Report by Gery Flynn

An investigation commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which was completed last March but has still not been published, blames domestic sewage as the main cause of green tides over the past decade in Courtmacsherry Bay.

Alice Creedon christens Kaligarian J, a
Cleopatra 33 built by Trefjar, Iceland, for
east coast fisherman, Bobby Creedon.
Photo G Mills

The investigation, the results of which have been seen by Inshore Ireland, was funded by the EPA and carried out by scientists from the Irish Seaweed Centre (ISC), which is part of the Martin-Ryan-Marine-Research Instititute at NUI-Galway.

The investigation involved the use of an advanced technique called ‘Stable Isotope Analysis’, which has proved successful in tracking the source of nitrogen pollution in coastal ecosystems. Once the source of the pollution is pin-pointed, remedial measures can be introduced to remove or reduce it.