: "Fortunately, pollution incidents from NI Water assets that result in fish kills are rare.

"When an incident does arise, a multi-team review is carried out and any recommendations or lessons learned are implemented across our assets where appropriate."

Since 2020, 30 fish-kill cases have led to prosecutions or ongoing legal proceedings, resulting in £44,000 in fines and remedial costs.

The largest single fine for a fish kill was just over £6,000 and related to a pollution incident in the Torrent River in County Tyrone.

The incident from June 2022 saw almost 4,500 fish killed because of a slurry spill.

Local fisherman and wildlife photographer, Plunket Scullion, was one of the first people to spot the pollution in the watercourse near Clonoe.

"I just remember looking into the river and seeing all these dead fish and I knew something was seriously wrong, I haven't fished into since them, it's never been the same," he said.

"You see the odd smaller fish, but all the large fish are gone, anglers don't really bother coming to this part of the Torrent River anymore."

The fish were "completely wiped out", according to Scullion.

"It's not just our wee river, it's all over the country, when you hear 50,000 fish killed, I think it's an absolute disgrace," he said.

In recent years large blooms of potentially toxic blue-green algae in Lough Neagh – caused in part by long-term pollution – have grabbed the headlines.

Gerry Darby from the Lough Neagh Partnership said because six major rivers and a number of smaller rivers flow into the lough, water pollution incidents ultimately had a domino effect.

"Already this week at Ballyronan Marina we've seen the return of the algae to Lough Neagh, and we already know that's going to need a long-term solution," he said.

"But in the short term there are things that can be done, previously it was suggested getting river guardians to monitor rivers, that's local people who can be the eyes and ears of our rivers, things like that can really help."

Figures from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency show that while agriculture remains the largest overall source of water pollution in Northern Ireland, NI Water is also a significant contributor to pollution incidents.

New figures show that between 2020 and 2025 there were more than 5,000 water pollution incidents in Northern Ireland.

Peter Mitchell from the Ballinderry Rivers Trust has argued "it's not just the farmer to blame here".

"You have to look towards big industries and the likes of NI Water in terms of what's going on into the rivers," he said.

"With increase in population and pressure on housing demands - waste has to go somewhere and if it's going to water treatment plans that are outdated, then it can't deal with it and sadly some of that ends up in rivers."

NI Water has previously said that without urgent change and more funding to upgrade the wastewater system in Northern Ireland there would be "persistent and worsening pollution".

A spokesperson for NI Water told BBC News NI it took its responsibility to the environment "with the utmost seriousness".

"We operate an extensive wastewater network, and while robust measures are in place to manage and maintain our assets, the scale and complexity of that network means there is always a risk of pollution incidents occurring," they said.

NI water added that pollution incidents could also be caused by "inappropriate flushing" of items such as baby wipes.

For almost 20 years, NI Water has been protected from the severest pollution fines because of a special arrangement that acknowledges its outdated and underfunded infrastructure.

In March, Environment Minister Andrew Muir said reforms could see NI Water face tougher punishments for issues in the waterways.

Last month Muir introduced a new bill to increase fines and penalties for pollution offences.

This will have to go through Stormont's legislative process before becoming law.

Meanwhile the latest fish kill figures have led to fresh calls for stronger deterrents to stop water pollution.

James Orr from Friends of the Earth said 50,000 dead fish was "not a trivial amount".

"It's not just the fish," he said.

"What are the kingfishers going to eat? What are the otters going to eat, what about the insects which are the building blocks of our rivers?

"They're all impacted and it's a national disgrace."

He suggested the low prosecution rate "encourages polluting by not having successful deterrents".

"The government needs to stand up to these polluters to protect our water," he said.