Drought conditions testing freshwater pearl mussel in the Ownagappul

Project Manager Patrick Crushell visited the Ownagappul river in Co. Cork yesterday - and conditions are looking tough for pearl mussel as river levels have dropped significantly due to the recent dry spell. As he reports in his message "Main channel of the Ownagappul River today.... very little water, occasional mussels where shallow water persists".

And as you can see in the second photo, some mussels have migrated to the deepest part of the channel to have the best chance of surviving the drought. Hopefully we get rain soon.....