The recent cold snap has posed a serious threat to Northern Ireland's fish.
The Belfast Telegraph reports that thousands of salmon froze to death at a fish farm in Co Antrim last week as temperatures dropped well below zero.
Staff at the British government research centre in Bushmills have battled against the elements to protect their fish stocks, as rivers and canals throughout the country have frozen over into virtual ice rinks.
Centre manager Martin McAleese told BBC Radio Ulster: "Unless you keep the water running in the tanks overnight, they'll run out of oxygen. The fish suffocate."
The full extent of last week's extreme cold on inland waters is not yet known, but it is feared that angling in the area could be affected.
The recent cold snap has posed a serious threat to Northern Ireland's fish.
The Belfast Telegraph reports that thousands of salmon froze to death at a fish farm in Co Antrim last week as temperatures dropped well below zero.
Staff at the British government research centre in Bushmills have battled against the elements to protect their fish stocks, as rivers and canals throughout the country have frozen over into virtual ice rinks.
Centre manager Martin McAleese told BBC Radio Ulster: "Unless you keep the water running in the tanks overnight, they'll run out of oxygen. The fish suffocate."
The full extent of last week's extreme cold on inland waters is not yet known, but it is feared that angling in the area could be affected.
