environmental disaster
Fish deaths in the Oder: Lemke relies on cooperation
Helpers recover dead fish from the Oder. photo
© Lech Muszynski/PAP/dpa
Who and what is to blame for the death of fish in the Oder? After widespread public criticism, Federal Environment Minister Lemke agreed to more cooperation with the Polish side. So far, the enlightenment has been slow.
Germany and Poland want to clarify the fish deaths in the Oder after the omissions of the past few days, but continue to puzzle over the cause. According to the Polish government, no toxic substances have been discovered in laboratory tests of dead fish from the river.
The fish had been examined for mercury and other heavy metals, said Poland’s Environment Minister Anna Moskwa on Sunday in Szczecin at a joint press conference with Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens).
In the coming hours, the fish samples would be examined for a further 300 harmful substances, including pesticides. In addition, fish corpses are to be dissected and the behavior of the fish examined shortly before they die. So far, an increased oxygen content in the river has been determined.
Lemke: Improvements in the information chains
Lemke said that solution-oriented discussions had been held and that “good, joint steps” had been agreed. These include, in particular, improvements in the information chains. There have been omissions in the past few days. The German side was initially informed by anglers about the fish kill. Lemke had previously told NDR Info that the government of the neighboring country had admitted that information about the environmental disaster had not been passed on within Poland either: “This information reached us much later.”
The aim is now to minimize damage, inform and protect the population and identify the polluter. “It is clear that we are facing a really bad environmental disaster,” said the minister. The medium and long-term effects are not yet foreseeable.
Signs of dead fish as early as the end of July
The death of fish in the Oder has been worrying people who live on the border river in Poland and Germany for days. According to government information, Polish authorities had already received the first indications at the end of July that masses of dead fish were floating in the river.
Further laboratory results are expected in Brandenburg on Monday. Among other things, it is checked whether an increased salt content in the water is related to the fish kill.
Poland offered a reward of more than 200,000 euros to clarify the fish kill, which was rated as an environmental disaster, since it is also considered possible that chemical waste, for example, was dumped into the Oder. The state environment ministers of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as well as Poland’s infrastructure minister Andrzej Adamczyk also attended the meeting on Sunday evening in Szczecin. He emphasized that containment barriers are currently being erected in various places to intercept the masses of fish.
In the meantime, the people on the Baltic Sea are also concerned. According to the Ministry of the Environment in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, no fish carcasses have been discovered in the German part of the Szczecin Lagoon. “So far, the water police have not spotted any cadavers, and residents have not reported anything of the sort to us. Nevertheless, we are still on the alert and are monitoring the situation on site very closely,” said State Minister Till Backhaus (SPD) on Sunday in Schwerin.
Hundreds of helpers recover cadavers
Hundreds of helpers collected dead animals in the Oder border area in Brandenburg at the weekend. On the shore in the small town of Lebus in the Märkisch-Oderland district, an unpleasant smell spread on Saturday due to the decomposition, as a dpa reporter reported. You could also see birds flying away with dead fish. Rescuers wore rubber boots and gloves to protect themselves from direct contact with the water and fish. “I reckon with several tons of fish that we get out,” said Thomas Rubin for the district administration on Friday.
The mayor of Schwedt an der Oder, Annekathrin Hoppe (SPD), described the fish kill as an environmental catastrophe of unprecedented proportions. Representatives of the Lower Oder Valley National Park fear that the effects could drag on for years. Meanwhile, the left-wing member of the Bundestag Christian Görke called for the federal government to promise financial aid for affected cities and companies.
According to the Brandenburg Environment Minister Axel Vogel (Greens), the Oder has “very much increased salt loads”. These are salts dissolved in water. According to the State Ministry, this could be related to the fish kill. “According to current knowledge, however, it will not be a single factor that caused the fish kill in the Oder.”
In Poland, the government and authorities are criticized for not having passed on information in good time. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki therefore dismissed the heads of the water authority and the environmental authority on Friday evening. He only found out about the massive fish kill on Wednesday. “I was definitely informed too late.”