The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute said the “very limited sample” its scientists had been able to analyse showed nothing unusual.
Although he welcomed the support package “in principle”, Mr McErlain said it had left people “with a lot of questions” given the pressures in Lough Neagh.
“It is extremely disappointing that the support package has been assessed on 2024 income at a time when the industry was already in severe trouble, with earnings at an all-time low.”
He also questioned the choice of the 2024 season as a baseline.
“It ignores the fact that the livelihoods of fishermen had already been negatively impacted following the algal bloom of 2023.”
He said the details of the package made him and his fellow fishermen feel the industry was “not being taken seriously”.
While the cancellation of the season was unrelated to blue-green algae in Lough Neagh, Mr McErlain said the scale of the environmental crisis and its economic effects should be reflected.
He added that there was renewed concern about the future of the industry on the lough.
“There is a great danger of wiping out an entire fishing culture on Lough Neagh due to the ongoing environmental crisis. We would ask the minister to reconsider the level of grant being offered to the fishing industry in light of this ecological and financial catastrophe.”
The department has been approached for a response.