Mass fish deaths in German river lead to negative award

BERLIN, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- A mass die-off of fish in a river running between Poland and Germany has led to a negative award from the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU).

The German non-governmental organization warned on Wednesday that many flowing waters in Germany are in poor ecological condition.

Fishermen first discovered the dead fish in the river Oder, near the Polish town of Olawa, at the end of July. The first fish deaths downriver in Germany were reported around two weeks later. Subsequently, tons of dead fish had to be pulled from the river.

According to a German expert report, the mass fish deaths in the Oder River were caused by the proliferation of toxic brackish water algae, which had been triggered by a sudden increase in the river's salinity.

"Renaturation of the river Oder is indispensable to counteract climate impacts and prevent further ecosystem damage," said NABU president Joerg-Andreas Krueger.

Since 1993, the negative "Dinosaur of the year" award from NABU has been given to public figures, as well as to projects demonstrating a lack of commitment to nature conservation and environmental protection.

Germany's rivers and flowing waters have been affected by industrialization, Krueger said.

He explained that phenomena such as "straightening, bank stabilization, and shipping channel deepening" all increase water flow velocity, leading to the loss of important habitats, and rivers losing resilience.

Only ten percent of Germany's rivers, lakes, and coastal waters are in good ecological condition, the Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) said in mid-October.

Although chemical contamination in groundwater has decreased slightly, there are still "major challenges," in this area, a joint statement by BMUV and the German Environment Agency noted.

One in five groundwater bodies in Germany has been shown to have excessively high levels of nitrates.