0:09:16 > 0:09:19What you're seeing in the bucket here is the fry here
0:09:19 > 0:09:23that we've hatched out in the Ballinderry Fish Hatchery this year.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27We've hatched out actually about close to one million fry
0:09:27 > 0:09:30this year in the hatchery here. And what we're doing here is
0:09:30 > 0:09:33putting them out into the Ballinderry River.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37- What species are they?- These are the Ballinderry Dollaghan fry.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41- Can I actually see you do it, to see how it's done?- Yes.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45We usually put them in maybe two to three square...two to three per square metre.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47That's the stocking policy here.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50- I'll hold the bucket if that's all right.- I'll put some in here
0:09:50 > 0:09:54and hopefully these boys will come back to the same spot again
0:09:54 > 0:09:59- as a three pounder, four pounder Dollaghan.- And they'll come back here?- They should, yes.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03The rest of these boys will go at different points all over here?
0:10:03 > 0:10:08- All over.- So basically spread out? Crowd control? - Crowd control, exactly.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10You don't want overcrowding.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12Frank, why is it important that you do this work?
0:10:12 > 0:10:14Well...
0:10:14 > 0:10:18it's very important we do this work because we've been here,
0:10:18 > 0:10:23we've been putting these Dollaghan fry in for the last 20-25 years.
0:10:23 > 0:10:28There'd be lots of parts of the Ballinderry where you'd have none of these Dollaghan. And
0:10:28 > 0:10:32we feel if we weren't here putting these fish here,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35then the numbers probably wouldn't be the same as they are today.
0:10:57 > 0:11:02The work that you were doing with the project, what precisely was it?
0:11:02 > 0:11:05The hatchery had already been very successful in rearing
0:11:05 > 0:11:08small trout and releasing them into the river
0:11:08 > 0:11:11but that was an unnatural situation
0:11:11 > 0:11:17and it was much more natural for the trout to be able to breed themselves in the river.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21Now you need a particular set of habitat, and this is an attempt to recreate that habitat.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24There are two weirs across here
0:11:24 > 0:11:28and below each weir, there is what's called a spawning ford.
0:11:28 > 0:11:33Finished on the Tuesday night, and on the Thursday night
0:11:33 > 0:11:37there were wild Dollaghan spawning on that run of water.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40- Now there's a vote of confidence! - Yes.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Mark, we're looking here at two fine fish. Similar but different.
0:11:45 > 0:11:46What are we looking at?
0:11:46 > 0:11:49Here we've got two trout from the Ballinderry river.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52One's a brown trout and the other is Dollaghan trout.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55When they're very small, it's hard to tell the difference between them,
0:11:55 > 0:11:58but when they're adults, the difference is quite clear.
0:11:58 > 0:12:03A brown trout has beautiful red spots with white circles around it.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05It's a really, really beautiful fish.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07Whereas the Dollaghan has just black spots.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11The brown trout is going to spend all its life in the Ballinderry river.
0:12:11 > 0:12:12It doesn't leave.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15It's born here, it breeds here and it dies here eventually,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17whereas the Dollaghan is unique.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21It's only found in Northern Ireland, nowhere else in the world.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23And it acts a bit like a salmon or a sea trout
0:12:23 > 0:12:27in the fact it leaves the river and it goes to the Lough Neagh to feed
0:12:27 > 0:12:30and then comes back again to lay its eggs.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33It's a really unique fish and it's one that needs protection.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30Stephen, this lifeboat has to be
0:22:30 > 0:22:35one of the most important assets on Lough Neagh.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38And for the people of Lough Neagh and for all the users.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40It is a vital equipment to have.
0:22:40 > 0:22:45It is a vital piece of Loch Neagh.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49We have 156 square miles of water to cover and, as you can see, today,
0:22:49 > 0:22:53as we look out across the water, it was calm.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57Literally, an hour ago, it erupted to gale force three, you know.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59It can change so, so quickly,
0:22:59 > 0:23:03so it's very, very important for the safety of all users on the Lough.
0:23:03 > 0:23:08What sort of incidents happen? What sort of rescues do you have to do?
0:23:08 > 0:23:12Rescues can range from anything from a simple assist
0:23:12 > 0:23:16to rescues where we rescue people where boats are actually sinking.
0:23:16 > 0:23:21Already this year, we have rescued at least 20 persons off the Lough
0:23:21 > 0:23:23already this year, and assisted maybe 15.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27So, Keira, how long have you been on the crew?
0:23:27 > 0:23:30I started last September, so it's coming up to a year.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34What's it like for someone who's a relative rookie compared to the other guys in the boat?
0:23:34 > 0:23:37Well, there are well experienced boys and girls,
0:23:37 > 0:23:41so a lot of role models, I know what needs to be learned.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43We've gone through exams as well, so....
0:23:43 > 0:23:46What sort of exams did you have to go through?
0:23:46 > 0:23:49Well, you have to go through VHF, a radio exam.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52Basically, it shows you how to speak over the radio.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Different callouts and to tell that to coastguard..
0:23:55 > 0:24:02Also, an RYA Level 1 an 2, so it's your basic boat handling manoeuvres and, erm,
0:24:02 > 0:24:03your man overboard.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07Is it difficult being a woman on this boat? I'm sure there's a lot of slagging goes on here.
0:24:07 > 0:24:13There is. You have to be thick-skinned to be working in the lifeboat.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15But, no, the boys are great, and, you know, they're good to me
0:24:15 > 0:24:19and Sian, she's another girl in the lifeboat so they're good to us.
0:24:19 > 0:24:24- I'm sure you can give as good as you get.- Give as good as I got. It took me a while, but then I learned.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29You'd need a fairly sizeable pool of people to man this boat, would you not?
0:24:29 > 0:24:34Certainly, we do. Again, we actually have in Ardboe 20 fully competent crew.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37We always like to keep our figures up around that.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40It's not that you need all the crew at the same time.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44The crew could be at work duties, the crew could be on holidays,
0:24:44 > 0:24:46gone to the games...
0:24:46 > 0:24:49we also have a sport festival so if an incident becomes bigger
0:24:49 > 0:24:54than it initially is, we need more persons doing searches, on our shore searches.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57We have 97 miles of shoreline in Lough Neagh, so it's a vast area to cover.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00And we certainly need all the experience from our crews.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03We have been paddling down Lough Neagh.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07We know how big it is. How...and it is a huge place.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10Can you cover the whole of it? Can you reach people in time?
0:25:10 > 0:25:11Yes, we certainly can.
0:25:11 > 0:25:16We have found during the years, especially with our high-performance boats from the bay,
0:25:16 > 0:25:19we can be in Antrim, it's 11.5 miles, we can be in Antrim...
0:25:19 > 0:25:23once the boats touches the water, just over 10 minutes.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31Well, it must be very rewarding to work here
0:25:31 > 0:25:36and to serve the community and the people who live around and who use the Lough here?
0:25:36 > 0:25:39It definitely is. I don't really know many.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41I came from a family that weren't really fishermen
0:25:41 > 0:25:44or anything like that. Until I started to come on the Lough,
0:25:44 > 0:25:48I never really knew much about it, so within this past year, I've learnt a lot.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53How dangerous it is, I never realised the actual capacity of the Lough.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55It's huge.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58And it is very rewarding, so I'll continue doing it until so.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00Well, tell you one thing.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03Cormac and I are very glad there's people like you
0:26:03 > 0:26:05out monitoring people like us.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:26:53 > 0:26:55E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk