Lough Neagh is the largest freshwater lake in the United Kingdom and home to the largest wild eel fishery in Europe. The eels begin life more than 6,000 kilometres away in the Sargasso Sea, drift across the Atlantic on the Gulf Stream and find their way inland to Northern Ireland, where around 250 licensed fishermen catch them from small boats, no trawling, using methods passed down through generations on a lough fished for thousands of years. The Lough Neagh Fishermen's Co-operative has run the fishery from Toomebridge since 1965, taking outright control of the eel rights by 1972 so the men doing the fishing owned the industry. Lough Neagh Eel was granted Protected Geographical Indication status in 2011, the first Northern Irish product to receive it; Lough Neagh Pollan followed with a Protected Designation of Origin in 2018. Fresh eel, pollan, trout and perch are sold from the Toomebridge headquarters, pre-ordered in season and frozen year-round, and the co-operative's visitor centre runs tours and tastings beside the silver eel weir. James Martin came for the eels during the filming of his Islands to Highlands series. Seamus Heaney got there first and wrote A Lough Neagh Sequence about these fishermen. He gave them poems, the least the rest of us can do is eat the eels.

Awards and Recognition

Lough Neagh Eel: Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), 2011 Lough Neagh Pollan: Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), 2018

Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LoughNeaghEels

Can people visit or buy direct?

Yes. Fresh fish is sold from the co-operative's headquarters at Toomebridge, with pre-ordering necessary in season; frozen is available year-round. The Lough Neagh Fisheries Visitor Centre runs guided tours and tasting experiences.

Website

https://www.facebook.com/LoughNeaghEels

Address Summary

4 Bannside, Toomebridge, BT41 3SB