Dead fish have now been observed in Germany along the entire Oder, from the state of Brandenburg to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where the Oder flows into the Baltic Sea. People along the river have been urged to avoid any contact with the water, including fishing or swimming.
The dead fish were first seen on Friday. They drove from Poland into Germany. It was immediately assumed that the cause must be a poisonous discharge, and soon it was rumored that it would be a discharge of the extremely dangerous mercury also for humans.
On Saturday, however, Poland’s Environment Minister Anna Moskwa reported that mercury could be ruled out as a cause. This would have been shown by laboratory tests on dead fish. An increased salinity in the water was measured, but that would not be the only cause of death.
The Environment Minister of Brandenburg, Axel Vogel, said according to the German broadcaster ZDF “that according to the latest findings, more than one factor has led to fish mortality.” The increased salinity is said to be part of a ‘confluence of causes’.
The passing fish have led to a political quarrel between the regional environment ministers and the federal minister of the environment: Steffi Lemke. According to her colleagues in Brandenburg and Meckelenburg-Vorpommern, this minister would have done little or nothing.
Lemke came to take a look at Frankfurt am Oder on Friday evening, and admitted that the coordination with her Polish counterpart left much to be desired. She in turn accused the Poles of having acted too late. Brandenburg had already done the first laboratory tests when Poland had yet to start. Samples were examined throughout the weekend. First results of those laboratory studies are expected on Monday.
For the time being, Poland assumes an illegal discharge into the river. The Polish authorities have offered a reward of 210,000 euros for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators. Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, has promised to catch the culprits: ‘We will find the culprits and punish the perpetrators of this environmental crime – which it probably is –’.
In Brandenburg, teams went to work on Sunday to clean up the dead fish. According to a local administrator, they expect to get ‘tons of dead fish’ from the water.