Lough Neagh fishing industry 'victim' of environmental damage

The fishing industry on Lough Neagh is "a victim" of the environmental challenges facing the lough, politicians have been told.

The comments by representatives of the Lough Neagh Fishermen's Co-operative came as eel fishing in Lough Neagh was temporarily paused.

The Co-operative said it was because the quality of the catch wasn't good enough.

The season started on 5 May, but was suspended on 12 May.

The Co-operative plans to resume fishing on 9 June, depending on its own assessments of the quality.

Speaking at the Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs committee meeting this morning, CEO Kathleen McBride said that Lough Neagh eel was marketed as "the ultimate", as a product with Protected Geographical Indication status since 2011.

"I have a sample catch scheduled for every week now until the week before the 9th.

"We will gut these ourselves and try and assess them as best we can to see, and we'll work very closely with our markets in Holland to see is it what they're expecting, is it what they're needing":[]}