“Dead fish everywhere” in Germany, Poland, after feared chemical waste dump – Science-Environment News – Report by AFR

Thousands of fish have washed up dead on the Oder River, which flows through Germany and Poland, sparking warnings of an environmental disaster as residents are urged to stay away from the water.

The fish swimming on German shores near the eastern town of Schwedt are believed to have washed upstream from Poland, where locals and anglers made the first reports of a mass fish kill as early as July 28.

German officials blamed Polish authorities for not informing them of the deaths and were surprised when the wave of lifeless fish came into view.

In Poland, too, the government has been heavily criticized for not acting quickly.

Almost two weeks after the first dead fish appeared floating by Polish villages, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Friday that “at first everyone thought it was a local problem”.

But he acknowledged that “the scale of the disaster is very large, large enough to say that the Oder will take years to recover to its natural state”.

“It is likely that enormous quantities of chemical waste were dumped into the river in full knowledge of the risks and consequences,” the Polish leader added, as German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke pushed for a full investigation into a looming “environmental disaster”.

Michael Tautenhahn, Deputy Head of the Lower Oder Valley National Park, looks dismayed at the river on the German-Polish border.

“We are on the German side – we have dead fish everywhere,” he told the AFP news agency.

“I am deeply shocked … I feel like I see decades of work here in shambles. I see our livelihood, the water — that’s our life,” he said, noting that not only are the fish dying, but so are mussels and probably countless other aquatic creatures.

“That’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

The Oder has been known to be a relatively clean river in recent years, and 40 native species of fish call the waterway home.

But now lifeless fish – some as small as a few centimeters, others reaching a size of 30 to 40 cm – can be seen on the other side of the river. Occasionally, those still struggling to get through can be seen thrashing up in the water, seemingly gasping for air.

Officials believe the fish were likely poisoned.

“This fish kill is atypical,” said Axel Vogel, Environment Minister of the State of Brandenburg, and estimates that “undoubtedly tons” of fish have died.

Fish kills are often caused by the distortion of oxygen levels when water levels are too low, he explained.

“But we have very different test results, which is that we’ve had elevated levels of oxygen in the river for several days, and that suggests a foreign substance has been introduced that caused it,” he said.

Tests are underway in Germany to identify the substance that may have caused the deaths, but there are early indications of extremely high levels of mercury – although officials say the final results are still pending.

In Poland, too, prosecutors have launched investigations after authorities came under fire for what critics say was a slow response to a disaster.

Tautenhahn said the disaster is likely to have consequences for years to come.

“If it’s mercury, then it’s going to stay here for a long time,” he said, noting that mercury doesn’t break down, but would remain in the sediments.