What killed tons of fish in European river? Mystery deepens

Laboratory assessments following a mass die-off of fish within the Oder River detected excessive ranges of salinity however no mercury poisoning its waters, Poland’s setting minister stated Saturday because the thriller continued as to what killed tons of fish in Central Europe.
Anna Moskwa, the minister of local weather and setting, stated analyses of river samples taken in each Poland and Germany revealed elevated salt ranges. Comprehensive toxicology research are nonetheless underway in Poland, she stated.

She stated Poland’s state veterinary authority examined seven species of the lifeless fish and dominated out mercury as the reason for the die-off however was nonetheless ready for outcomes of different substances. She stated take a look at outcomes from Germany had additionally not proven a excessive presence of mercury.

The Oder River runs from Czechia to the border between Poland and Germany earlier than flowing into the Baltic Sea. Some German media had prompt that the river have been be poisoned with mercury.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki stated Friday that “huge amounts of chemical waste” have been most likely dumped deliberately into his nation’s second-longest river, inflicting environmental injury so extreme it might take years for the waterway to get well.

On Saturday, Morawiecki vowed to do all the pieces attainable to restrict the environmental devastation. Poland’s inside minister stated a reward of 1 million zlotys ($220,000) could be paid to anybody who helps observe down these answerable for polluting the river.

Authorities within the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania warned individuals to not fish or use water from the Szczecin lagoon, because the river’s contaminated water was anticipated to succeed in the estuary space on Saturday night.

“The extent of the fish die-off is shocking. This is a blow to the Oder as a waterway of great ecological value, from which it will presumably not recover for a long time,” stated Alex Vogel, the setting minister for Germany’s Brandenburg state, alongside which the river runs.

The head of Polish waters, Poland’s nationwide water administration authority, stated Thursday that 10 tons of lifeless fish had been faraway from the river. Hundreds of volunteers have been working to assist accumulate lifeless fish alongside the German aspect.

German laboratories stated they detected “atypical” ranges of “salts” that may very well be linked to the die-off however wouldn’t totally clarify them on their very own.

Morawiecki acknowledged that some Polish officers have been “sluggish” in reacting after large numbers of lifeless fish have been seen floating and washing ashore, and stated two of them have been dismissed. “For me, however, the most important thing is to deal with this ecological disaster as soon as possible, because nature is our common heritage,” Morawiecki stated.

His feedback have been echoed by Schwedt Mayor Annekathrin Hoppe, whose German city is positioned subsequent to the Lower Oder Valley National Park. She known as the contamination of the river “an environmental catastrophe of unprecedented scale” for the area.