Eel fishing in Northern Ireland under threat amid algae invasion

Eel fishing is a tradition has been part of people's heritage in Northern Ireland for thousands of years. However, the business is in danger after an algae invasion hit the Lough Neagh, a source of drinking water for more than 1.8 million residents in the country.

The McNally family, who have been in the eel fishing business for decades, say that since the algae arrived their business has been in trouble. "A lot of fishermen, might be 200 boats on the lough, but now if you are lucky, there will be 20 boats fishing right now," Daniel McNally told CGTN. 

He explains that eels are looking for somewhere else because of the algae outbreak is stealing the oxygen from the water. "The oxygen in the water level has dropped because of this and the eels are looking for it elsewhere."

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The algae bloom has been poisoning Lough Neagh since the summer, when record heatwaves scorched the UK and the rest of Europe.

Apart from the climate crisis, human activities like farming are also being blamed. "Animal waste, intended to be gotten rid of, is spread on the ground," explains biologist Pol Mac Cana. "The soil doesn't have the capacity to absorb it all. Therefore, a large portion of it is washed into the streams and rivers, and down to the Lough here."

Northern Ireland launched a Going to Growth campaign in 2012 to boost its agricultural sector, which led to a drop-off in many efforts to improve water quality in the region.

Since 2012, phosphorus has also risen more than 50 percent in Northern Irish rivers, many of which are linked to connecting Lough Neagh.

Many here blame a dysfunctional political environment for the worsening ecological system. "This is why we have massive, massive pollution," says Lousie Taylor, an activist from NGO Love Out Lough. "Because our legal structure does not work, our government doesn't work, and nothing is protecting our environment."

The Northern Ireland Assembly has been suspended since last February, when the second largest party within the power-sharing government withdrew in protest against a post-Brexit trade deal set by the British government.

However, the good news is, in September, Sinn Fein, the assembly's largest party and the head of the floundering coalition, has called for efforts to curb pollution in Lough Neagh, after it was warned that this year's eel fishing season will be seriously impacted by the algae outbreak.

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Cover image: People have been eel fishing in Northern Ireland for thousands of years. But thanks to rising sea temperatures this summer, an algae invasion is threatening business. /CGTN Europe