Pink prawns might provide green solution to Lough Neagh's woes

Lough Neagh's woes are well-known.

The UK's largest freshwater lake was blighted by blue green algae in 2023 - pollutants from farm fields, invasive zebra mussels and warm weather creating a cocktail of trouble.

A year on, the fishing industry believes it has a solution - and an environmentally friendly one at that.

Around a thousand tonnes of waste prawn shell is produced every year, at Northern Ireland's fish factories in Kilkeel.

The meat gets used, the shells get washed out.

Now there are calls, following a joint study by a fishing trade body and Queen's University, to put that waste to good use.

All via a sustainable process producing a substance called chitosan, tested and used on lakes in the USA.

A use which those who support it say could help Lough Neagh's woes.

"This is an exciting time to use more of the animal," said Simon Cummings of Kilkeel Seafoods.

"At the moment, we take the shell and it's a waste product which we don't utilise so having it go into supporting the environment in a different way is a superb opportunity."

Chitosan would collect the pollutants such as phosphates and algae in the water, turning them into a sludge-like substance.

It would then be extracted from the lough.

However, Northern Ireland Fish Producers' Organisation estimates the process to cost an estimated £20m at a time when Stormont' budget purse strings are tight.

A green solution but it might not get the green light, just yet.

Catch up with the latest UTV Live on ITVX

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.