Kesh River: Major fish kill in County Fermanagh

There has been a major fish kill in the Kesh River in County Fermanagh.

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) was alerted after large numbers of dead fish were seen on Wednesday.

NIEA senior scientific officer Ian Needham told the BBC it was a "very significant event" and many hundreds of fish had been killed.

An investigation is under way to find out what caused the fish kill but Mr Needham said that so far they had been unable to identify the source.

Local anglers gathered on a bridge in Kesh to survey the river where dozens of dead fish have washed up in the shallows.

Ian Grimsley, vice chairman of Kesh and District Angling Club, said it was the worst incident he had seen in 40 years of fishing in the area.

He said he had seen large numbers of dead brown and river trout, as well as juvenile salmon, perch, bream and roach.

"It'll take years to bring it back again," Mr Grimsley said.

"The majority of these fish are going up the river to spawn, it's just a bad time for a kill like this."

The dead fish have provided an unexpected food source for a family of mink.

Onlookers watched as they emerged from the river bank to gather their catch and take it back for safekeeping.

Normally the river would run clear but it is now a murky brown with the pollution stretching for several miles.

However the long term impact of this fish kill on local wildlife has still to be assessed.