This article is from page 8 of the 2008-03-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 8 JPG
ANGLERS are being asked to help scientists to determine whether re- ports of two rare species of fish are anything more than tall fisherman’s tales.
Scientists fear that Lough Derg has lost two species – gillaroo trout and pollan – both of which have inhabited the lake since the last Ice Age.
Shannon Regional Fisheries Board marine biologist, Dr Fran Igoe has said that there is a real possibility that gillaroo trout no longer exist in
Lough Derg.
Appeals to anglers over the past two years to report any catches of the fish have produced nothing.
Despite co-operation to help find the two species from all of the an- gling clubs in Lough Derg, there have been just two pollan netted as part of a fish biodiversity study of the ENC
Dr Igoe said that reports in old an- gling literature point to the gillaroo being common in the lake 100 years ago. He wants to determine why they are so scarce today and what has
happened to account for this.
Dr Igoe 1s appealing to anglers who land trout which have a gillaroo ap- pearance to freeze a sample of mus- cle tissue so that his team can test it to determine whether or not it is the rare species.
The doctor is director of the Lough Derg Native Fish Biodiversity Project which is looking at ways of protect- ing uniquely genetic trout and pollan in the lake.
Dr Paulo Prodohl, a geneticist with Queen’s University in Belfast who is also involved in the project, says that
the Lough Derg pollan appear to be a unique species but the tiny number of sightings would raise the spectre OMe, cans TeLe Levee
Algal bloom has been fingered as the possible culprit behind declining fish numbers. The toxic bloom caus- es a reduction in the oxygen content of the water which can lead to fish and isy
According to marine biologist Dr Dan Munchin, rising lake tempera- tures associated with global warming are also creating conditions which are difficult for native species.