An unidentified highly toxic substance in the Oder river, which runs through Poland and Germany, appears to be the cause of a mass die-off of fish, the German state of Brandenburg's environment ministry said. An analysis of river water taken this week showed evidence of "synthetic chemical substances, very probably also with toxic effects for vertebrates," the ministry said on Thursday, adding that it remained unclear how the substance entered the water. According to local broadcaster rbb, the state laboratory found high levels of mercury in the water samples. The head of Poland's national water management authority told private broadcaster Polsat News that the presence of mercury in the water had yet to be confirmed, however. "At the moment, these are press reports. We have no confirmation regarding mercury in the Oder," Przemyslaw Daca, the head of Polish Waters, said. The ministry in Brandenburg, the state surrounding Berlin, said it had not yet been possible to assess … [Read more...] about Mass fish die-off in German-Polish river blamed on unknown toxic substance
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Farmed lobsters die en masse following storm in south-central Vietnam
Nearly 30,000 farmed lobsters have died for unknown reasons in the south-central Vietnamese province of Phu Yen after a tropical storm made its way into the country’s mainland earlier this week. Some 29,240 lobsters and 1,220 groupers and barramundi raised in 385 farming rafts in Song Cau Town, Phu Yen had died as of Wednesday, Nguyen Van Lam, head of the provincial Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, confirmed a day later. The damage was estimated at nearly VND2.5 billion (US$106,850). With appropriate measures, local farmers managed to stop the mass mortality on Thursday, which could be attributed to Storm Mulan , according to the provincial Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine. The dead lobsters showed no signs of suffering from diseases. Storm Mulan, the second hitting Vietnam this year, weakened into a tropical depression early on Thursday morning after bringing rough seas and strong waves to the East Vietnam Sea on Wednesday … [Read more...] about Farmed lobsters die en masse following storm in south-central Vietnam