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Posted by Environmentalist on May 11, 2002 at 00:53:49: In Reply to: Re: Mayfly posted by bb on May 08, 2002 at 10:13:16:
The County Council are upgrading the treatment plant in Crossmolina to remove phosphorus from the sewage (people refuse to use phosphorus free detergents around here so it's necessary). But it's only a fraction of the problem - the bulk of the pollution comes from farming according to the report on the lake published 10 years ago after the arctic charr disappeared. Crossmolina town only produces the same amount of pollution as a typical herd of cows owned by any average farmer in the lake area. The poor eejits don't realise that they are looking after the equivalent of a small town in terms of the amount of pollution their cattle produce. Very disingenuous of the IFA to wash their hands of the problem when anyone with a nose knows they spread slurry whenever it rains so that it will be washed away into the streams as quickly as possible forgetting that water runs downhill to the lake. Some pseudo-scientists bought in for the day their recently at a meeting in Westport reported in the Connaught proclaiming that farmers are lily white - these guys remind one of tame scientists brought out to 'prove' that smoking was good for you and those that showed how to make cigarettes more addictive by adding ammonia to mobilise the nicotine more effectively. They even blamed Castlebar town for the problem! Unfortunately the problem may also be due in part to the carelessness of anglers themselves in introducing roach to the lake. Roach were brought to the lake for use as live bait fishing for pike and then released from the bucket after a day's fishing into the lake. They breed and take over the trout's habitat. Rudd too introduced in the recent past and competing with trout but pollution is at the root of the problem because there are roach in Corrib and it fished very well last year at least.
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