The new study outlines the profound ecological impact and significant environmental and public health risks that blue-green algae in Lough Neagh present.
Much of the foul-smelling, so-called algal mats banked up around the shore of Lough Neagh consist of bacteria primarily associated with faeces from livestock or human-effluent, new research has found.
Researchers believe that toxins in the lough could have potentially played a role in the deaths of some animals such as dogs, that entered the water during summer 2023. Lead author, Dr Neil Reid at the Institute of Global Food Security, Queen’s School of Biological Sciences said: “These results confirm Lough Neagh as ‘hypertrophic’ which is the worst category of waterway nutrient pollution, indicative of decades of agricultural, industrial and domestic runoff.
Outbreaks of aquatic toxic microalgae have emerged as a global problem in recent decades driven by nutrient enrichment, industrial discharge, modification of surface waters, climate change and invasive species. Microcystin-LR was a specific toxin that was found to have exceeded the World Health Organisation recreational exposure limit at every sample site.
“Farmers are key here. Technological solutions to better use slurry, for example, through anaerobic biodigestion, as well as good on-farm wastewater management is needed urgently on most farms.
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