TERENCE HENRY, COUNTRYSIDE MANAGEMENT BRANCH, DARD

Three distinct types of brown trout live in Lough Melvin, which straddles the Fermanagh / Leitrim border.

These are known by the local names; Gillaroo, Sonaghen and Ferox. The Gillaroo is golden with many large, orange-red spots. The Sonaghen is dark with large black spots. Ferox trout are larger - up to 10 lb, can live for at least 20 years and eat fish; Arctic charr being their main prey.

The three types do not interbreed. This is because Sonaghen spawns in the inflowing rivers of Lough Melvin; Gillaroo in the outflowing River Drowes, while Ferox spawns in one of the inflowing rivers, but in deeper pools than Sonaghen.

Trout and the related species, salmon, need excellent water quality. Farmers have a crucial role to play in achieving good water quality, particularly by careful management when applying bagged fertiliser, slurry, manure and other farm effluents. When the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus enter waterways, this leads to eutrophication, causing algae blooms and reduced biodiversity. Eutrophication is considered to be the most widespread threat to water quality in Northern Ireland. Now that the crop growing season has well and truly started, make sure that nutrients applied are used by crops and do not threaten the biodiversity of our waterways.

For more information on practical ways of preventing the pollution of water, contact Countryside Management Branch staff at your local DARD office.