Skip to player
Skip to main content
Skip to footer
Search
Connect
Watch fullscreen
Like
Comments
Bookmark
Share
Add to Playlist
Report
Lough Neagh pollution had major impact on north Derry beaches with 25 ‘blue-green algae’ blooms
Derry Journal
Follow
16/02/2024
Lough Neagh pollution had major impact on north Derry beaches with 25 ‘blue-green algae’ blooms
Category
🗞
News
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
Six major rivers feed the loch, the Ballanderi, the Niolla, Six Mile Water, Blackwater, the
00:06
Main and the upper ban itself. Only one river flows out, the lower ban, and that
00:11
wends its way through County Xantham and Londonderry to the bar mouth between
00:15
Cassarock and Port Stewart, including through Corian, the principal town of the
00:19
Cosray Coast Alliance. As someone who has had the privilege of fishing for white
00:23
trout at Dugan's Bay and the tidal stretch of the ban, above the cuts at the
00:27
Loch and Island for salmon, including the Big and Wee Agave rivers, the
00:31
beaches of Downhill, Cassarock and Port Stewart for flounder and sea bass, I am
00:36
all too aware of the debris that flows through the river ban into the sea from
00:42
Loch Neagh. And that includes the irregular flow of water being released from the
00:47
loch in intimate weather and in times of high levels of water on the
00:51
loch itself. Last year's algae bloom saw 25 confirmed instances between the lower
00:56
ban at Toom and the bar mouth at Cassarock and Port Stewart. It is not just
01:01
Loch Neagh but along the lower ban corridor, affecting angling and tourism,
01:05
especially on the north coast bathing beaches. Everything that is
01:09
waterborne emerging from Loch Neagh flows along the ban and out to sea.
01:13
Therefore, nitrates and phosphates need to be prevented from entering the loch
01:17
at source. Mr. Speaker, when you were Minister of the Area, you initiated an
01:23
ambitious tree planting scheme. We need to continue with that thought by planting
01:27
riparian tree and vegetation cover along our rivers, entering Loch Neagh to catch
01:31
some of the leachate from farmland and also find a natural solution to the
01:35
invasive species of zebra mussel, preferably a natural predator rather than
01:39
a chemical solution. I would add my support to the dearer Minister as he
01:43
grapples with this ecological time bomb. I would agree with others that this
01:47
problem needs cross-departmental support, but I would encourage the Minister to
01:51
not just look at the loch itself but to include the waterways feeding into the
01:55
loch and the one river that flows out to the lower ban. Mention has been alluded to
02:00
here about eel fishing. I can remember the ropes at the cuts, black with
02:05
elvers making their way upstream. That is no longer the case. Unfortunately, that is
02:11
something that needs to be looked into as well. Hence the need to have a holistic
02:14
approach to Loch Neagh and its associated waterways.
Recommended
0:32
|
Up next
Lough Neagh algae starts
News Letter
08/04/2025
0:17
Lough Neagh algae video
News Letter
17/07/2024
0:49
SMELLY SLUDGE AT LOUGH NEAGH
National World
27/06/2025
1:37
Seaside homes left dangling on cliff edge after huge landslide in Norfolk, UK
SWNS
04/01/2022
0:30
Water pollution at Queenscliff | February 2022 | Northern Beaches Review
Northern Beaches Review
27/02/2022
0:36
Bioluminescent waves hit the shores of California
AccuWeather
03/01/2024
0:46
'Trash islands' off Central America expose ocean pollution
AFP English
24/11/2017
1:28
Byron Bay's Main Beach in danger of substantial erosion
ABC NEWS (Australia)
14/12/2020
1:00
Toxic blue-green algae identified across the UK
Local TV
06/10/2023
1:20
Scarva Black Parade 2025
News Letter
today
6:26
Twelfth heat Belfast News Letter
News Letter
2 days ago
6:48
Twelfth 2025: Dundonald
News Letter
2 days ago
46:26
The Real Derry: Jamie-Lee O'Donnell
Coffee&TV
31/10/2024
44:22
World's Most Dangerous Road 2023 - 01x06
Coffee&TV
31/10/2024
26:09
The Lovers - 01x03 - Episode 3
Coffee&TV
23/05/2024
7:34
U20 Highlights New Zealand U20s secure final spot
World Rugby
14/06/2017
1:13
New Zealand U20s score outrageous team try
World Rugby
14/06/2017
13:29
28 Years Later Review
Derry Journal
today
4:26
The Twelfth of July 2025
Derry Journal
3 days ago
24:40
Seeds you can sow in July - Gardening with Brendan
Derry Journal
3 days ago
1:30
Taoiseach Micheál Martin supports strengthening cross-border cancer care to ensure Inishowen access
Derry Journal
3 days ago
2:26
Bonfires-Should they be banned?
Derry Journal
3 days ago
1:21
Willie Hay says Diplock-style courts necessary given threat and backs non-jury trials until 2027
Derry Journal
3 days ago
2:00
HMOs will be treated as one home and will get one parking permit under any residents’ schemes
Derry Journal
3 days ago
2:09
Durkan says what works for Aberfoyle will not work for Argyle Street in calling for different Magee residents’ parking schemes
Derry Journal
3 days ago