LOUGH Erne is on the way to becoming the next Lough Neagh, with an environmental disaster looming over the county.
Minister of Agriculture and Environment Andrew Muir has described the blue green algae in lough Erne as “very serious” and causes him “serious concern”.
The Minister took a trip to Fermanagh last week and visited Castle Archdale, one of the places suffering with the invasion of blue green algae.
The naturally occurring organism which can be found in loughs, rivers and ponds was detected in Fermanagh early this year and since then has been causing Fermanagh residents serious concern and for some even taking the lives of their beloved family pets.
Minister Muir said, “I consider the issue of blue green algae in Lough Erne very serious and its very clear the issues of water quality aren’t just confined to Lough Neagh this is a Northern Ireland wide problem and I am committed to take action on this but the only way we are going to address these issues is by working together.
“I had a constructive meeting with Fermanagh and Omagh District Council before this and I am hoping to engage with them in the time ahead because it is critical to work together in relation to this,” he added.
When asked if Lough Erne will become the next Lough Neagh Andrew Muir said, “There is a number of rivers, lakes and loughs in Northern Ireland which cause me serious concern and Lough Erne is part of that.
“For far too long we have neglected the environment in Northern Ireland and that is getting played out in many areas across Northern Ireland including Lough Erne so this should be a wake up call for us in terms of needing to take action.
“We do need to make difficult decisions, we need to face up to the need to invest in waste water infrastructure we also need change in agriculture practices so what we see gets played out in Lough Erne should be a motivator in taking action.”
With agricultural run off being a main factor causing the algae, the Minister was hesitant about blaming Fermanagh farmers, many of whom have been taking great measures to protect our local environment.
“I am very much not into a blame game I don’t think that is a very constructive way to go, there is many really good examples in terms of agriculture of farmers who are exemplars and you have got some really good examples in Fermanagh and that’s why I am here and I meet up with them often at agricultural conferences,” he said.
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