This article is from page 9 of the 2006-09-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 9 JPG
NATIVE fish stocks in Clare were dealt another blow last week with the first recorded finding of a Roach in any lake west of the River Fergus. The fish was discovered by local angler Michael Quinlivan in Lough Achryane or ‘Crown Lake’ near Lissycasey and is a serious threat to the future viability of trout on the lake.
When Roach enter a new lake they breed very rapidly, destroying the lakes population of zooplankton rendering it uninhabitable for other fish.
“They will actually change the ecology of the lake and magnify the effect of any pollution that is there already,” said Fran Igoe, of the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board. “As their population explodes they decimate the zooplankton in a lake and allow the phytoplankton or algae to take over.”
This change in the lake’s ecology diminishes the food available to the native trout, but also inhibits the lakes ability to process pollution.
“Some people do fish Roach but they are extremely common all over Europe and the UK and they will destroy out native trout,” continued Mr Igoe. “People should be aware that moving fish around will cause serious problems for angling in County Clare. They should be aware of this but they still seem to be moving these fish around.”
This news follows the discovery earlier this month that the Artic Char has now become extinct in lakes in County Clare.