THE environmental campaigner who welcomed Feargal Sharkey back to his old salmon hunting grounds on the banks of the River Faughan has described the former Undertones' frontman as "extremely knowledgeable and deeply concerned" about the state of the north's waterways.
The Derry-born singer was back in his home city on Saturday to address the Gathering conference.
He told The Irish News last week that the poor state of Northern Ireland's lakes and rivers was a "text book example of regulatory failure".
Now resident in southern England, 60-year-old Sharkey is chairman of Amwell Magna Fishery, Britain's oldest angling club.
His visit to the River Faughan, where in the days before his music career took off the former Christian Brothers' schoolboy went fly-fishing for salmon and sea trout, came as the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) defended its record on water pollution.
Sharkey was welcomed to river where he first honed his fishing skills by environmental campaigner Dean Blackwood of the River Faughan Anglers, a group at the forefront of highlighting the damage caused to one of the north west's finest game fishing rivers by illegal dumping, unauthorised sand and gravel extraction, and agricultural pollution.
Mr Blackwood said in between reminiscing about his days fishing the Faughan, the former Undertones' singer was "really across his brief and very well-informed".
The pair discussed the EU's Water Framework Directive, the poor standard of the north's waterways, and a 2017 agreement between Daera's Northern Ireland Environment Agency and the Ulster Farmers' Union which enables polluters to escape prosecution.
"Feargal's knowledge of water quality issues, both here and in England, was second to none - he was extremely knowledgeable and deeply concerned about what is happening to our lakes and rivers," Mr Blackwood said.
"We agreed that in Northern Ireland and England, the regulatory regime had effectively failed and that government statistics supported this."
The angler said he hoped Sharkey would return later in the year for a spot of fly-fishing.
Responding to the claim that regulation had failed the north's rivers, Daera said the region's waterways fared better than in England, where a mere 16 per cent of lakes and rivers were deemed of good quality or better, compared to 37 per cent in the north.
However, while highlighting how officials carried out more than 400 "agricultural inspections in relation to water quality issues", the department conceded that where farmers were found to be in breach of the regulations a financial penalty was not always applied.
"The department will continue to promote and support best practice in relation to water quality across all sectors and target those who allow polluting materials to enter our water courses," a spokesman said.
