Fish rescue mission underway in Virginia marina

A rescue operation is underway as anglers and Inland Fisheries Ireland are rescuing thousands of fish stranded in the marina in Virginia at Lough Ramor since Sunday morning.

Local swimmers contacted Inland Fisheries Ireland when they spotted hundreds of struggling and dead fish in the marina, while fishermen started moving netfuls of fish into the lake. The roach fish were seen gasping for air on the water surface, obviously struggling to breathe.

A young fisherman, originally from Navan, said he had come here to fish as this was normally a good spot. But when he saw the fish, him and the other fishermen immediately started taking their nets and transferring the fish into the lake.

Meanwhile, staff from inland Fisheries collected fish in big buckets and brought them out into the fresh water on their fishing boat. A staff member told the Celt that the oxygen level of the water in the marina was just 1%. "For a healthy environment, it should be around 12%," he said.

It is not unusual for roach to be in the marina. They congregate here regularly the Celt was told. "But normally they find their way back out of the bay into the lake," the member of Inland Fisheries described. He said he had "never seen anything as bad".

Currently, however, the water level in the marina is at least three feet below where it should be, as evidenced by algae marks high up on the walls. A pipe supplying water to the marina is producing only a slow trickle. "There should be much more water coming into the marina," he observed, indicating that the pipe must be blocked or the access point is blocked, because they had opened a valve further upstream of the river without any effect on the flow into the marina. "Water must be leaking out somewhere here." The old pipe leads under the area where currently the town's new wastewater treatment system is being built.

Having heard of the enfolding event, Councillor TP O'Reilly arrived on the scene. He commended the people who were tirelessly transferring the live fish back into the fresh water. "I hope they can save as many as possible," he said, adding: "It is one consolation that it doesn't seem to be pollution from outside factors, but it is disheartening to see this."

The staff member of Inland Fisheries Ireland guessed there could be more than 1,000 fish affected, but he was confident the rescue operation would save most of them. "They should be ok once they are back oxygenated water."

The Celt will provide updates on the event.