Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Mystery surrounds fish deaths at Lochore Meadows as loch fully reopens to public

Lochore Meadows Country Park.
Lochore Meadows Country Park.

A popular Fife park’s loch is back in business after it was declared off limits following a contamination scare a fortnight ago.

Members of the public were told to stay away from the water at Lochore Meadows Country Park after a number of fish were found dead, with warning signs erected around the loch advising people to avoid it.

The alert came after staff at the park revealed around 200 fish, including perch, pike, roach and eel, had died as a result of a suspected pollution incident and had washed up on the shore around the loch.

However, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has carried out a number of tests on the water over the past two weeks and the loch was declared safe on Friday morning.

Mystery still surrounds what caused the mass fish deaths, as other wildlife and birds seem to have been unaffected but experts have suggested a man-made cause – such as a pollutant – was not to blame.

A Sepa spokesperson said: “Officers investigated the deaths of a number of fish and molluscs at Loch Ore which were discovered on August 30.

“Chemical analysis of water samples taken from the loch came back within the normal ranges and further sampling carried out this week showed no evidence of this incident being linked to pollution.

“While this incident is likely due to a naturally occurring event, no further evidence of environmental impact has been found on fish, molluscs or eels this week and we will work with partners to monitor the loch over the coming weeks for any potential changes in water quality.”

A spokesman for Lochore Meadows Country Park said: “We have been advised that the restrictions imposed on access to the water at Lochore Meadows Country Park two weeks ago have now been lifted.

“SEPA have advised us that the water is safe to use.

“The most likely explanation for the death of a number of fish is a naturally occurring bio-toxin which is no longer present. We are grateful to park users for their patience during this period.”

Water-based activities have been cancelled for the past two weekends, while last weekend saw a triathlon event shortened to a duathlon as participants were told they should not enter the loch for the swimming leg of the competition.

Now the restrictions have been lifted, all activities at the loch are expected to return to normal, although members of the public should check with the Lochore Meadows outdoor education centre first.