Two regional fisheries boards have issued appeals to the Government for action on measures to stop the importation of ‘alien’ invasive plant and animal species which are having a serious impact on freshwater environments. The Western and Shannon regional fisheries boards say that restrictions could protect the inland marine habitat and save thousands of euro which are now being spent on coping with the difficulties caused. A report on the plants by Lorna Siggns appeared in last Friday's It is estimated that between €9 million and €12 million is being spent on protecting habitats from eradication by alien species throughout the EU annually
It’s believed that the problem is so critical, a special agency should be established to monitor such imports which are sold through garden centres and pet shops.
For instance, the Western Regional Fisheries Board say the water fern azolla filiculoides is the latest threat. The board spent the winter removing tonnes of lagarosiphon major, a curly-leafed pondweed which has infested the Corrib discovered there five years ago, and the water fern has now been found on a tributary of the river Clare which flows into Lough Corrib.
The plant has ‘carpeted’ the surface of the watercourse for some 2km, spreads rapidly and can quickly deprive the watercourse of oxygen and kill fish. It can pose a threat also to children and animals as it may be mistaken for ‘dry land’.
Then there’s the shrimp-like crustacean – native to the Caspian Sea – detected in the Shannon catchment by the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board. Hemimysis anomala has been found on Lough Ree in ‘large numbers’, and on Lough Derg. Early research suggests it competes with juvenile fish (particularly coarse fish) for food and reduces fish numbers, the Irish Times recently reported.
