As a website which has an interest in ecological and environment affairs, in particular the preservation of the wild salmon stocks in the Pacific and the Atlantic, which are hatched in Canadian and Irish rivers, a recent discovery made in a lake in Kerry is worthy of note.

Arctic char are one of the treasures of the inland fishery in Canada, and an important part of the tourism economy. They are plentiful, and their habitat so far has largely remained free of man-made industrial pollution.

Now a surviving remnant the species has been found in an Irish lake in what locals like to call the Kingdom of Kerry, better known as the county which boasts of the Lakes of Killarney, famous for their scenic setting which draws visitors from all over the world.

In June scientists conducting a lakes fish survey found Arctic char in Lough Namona, near Waterville, and in such numbers that have led them to conclude they are a self-reproducing population. They are thought to represent a species close to the ancestors of the Arctic char that remained when the last Ice Age began to retreat 18,000 years ago. The red bellies of the fish may be accounted for by their local habitat, the name of the lough, Namona in Irish, being translated as "of the peat" or "of the bog" which tends to stain the waters near it.

Readers are directed to an excellent website for more information on the species: Arctic Char Fishing Holidays.

Happy fishing!

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