Europe’s leading pike fishing club was calling for answers today <CORR,Weds…> after an Irish nature reserve was polluted by a massive oil slick.
More than 8,000 gallons of red diesel spilled into Lough Beg in Co Londerry, Northern Ireland, yesterday <CO, Tues, 24/07…>
Anglers fear that spawning pike, which would have laid their eggs in the margins of the shallow lake, could be wiped out by the oil.
As specialist cleaning teams fought to contain the spill, the Pike Anglers Club called for an enquiry into how the oil could have been allowed to enter the lake.
“Answers are clearly needed here,” a spokesman said. “A water which is an SSSI, along with being an important fishery, has been polluted.
“It again begs the question of what if anything is being done to protect our natural heritage.”
Pike are at the top of the food chain and our fishing heritage. But the role they play is often forgotten by the environmental lobby.
{further details are on the BBC website – click here. Anglers’ Net are not sure at the moment which of the stated terms, ‘gallons’ or ‘litres, is correct}
