Pollution of the Oder: an algae could be responsible for the slaughter of fish

Thousands of dead fish have been found on the banks of the Oder for a few days.

© Frank Hammerschmidt/dpa via AP

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Thousands of fish have been found dead in recent days in the Oder, a river between Germany and Poland.

The Oder is a central European river with a total length of 854 km.

Since then, scientists have been trying to find the cause of the mysterious carnage and seem to have found a lead.

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Scientists suspect a toxic algae to be the culprit.

The algae in question is called golden algae.

It is common in estuaries, where the river meets the sea. And it usually grows in brackish water, when the salinity level is higher than that of fresh water.

It is this algae that would be responsible for the death of more than 100 tons of fish and mussels.

The other question which worries scientists is that of knowing what explains this abnormal salinity of the waters of

.

The track would be that of chemical pollution.

The Polish Minister of the Environment assures that the samples analyzed do not reveal any presence of toxic substances.

A normally clean river

The first reports of the mass fish kills were made in late July by Polish anglers.

On the German side, the authorities reproach their Polish neighbors for not having alerted them immediately.

In recent years, the Oder was known to be a relatively clean river in which around 40 species of fish lived.

►Also read: Report - South Africa: serious pollution on the Vaal River which supplies Gauteng with drinking water

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• Environment

• Germany

• Poland

• Pollution

• Water