Lough Neagh,
by the numbers.
Every key statistic about Northern Ireland's largest freshwater lake — sourced, cited and kept current.
Last verified · April 2026
The numbers
Eight facts, eight sources.
60%
of Lough Neagh's nutrient load comes from agriculture
Source · AFBI
25%
comes from wastewater / NI Water discharge
Source · AFBI
~43%
of Northern Ireland's land drains into the lough
Source · BBC News
+1°C
surface-water warming since 1995
Source · AFBI
10
confirmed blue-green algae incidents by mid-July 2025
Source · Irish News
14 / 37
of the government action-plan measures delivered (one year in)
Source · Irish News
Suspended
commercial eel fishing — 2025 season
Source · BBC News
Largest since the 1970s
past three summers of blue-green algae blooms
Source · BBC News
Policy timeline
What has (and hasn't) happened so far.
2023
Crisis surfaces
Widespread blue-green algae blooms return to Lough Neagh at scale for the first time since the 1970s. Political pressure builds.
2024
37-point action plan launched
DAERA publishes a 37-point action plan to restore the lough. Targets include nutrient reduction, septic tank inspection, NI Water investment and riparian buffer strips.
April 2025
Algae returns early
First blue-green algae of 2025 confirmed at Traad Point and Kinturk on 10 – 11 April, earlier in the season than previous years.
May – July 2025
NAP 2026 – 2029 public consultation
DAERA consults on the fourth Nutrients Action Programme. Headline issue: excess phosphorus identified as the main cause of water-quality problems across NI.
July 2025
10 incidents in 3 weeks
By mid-July 2025, there have been ten confirmed blue-green algae incidents — five of them in the first three weeks of July alone.
Mid 2025
Only 14 of 37 measures delivered
Irish News reports that a year on from its launch, just 14 of the 37 action-plan measures have been implemented.
2025 – 2026
Eel fishing suspended
Commercial eel fishing on Lough Neagh is suspended for the remainder of the 2025 season — a first in a generation.
Sources
Everything on this page is cited.
No stat on this page is our own claim. We aggregate and present what the public record already says — and link straight back to it.
- AFBI — Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute
NI's public-facing environmental science body. Publishes Lough Neagh nutrient loading, phosphorus budgets and lake-condition reports.
- DAERA — Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
Authority behind the Nutrients Action Programme (NAP) 2026 – 2029 and the 37-point Lough Neagh action plan.
- BBC News (Northern Ireland)
Ongoing reporting on algae blooms, catchment area and water temperature.
- Irish News
Tracks implementation of the 37-point action plan and eel fishing suspension.
The problem is well-measured. The solutions exist.
Eco Balance works with farmers, councils, estates and homeowners to reduce phosphorus and nutrient loading at the source — using 50 years of MICROBE-LIFT® microbial biotechnology, supplied exclusively across the UK and Ireland.
This page is maintained manually by Eco Balance Ltd. It is not an official government or AFBI resource. For enforcement or policy enquiries, please contact DAERA directly.