DETAILS of a new inter-agency protocol for responding to major fish kill incidents have been published.

The national protocol was established following a fish kill on the River Blackwater and underscores the importance of protecting our rivers and waterways.

The largest recorded fish kill incident in Ireland occurred in the River Blackwater in Cork last August, prompting an EC investigation and an independent report.

While that report confirmed that State agencies responded quickly and appropriately once the incident was reported, it also identified opportunities where coordination and communication could have been improved.

It made a number of recommendations aimed at strengthening the State’s prevention, detection and investigation of fish-kills.

Minister of State at the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment Timmy Dooley welcomed the publication of Ireland’s National Protocol for Significant Fish Mortality Incidents in Freshwater.

Developed by an Inter-Agency Protocol Group, and led by Inland Fisheries Ireland, this protocol establishes – for the first time – a nationally agreed operational framework for coordinating and communicating the State’s emergency response to significant fish kill events.