On yet another heartbreaking beach walk, I came upon many pipefish, weedy whiting, and tubemouths washed up and dehydrating in the sun. This one, identified by Janine Baker, is a tubemouth (Siphonognathus argyrophanes). Tubemouths are almost impossible to see in their natural habitat when diving among seagrass beds. Perhaps I’ve captured them before, but never […]
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Two weeks ago, dead fish began appearing in the River Blackwater along a 40 km stretch between Banteer and Killavullen. Initial estimates suggested 400–500 dead, with early speculation pointing to a natural algal or fungal cause. Today, two weeks later, that number has grown to 40–50 thousand, and investigations have ruled out natural causes. Instead, […]
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As I headed upstream from Lover’s Leap toward the River Blackwater Beach, I noticed a change. There were fewer lifeless fish on the riverbed now, and the first signs of the living, dying, and desperate. I saw trout with clouded eyes, their bodies veiled in a milky-grey film. Some floated upside down near the surface, […]
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Today, I slipped into the waters of the River Blackwater beneath Lover’s Leap, downstream from Mallow, hoping to capture some of the local river life. What I saw instead distressed me. It made me angry. It made me sad. In less than 100 metres of river, I counted more than a hundred dead or dying […]
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