Dr. Fiona Kelly:

No, natural recovery, as in the population that remains will colonise the depleted areas and reproduce. We are expecting the fish to reproduce this winter. We have done electrofishing surveys at Roskeen Bridge and on the Allow river and there are fish present in those areas. It was not a complete and absolute fish kill. Live fish were mixed in with ailing fish, so there are fish there to allow the river to recover naturally. We encourage the improvement of water quality in the catchment and habitat restoration where necessary, but in an environmentally sustainable way. Hatcheries have certain risks from an ecological, genetic and legal perspective so the recommendation is natural recovery where possible.