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Culture work on Irish Pollan (Coregonus autumnalis)
Irish Pollan (Coregonus autumnalis) is found in Lough Neagh,
Lower Lough Erne and the
Populations in Lough Erne and the Shannon system have declined substantially over recent times, possibly due to a combination of habitat loss and euthrophication. The population in Lough Neagh is now widely believed to be the last viable population in Ireland. Pollan is a fish unique in Western Europe, being a glacial relict from the last ice age. The endemic status of the fish and its dwindling populations have given it a high importance for conservation. Consequently, a species action plan for Pollan has been drawn up. This consists of four major objectives;
- Maintain the existing Pollan stocks and prevent further decline in any of the populations;
- Create ‘back-up’ stocks of all four of the pollan sub-populations by 2010;
- Restore the Lower Lough Erne and Shannon lakes populations to demonstrably sustainable levels by 2015;
- Restore Pollan to sites where they have become extinct (such as Upper Lough Erne) by 2015.
One potential approach for conservation is to develop culture techniques for the fish in order to produce fry or fingerlings for restocking waters. Whilst the policy and ethical basis for restocking Pollan has not yet been decided, and indeed must be decided with due care and attention to the inherent genetic implications, the actual aquaculture of the species was unknown locally and had not been developed with any success.
Eyed pollan eggs
With this objective in mind The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL), Inland Waterways and Fisheries Branch together with the Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) began work in summer 2005. With the permission of the Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-operative Society, potential broodstock were captured from Lough Neagh. The fish were then transported to Movanagher fish farm and moved into fibreglass flow through tanks. After considerable investment by DCAL, together with dedicated and innovative work by the farm manager (Adam Reid) and the farm’s hatchery manager (Gary Lyttle), 1600 Pollan fry were hatched out in spring 2006.
After substantial research; a system for stripping the broodfish was developed; a recirculation unit was designed and constructed for ova incubation and hatching; finally a comprehensive system of feeding was also designed and put in place for any hatched fry. The absence of a commercially available artificial feed for this fish species presented a challenge as the time window for weaning fry onto feed is very limited.
The success of the project represents a sound, positive step forward for the conservation of Pollan. If the restocking of Pollan fry is considered to be necessary and beneficial for the overall conservation of the fish, the technology is now known and at hand. The Pollan fry will continue to be reared at Movanagher where more will be learned on the ideal culture conditions for the fish, their growth rates and their feed preferences.
Pollan fry
View the All-Ireland Species Action Plan (SAP) for the Pollan on the National Parks and Wildlife Service website.
http://www.npws.ie/PublicationsLiterature/All-IrelandSpeciesActionPlans/
