Rare and protected fish 'abundant' in Kilcullen

Crayfish a good signMost people in town might not know it, but Kilcullen has an abundance of a fish that is quite rare and is protected by national and EU legislation, writes Brian Byrne.

It's the crayfish, which resemble small brown lobsters and grow to about 10cm in length.

According to observations in the Biodiversity Survey directed by Dr Mary Tubridy during 2012, the crayfish are mainly active at night and in the summer months.

Eating snails, insect larva and sometimes their own young, in turn they provide a food source for other water life including salmon, trout, pike perch and birds like the heron.

The Survey, commissioned by Kilcullen Community Action, offers detailed information on the plant and other life in and around the River Liffey as it flows through Kilcullen.

As a report card on the environmental health of the Survey area, it gives high marks, although a number of elements need to be maintained or improved in order to ensure the continuing health of one of Ireland's most important ecological 'corridors'.

Dr Tubridy notes that it is 'rare' to have a clean river with abundant wild habitat flowing through a town in Ireland these days.