For around a week, more and more dead fish have been washed up on German river sections. First of all, the fish death had started at the upper reaches or above the Polish metropolis Wroclaw. Now the poison wave has reached the Stettiner Haff on the Baltic Sea. So far, however, no dead fish have been discovered in and around the dismissal of the German-Polish border river. According to the Polish government, why the animals die massively is still unclear.
The long-term consequences of the environmental disaster for nature and animals cannot yet be estimated, says Sascha Maier, an expert on water policy at the Federal Nature Conservation Association. Maier is the spokesman of the international action alliance Lebendige Oder/Save Oder, in which numerous non-governmental organizations have joined forces to protect the German-Polish border river. In the interview, he talks about political failures on both sides of the river and his hope for the return of life to the Oder.
"Riffreporter.de": What is currently (as of 14.08.) On the extent of the catastrophe?
Sascha Maier: It's huge, both in terms of the extent and in terms of the amount of dead fish. The wave of fish extinction has just reached the Szczecin Lagoon and thus the estuary area into the Baltic Sea. Thus, we are talking about a massive fish extinction on a stretch of about 500 river kilometers.
Are there estimates about how many fish died?
I think we are getting into the range of 100 tons of killed fish. We receive reports every day that up to five tons of fish have been taken from the Oder during individual collection campaigns – and even these dimensions do not yet convey the whole picture to us. Because we have to assume that we are not seeing the full extent of the fish mortality.
How come?
We ourselves were on the Middle River Or from Malczycze to Nietkowice by kayak from Monday afternoon to Friday. There is no border river Or river there yet. In the first two days we did not see any dead fish. This indicates that decent quantities of fish have already been taken from Polish authorities. The closer we got to the border, the more dead fish we could make out. Only from Milsko, about 150 kilometers upstream from Frankfurt on the Oder, we saw a lot of dead fish on Thursday. In addition, many fish sink to the bottom after a few days and then can no longer be seen.
We are currently experiencing a Gau for the river ecosystem - a kind of Chernobyl for that right?
Chernobyl is fitting in that the chemical accident at the Swiss chemical company Sandoz also occurred in the year of the reactor disaster, 1986. This is perhaps the more appropriate comparison. After the fire in a chemical warehouse, insecticides then entered the Rhine via the extinguishing water and caused a massive fish death. The eel population completely collapsed at that time. This is the dimension to which we must also orient ourselves now. And yet I still don't see that today's disaster on the Oder is making waves similar to the fish die-off in the Rhine in West Germany back then. But the dimension is absolutely comparable.
Can the long -term ecological damage already be measured by the catastrophe?
No, we finally need clarity about what exactly happened and which substances have come into the river. It is only clear that a significant deadly wave has run down the river that triggered a massive fish death. We cannot yet assess what damage plants and other organisms have taken. The consequences for other animals in the food chain are still completely open.
The crest of the wave of poison has now reached the Szczecin Lagoon. Do we also have to prepare for a fish extinction in the Baltic Sea now?
I am already assuming that some fish die in the area area of the Baltic Sea, but the poison concentration will then dilute itself quickly.
In your opinion, what has to happen most urgently?
The quickest possible disposal of the fish carcasses is now one of the most urgent tasks. Many species of animals eat the dead fish, thus poisoning themselves. We ourselves have seen on our boat tour larger gatherings of herons, white-tailed eagles, white and black storks that have eaten the poisoned fish carcasses. We also observed osprey or mammals such as raccoons. We can only assess the consequences in the food chain if we know what was contained in the poison cocktail. We are waiting for laboratory results.
How do you rate the handling of the environmental disaster on the Polish side?
It is quite obvious that the problem was initially downplayed by the Polish authorities. Allegedly, someone from the local Polish administration classified the whole thing as a regional event and therefore did not activate the reporting chain. This all sounds very much like sloppiness. The Polish environmental associations have absolutely no confidence in the state authorities and demand that independent experts take over and process the investigations.
What should have been going better?
A big failure was that the registration chains were not met. After the large Sandoz chemical accident, an alarm and reaction plan for the Rhine was developed. This know -how has actually been transferred to other rivers - also to the Oder. Surprisingly, however, there is still no statement by the international commission to protect the Oder, to which incidents have to be reported. The Brandenburg Environment Minister Axel Vogel also emphasized that the country had not received any official reports and therefore no background information.
Are there any failures on the part of the Federal Government or the Brandenburg state government?
It is already noticeable that only on Friday, three days after the first fish were washed ashore in Frankfurt, a few short sentences from Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke arrived and the minister was only on site on Saturday. The alarm bells were ringing quite late. By way of comparison, Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki only found out about the fish's death on Monday, but has been to the Oder River twice since then and has instructed the army to collect the dead fish. That is why I see a rather hesitant attitude at the Federal Environment Ministry. At the same time, however, it is also perfectly clear that the actual failure took place in Poland and reporting chains were not complied with there. If we had been informed in Germany at the end of July or the beginning of August, we could have prepared very differently.
And the Brandenburg state government?
I get from the municipalities and counties along the Oder that you too are not entirely happy with the crisis management of the State of Brandenburg. Many dead fish have been collected in Märkisch-Oderland, which we do not know what they are burdened with. So far, however, there is no plan where the dead animals are to be brought to destruction. There is also a central point in which citizens can report who live on site and do not know what to do.
How can it go better?
It is now important to inform the local people about the risks and to coordinate the measures to collect the fish carcasses. This must not be left to voluntary campaigns. We need a targeted and systematic elimination of the fish. I saw on my tour myself that there was no one for a good 50 kilometers who collected fish. It is also very important that samples are not only taken out of the water and the fish carcasses, but also from the sediment to see what has deposited there. And then everything has to be avoided at short notice, which affects or additionally - for example, the construction work on the expansion of the groyne on the Polish side must at least be suspended.
And in the longer term? Can the Oder turn into a living river again?
If we are lucky, life through the tributaries comes back into the Oder - as it was with the Rhine at the time - and new animal populations are formed. I wouldn't paint the devil on the wall yet. But of course we shouldn't leave that to chance. We now also have to plan funds for a renaturation program at the federal level in the household - even if we cannot say exactly what this will look like at the moment. I see the danger that the polluters in Poland may not be found so quickly. But what we have to avoid is an argument and hackhack about who arises for the renovation. Now money has to be made available quickly. And of course we must not immediately forget the people who are in need.
Who do you mean by that?
People who live directly on and from the river must be compensated for unbureaucratically. The providers of natural tourism, fishermen and some cattle holders who rely on water from Oder or their tributaries as potions are about existence. It has to be quickly ensured that you continue to have a future.
Back to the renaturation: Where could the appropriate measures start?
We should take a look at the ecosystem functions of the individual habitats. There are many meadows along the Oder, especially in the Unteres Oder Valley National Park or on the Polish side. If we ensure more aspiration, we create space filters at the same time and help the river become more resistant. I already have a certain hope that the meadows can play an important role in self -cleaning in the coming years.
Could the disaster help to bury the plans on the Polish side for the or expansion that would further damage the ecosystem?
Regardless of the current disaster, environmental associations and the State of Brandenburg are taking the position that the expansion of the Oder must be stopped. Morawiecki has said that the Oder should be restored to its natural state. I hope this promise also includes critically questioning the expansion of the Oder.
© Riffreporterder Text was originally on »riffreporter.de« under the title of fatal poison wave on the Oder: »The dimensions of the fish death have been published and was adapted and supplemented.
