{"id":1336001,"date":"2024-06-24T19:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-24T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.agriland.ie\/?p=1336001"},"modified":"2024-06-24T21:15:49","modified_gmt":"2024-06-24T20:15:49","slug":"report-some-people-blame-slurry-pollution-problem-for-lough-neagh-algae-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lightsail.agriland.ie\/farming-news\/report-some-people-blame-slurry-pollution-problem-for-lough-neagh-algae-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: Some people blame ‘slurry-pollution problem’ for Lough Neagh algae crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
There are deep feelings of “sadness, anger, disbelief, fear and anxiety” over the Lough Neagh blue-green algae ecological crisis, according to a new report published today (Monday, June 24).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report is based on a series of interviews conducted by researchers from Queen’s University Belfast, with local communities, including those involved in fishing and farming, who are most directly affected by the “environmental crisis” in Lough Neagh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has previously stated that excess nutrients from agricultural activities and wastewater pressures are \u201cprimarily\u201d to blame for the growth of the blue-green algae in Northern Ireland\u2019s waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the people interviewed by the Queen’s University research team for the report described Lough Neagh as a “natural resource” but also identified too much “nutrient” entering the lough as a key reason for the blue-green algae.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the report interviewees understood \u2018nutrient\u2019 to mean animal slurry or human waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n