In Poland, 100 tons of dead fish were pulled from the Oder River, raising fears of an ecological catastrophe, the cause of which has not yet been determined.
This is reported by The Guardian.
"We have never had operations of this scale on the river before," the rescuers told. More than 500 people retrieved the dead fish using dams, boats, ATVs and even drones.
The cause of the plague remains unknown, and Poland has even offered a reward of one million zlotys, or €210 000, to anyone who can help find the culprits in this ecological disaster. The government assumed that a huge amount of chemical waste had been dumped into the river, but none of the samples tested so far have shown the presence of toxic substances. Polish scientists said laboratory tests revealed only elevated salt levels. Water samples were sent to laboratories in the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Great Britain. The government is also looking into possible natural causes, including higher concentrations of pollutants and salinity due to lower water levels and higher temperatures.
Conservationists fear that a mass extinction could harm the entire Oder ecosystem.
"We have to see how the bird population will develop and what will happen to raccoons and otters. This is a disaster that will stay with us for many years."
The first reports about the mass death of fish came from Polish local residents and fishermen as early as July 28. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki fired the CEO of Polish Waters, the state-owned water company, and the head of the Environmental Protection Inspectorate over their response to the Oder pollution. German officials accused the Polish authorities of not informing them of the fishʼs death, but of being caught off guard when a wave of dead fish appeared in sight.