“Ecological catastrophe” in the Oder river, one of the most important in central Europe

First modification: 08/15/2022 – 04:58

Residents of the area and environmental organizations have expressed concern about the massive death of fish in the Oder River, one of the most important in central Europe. Steffi Lemke, German Environment Minister, along with her Polish counterpart, Anna Moskwa, said it was an “ecological catastrophe”.

“So far at least 150 water samples from the Oder River have been analysed. None of the studies have confirmed the presence of toxic substances. At the same time, we are checking the fish. No mercury or other heavy metals have been found in them,” the Polish minister said.

Both ministers assured that they are working to limit the damage to the river’s ecosystem, although they warned that they do not know how long it will take to recover. Some samples of water from the Oder River have been sent to foreign laboratories in search of toxic substances.

The German minister called on the Polish government since they did not report quickly enough when dead fish began to be detected on that side of the river, and also called for better communication between the two countries.

The Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, defended himself through his weekly podcast, published last Friday, assuring that “in the beginning, everyone thought that it was just a local problem. The magnitude of the contamination is very large, sufficiently big to say that the Oder will need whole years to return to its natural state,” he acknowledged.

The Oder, a transnational river

The Oder River finds its source in the Czech Republic and covers a distance of 187 kilometers, dividing the border between Germany and Poland until it empties into the Baltic Sea. For the past few weeks, its currents carry carcasses of fish and other animals through the towns it passes through; last week alone, 10 tons of dead fish were removed.

However, this is a remarkably clean river that is home to around forty species of fish. The authorities suspect that the fish could have been poisoned, since their death is atypical, according to Axel Vogel, Minister of the Environment of the German state of Brandenburg.

German authorities have deployed scientists and experts to try to determine the causes of the mass animal deaths.

In Poland, the case has been referred to the Prosecutor’s Office due to the outrage it has generated. The opposition, local authorities and environmental organizations ask the Government for explanations, even asking for the resignation of some positions.

The outrage grew when an official from the Ministry of the Environment of that country said that it was safe to bathe in the waters of the river.

“This looks like Chernobyl when, after the catastrophe, the Soviet power sent people to participate in the May Day parade,” Daniel Petrykiewicz, an environmental activist, told local television.

With AFP and AP