Polish firefighters found 100 tons of dead fish in the Oder river, which runs through Germany. PolandAn as yet undetermined environmental disaster deepens their concerns.
“We’ve never had an operation of this scale on a river before,” said Monika Nowakowska-Drynda of the national firefighter’s press office on Tuesday.
He confirmed that nearly 100 tonnes (220,500 lb) of dead fish had been recovered since Friday. More than 500 firefighters are rescuing dead fish in Poland with the help of dams, boats, quad bikes and even a drone.
German municipalities forbidden bathing and fishing In the Oder, thousands of dead fish were found swimming in the 840-kilometer-long 520-mile river that runs from the Czech Republic to the Baltic Sea along the German-Polish border.
Conservationists have expressed fears that the mass killings could wreak havoc on the entire ecosystem of the Oder. “We have to see how the bird population evolves and what happens to the raccoons and otters,” Karina Dörk, district manager of Germany’s Uckermark region, told the newspaper Tagesspiegel. “A disaster that will stay with us for years to come.”
The cause of death remains unclear and Poland It offered a reward of 1 million zloty or €210,000 (£180,000) to anyone who could “help find those responsible for this environmental disaster”. “Probably huge quantities of chemical waste were dumped into the river, fully knowing the risks and consequences,” Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said last week. Said.
But climate and environment minister Anna Moskwa said on Tuesday that “none of the samples tested so far have shown the presence of toxic substances”. Polish scientists said laboratory tests only found high salt levels.
He said the government is also investigating possible natural causes, particularly higher concentrations of pollutants and salinity as a result of lower water levels and higher temperatures.
A third hypothesis being studied, said industrial wastewater with high chlorine content, is dumped into the river.
Water samples were sent to laboratories in the Czech Republic, Netherlands and England in hopes of finding the cause.
The first reports of mass fish deaths were made by Polish natives and anglers as early as 28 July. The government in Poland was also heavily criticized for not taking quick action. On Friday, Morawiecki fired the CEO and environmental protection inspector of Polish Waters, the state-owned company responsible for water management, in response to their handling of Oder pollution.
German authorities accused the Polish authorities of failing to inform them of the deaths and were surprised when a wave of lifeless fish emerged.
The Oder has been known for being a relatively clean river in recent years, and its waterway has 40 native fish species.
But now, dead fish can be seen across the river, some reaching up to 40 centimeters (16 inches).
with Agence France-Presse
