The Termon River.

The Termon River.

The Termon River rises near Scraghy in Co. Tyrone and flows into Lough Erne at the Waterfoot, about two miles from Pettigo, a total distance of c10 miles. The Erne then flows into the Atlantic Ocean at Ballyshannon. It flows through extensive water meadows in the Lettercran area and is largely unpolluted and has a good population of brown trout. Otters and mink are found in the Termon and dippers, grey wagtails, mallard and heron can be found. It is also home to a very rare crayfish - the White-clawed Crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes (Lereboullet). It is one of only four crayfish species indigenous to Europe.

Austropotamobius which often occur in upland brooks and are esteemed as food and have been widely moved around by man. Today only three European countries retain a single indigenous crayfish species; these are Norway and Estonia with the Noble Crayfish and Ireland with Whiteclawed Crayfish. The White-clawed Crayfish is the only crayfish species found in Ireland, where it is protected under the Wildlife Act. It is classified as vulnerable and rare in the IUCN Red List of threatened animals and listed under Annex II of the EU Habitats Directive. Ireland is now thought to hold some of the best European stocks of this species, under least threat from external factors. Irish stocks are thus believed to be of substantial conservation importance.

The Termon River forms the border between Counties Fermanagh and Donegal and between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In ancient times it formed part of the boundary or terminus of the monastic lands of Lough Derg and thus got its name from the word terminus.

Reference - Reynolds, J.D. (1998) Conservation management of the white-clawed crayfish, Austropotamobius pallipes. Part 1. Irish Wildlife Manuals, No. 1.

I chatter, chatter, as I flow
To join the brimming river;
For men may come; and men may go,
But I go on forever.
Alfred Lord Tennyson.