UK’s largest freshwater lake “at risk of ecosystem collapse”

Lough Neagh, the UK’s largest freshwater lake and the largest wild eel fishery in Europe, has been plagued by toxic algal blooms. Fishermen fear that the disappearance of the lake’s flies could trigger a “complete ecosystem collapse”, affecting other living things further up the food chain. Northern Ireland’s executive, restored after nearly two years of paralysis, may need to confront the impact of agriculture in a province where the number of factory farms has surged. The growth of algal blooms – often harmful to other living things – is thought to be driven by the run-off of fertiliser from surrounding farmland.