Loughs Agency secures conviction following major Muff River fish kill

Loughs Agency has secured a significant legal victory against an anaerobic digestate company following a significant pollution event in November 2023 that caused the death of over 2,000 fish in the Muff River in the Eglinton area.

The incident, in which Fishery Officers recovered 2,352 dead fish across multiple species during a five-day investigation, was traced to anaerobic digestate discharge from the plant. The organisation was fined the maximum amount of £5,000, and ordered to pay costs of £2,160, a total of £7,160.

Loughs Agency acted swiftly to address the incident and deployed multiple teams of Fishery Officers and Scientists to investigate and collect evidence. Teams worked tirelessly over five days, recovering thousands of fish and conducting electrofishing and sampling to establish the source of the pollution. Their findings confirmed that digestate from the plant had entered the river, causing severe oxygen depletion and leading to a mass fish kill.

During the trial, District Judge Barney McElholm expressed concern over the maximum statutory fine being only £5,000, calling it "ridiculous." He noted that if the maximum fine were £100,000, he would have imposed that instead.

Following the verdict, Loughs Agency’s Director of Conservation and Protection, Seamus Cullinan, said: “This incident was devastating for the local ecosystem in the Muff River.

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"The outcome of this legal case underscores the importance of strong environmental enforcement to prevent pollution in our streams, rivers and loughs. It requires a collective effort from all of us, including government and businesses, to ensure the future health of our waterways and prevent such incidents from happening again."