DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, ENVIRONMENT AND RURAL AFFAIRS 18 September 2018 Water users urged to take precautions to avoid spread of crayfish plague The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs today urged water users, both recreational and commercial to take precautions when visiting the River Blackwater catchment in Co Tyrone. The warning comes after some […]

The National Bee Unit has confirmed a sighting of the Asian hornet in the Fowey area of south Cornwall. Nicola Spence, Defra Deputy Director for Plant and Bee Health, said: While the Asian Hornet poses no greater risk to human health than a bee, we recognise the damage they can cause to honey bee colonies. […]

Due to the recent destruction of structures within the marina at Holyhead, by Storm Emma, there is a concern that mobile debris will bring Didemnum vexillum (D. vex) to the eastern seaboard of Ireland. Some of the debris has turned up already on shores in Wicklow in the form of numerous small pieces of poly […]

  See press release from APHA/DEFRA here…..https://www.gov.uk/government/news/asian-hornet-identified-in-lancashire if you think you have seen one of these please enter your records at the 3 options highlighted on the poster below right. Please take photographs and submit them to assist confirmation by the experts;    

There is currently no confirmation that this outbreak is either related to the four previous ones, or a completely new strain of the contagious fungal disease, but tests are currently being carried out by the Fish Health Unit, in the Marine Institute, Galway to determine whether that is the case or not. An article in the […]

Beekeepers, gardeners and the general public are being asked by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to be on the lookout for a hornet that kills our insects including honeybees. Beekeepers, gardeners and the general public are being asked by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to be on […]

Inland Fisheries Ireland has appealed to anglers and the general public to remain vigilant and report the presence of any Pacific pink salmon in Irish river systems. To date, 30 pink salmon have been recorded in  Irish rivers. Catches of pink salmon have been reported on the Foxford Fishery, Co. Mayo, the Coolcronan Fishery on […]

3 AUGUST 2017 Four popular pond plants must be cleared from shop shelves from today and can no longer be sold to the public. American skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus), Cabomba (Cabomba caroliniana), Lagarosiphon major and water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) were banned from sale by the EU last year. Retailers were given 12 months to sell their stock. This deadline […]

From a Northern Ireland perspective in relation to the 4 articles in this publication: Japanese Wakame occurs in Northern Ireland e.g. Carrickfergus and Glenarm A sample of Northern Ireland marinas are checked each year for non-natives species A Marine Biosecurity Planning Guide for Northern Ireland is in preparation American Lobster has also been recorded in […]

On 13 July 2017 the European Commission published Commission Implementing Regulation 2017/1263 which will add a further 12 species to the current list of 37 species regulated under the EU Invasive Alien Species Regulation (1143/2014).  Find out more at Great Britain Non Native Species Secretariat here.   See the full list of species here