The bodies continue to tell their own story. The diseased, dead bodies of salmon in the Erne River tailrace and estuary continue to baffle the ESB Fisheries Conservation authority.

But there is one thing on which that authority is certain. "It's not us. Not our dam. Not our fish pass."

Such was the tale told at a meeting of the Ballyshannon Town Commissioners in October, when members questioned an ESB representative on possible causes of the salmon deaths.

High water temperature, diseased wild stock, and poor water quality in the estuary-"not the best place in the world for a fish to be"-were cited as possible reasons.

Statistics-"there are lies, damned lies, and then there are statistics"-were bandied about.

No satisfactory explanation was forthcoming.

"It's not us. It's not our dam. It's not our fish pass."

A month later there is still no satisfactory public explanation.