Blue green algae blooms reach 2023 levels at Lough Neagh

Blue green algae in Lough Neagh is now at the same level as 2023, when the problem came to the fore.

The Environment Minister has described the rate the blooms have spread over the last fortnight as distressing.

Andrew Muir's action plan to tackle the problem was agreed by the Executive last month.

Scientists have now discovered that the rate of algae bloom growth, has doubled in just two weeks.

Dr Matthew Service from the Agri-food and Biosciences Institute says: "As we have more settled weather, warmer, with a bit of sunlight, the lough starts to stabilise and it becomes ideal conditions for these things to bloom."

Decades of pollution has plunged the lough into a crisis. Agriculture, climate change and invasive zebra mussels to blame. Annie-Marie is faced with this crisis each day. Born into a farming family on its shores, and still living close to it. She now provides tours of the lough, showing off one of our most prized natural assets But not like this. "We are not typically on the tourist path... It is really really difficult, tourism depends on marketing and you feel like you cannot even market activities because you don't know what the state of play is going to be, it is really saddening."

Last month, the Environment Minister Andrew Muir launched the Lough Neagh report. A 37-point plan attempting to save this body of water - stretching across departments and strained budgets. Widely welcomed but moves that could take time to implement. At at Feile An Phobail event, he appealed for financial backing from the Executive. Mr Muir said "People are destressed to see the state of our environment and I am appalled we have allowed it to get into this situation... but what I will do is I will act and I will be continuing to work with my executive colleagues because I need the funding and the backing for the difficult decisions needed."

But fears now that this problem could stretch further than here. Causeway Coast and Glen Borough Council has confirmed that blue-green algae has been found in the River Bann in Coleraine.

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