Poland extends bathing ban on Oder River in wake of fish die-off
Published August 26,2022
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In this file photo, dead fish are pictured on the banks of the river Oder in Schwedt, eastern Germany, after a massive fish kill was discovered in the river in the eastern federal state of Brandenburg, close to the border with Poland. (AFP)
A Polish district bordering the Oder River has extended its bathing and fishing ban in the wake of the unexplained fish die-off in the river bordering Germany.
The ban in the West Pomerania region was extended after it initially expired on Thursday, the head of the administration, Zbigniew Bogucki, wrote on Twitter.
The ban does not apply to the Szczecin lagoon, he wrote. No dead fish had been discovered there, Bogucki told the PAP news agency. There is also no ban on fishing and swimming on the German side of the Szczecin lagoon.
Many tons of dead fish have been discovered and collected on the Polish and German sides of the Oder in recent weeks.
The cause of the fish deaths is still unclear, and the incident has resulted in some tension between Warsaw and Berlin, as authorities on both sides struggle to ascertain the cause, and why it took so long for authorities to identify the problem.
