Situated in the middle of Northern Ireland, Lough Neagh is the largest freshwater lake in Britain and Ireland, covering some 383km2.
Such is the influence of the Lough, that the catchments of the 6 main rivers which flow into it drains about 38% of the entire land area of Northern Ireland and even part of the Republic of Ireland.
Unsurprisingly Loughs Neagh, its smaller neighbour Lough Beg and their surrounding wetlands (including fens, bogs, and smaller lakes) have a high biodiversity value and represent a shared resource from all sorts of interests - from drainage and water abstraction to fisheries, sand extraction, water-based recreation and other forms of socio-economic activity.
The Lough was designated as a Ramsar site in 1973 on the basis of its large waterfowl concentrations. More recently it was designated as a Special Protection Area (SPA) under the EU Birds Directive in 1998 and contains a number of Nature Reserves and Areas of Special Scientific Interest.
The wetlands of Loughs Neagh and Beg and agricultural land adjacent to it are internationally important for the Icelandic flyway population of Whooper Swans. Around 1000 birds winter there between November and February and our studies (using individually-ringed birds) have shown that birds use Lough Neagh on passage to sites elsewhere in Britain and Ireland during both the spring migration to and autumn migration from the Icelandic breeding range.