An investigation is taking place after a fish kill in a Co Louth river.
Endangered adult and juvenile Atlantic salmon were killed in the incident along with brown trout, eel, pike and other freshwater species.
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) said a “definite line of inquiry” was being pursued and relevant local authorities had been notified.
The number of fish affected is not known yet but IFI has described the kill as “locally significant”.
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The dead fish were found in the river Glyde near Tallanstown, around halfway along the river’s journey from Co Cavan to where it enters the sea at Annagassan.
“A considerable stretch of the river is affected, and the estimated number of fish mortalities is currently being assessed,” IFI said.
IFI environmental officers have been on site since Tuesday night after local people spotted the dead fish and samples have been taken at the river and sent for laboratory analysis.
“Monitoring and assessment of the impact will continue to be undertaken by IFI staff,” IFI said.
IFI has recorded 10 fish kills in the Glyde since 1971, with a very serious incident in 1995 killing around 1,000 salmon and trout.
The river is open for fishing salmon and trout on a catch and release basis only.
The kill is the second serious incident of 2026. In April, around 200 brown trout died in the river Skane near Dunsaney Castle, Co Meath.
New protocols requiring greater inter-agency co-operation in preventing and responding to fish kills came in to effect after Ireland’s largest fish kill wiped out at least 42,000 fish in the Blackwater river in Co Cork last August.
Reports on that incident were highly critical of delays in the response and the fact that multiple public bodies and state agencies were involved yet crucial tasks that might have tracked the culprit still fell through the cracks.
