Brandenburg authorities are concerned about dead fish in the Oder. According to the Institute of Environmental Protection, the cause of the extinction, as it was two years ago, is golden algae. Civic Platform politicians remain silent, they do not talk about mercury in the Oder. Such lies were conveyed in August 2022 by the then Marshal of the Voivodeship. Lubuskie Elżbieta Polak, today MP of KO. Donald Tusk, who then claimed that PiS is mercury, also remains silent. “At that time they were poor creatures, and today these dead fish are undoubtedly smiling,” said Zbigniew Bogucki of PiS, then voivode of Western Pomerania, in an interview with wPolityce.pl.
According to information from Krystian Szczepański, director of the Institute for Environmental Protection, there are three fires involving the capture of dead fish. This is the Gliwice Canal, Czerwieńsk Municipality near Zielona Góra and Głogów. Approximately 200 kilograms of dead fish were caught at the latter location. A few days ago, the Ministry of Climate and Environment reported the appearance of golden algae in the Oder River, which had to be combated by firefighters with ammonium sulfate. Warnings have been issued and some swimming areas are closed.
Both Germany and Poland plan to take measures to stop the spread of algae. On Wednesday, the Brandenburg Environmental Protection Department will inform about possible further steps based on the measured pollution values
– announced the German Federal Environmental Agency. German media no longer provide false information – as in 2022 – about the mercury floating in the Oder.
READ ALSO: Even the golden algae laughs under Tusk? Dead fish caught in April from the Gliwice Canal. TVN: Golden algae again
What happened in 2022 during the Oder crisis was pure politics. Golden algae problems occur all over the world and no one has a solution to overcome them. Such a way simply does not exist yet. The total opposition at the time, and those in power now, knew this very well. They were not concerned with protecting the river, the well-being of the fish or the safety of people, but with using this situation for political purposes, and they succeeded. I remember that The German services did not inform us about this situation at the time and did not provide any cooperation. And we placed many dams on the river, and on the other hand, these activities were bad, and yet the Oder is an ordinary river, one bank is Polish and the other German.
– recalls Zbigniew Bogucki, then voivode of Western Pomerania, in an interview with the wPolityce.pl portal.
Tusk is no longer looking for mercury
Let’s not forget that on August 11, 2022, unverified information about mercury floating in the Oder appeared in local German media. They were quickly picked up by Civic Platform politicians. Marshal of Elżbieta Polak, Lubuskie Province, told the media that she had spoken with the Minister of Agriculture, Climate and Environment of Brandenburg State, Axel Vogel, about the pollution of the Oder.
Last Friday I spoke with the Minister of the Environment of Brandenburg. Among other things, I received first-hand information during the first tests mercury appeared and with such intensity that the scales could not cope
– Elżbieta Polak, who is now a member of parliament of the Civic Platform, told this to journalists at the time. But after just a week, the Pole admitted that she was aware that mercury was not the cause of fish deaths in the Oder River!
And I didn’t say anything about the causes of death
– Elżbieta Polak maneuvered on Polsat News in mid-August 2022.
I remember that when this pseudo-information was leaked to the public, it caused great confusion among the residents of the provinces in the south of the Western Pomeranian Voivodeship. It was extremely irresponsible. When the Marshal of the PO Voivodeship says unverified things that spread social fear, we are dealing with a situation that should never have happened. Government authorities exist to combat crises and provide the public with real information to ensure residents’ compliance, not to cause panic. Unfortunately, they then managed to cause panic, people started buying water, fearing that the drinking water intake could also be contaminated, which of course was one big manipulation and lie.. A lot of people were scared, it was just scaremongering. Completely irresponsible behavior, instead of calming the mood and providing verified and real information to protect people and increase safety
– reminds MP Bogucki.
Dead fish in the Oder and fake news from the German media, supported by the statements of Marshal of Elizabeth II, were quickly exploited by Donald Tusk. In a post on social media he called PiS mercury. This opinion of the current Prime Minister was reminded of him when dead fish were again floating in the Odra River.
Uncomfortable situation
– wrote Grzegorz Lisiński on social media. In 2022, Tusk, preparing to return to Polish politics, thundered on the X platform:
It is not just the fish in the Oder that are being killed, the entire society under Kaczyński’s rule is being killed. PiS is like mercury
This story was picked up by many Tusk-friendly media outlets.
We remember that Marshal Polak, together with some far-left circles, wanted to give the river legal personality. I don’t know if this initiative will hold up now. Perhaps we should ask the current management of the Ministry of Climate, Polish Waters or the current voivode whether this enlightened initiative will be continued so that the Odra River gets its own legal personality. Let’s remember one more important thing. The whole story was also focused on Polish industry at the time. There have been many innuendos as to who the source of this poisoning is. These were even ideas to close industries in Lower Silesia and Silesia, which affected the local Polish economic climate, benefiting millions of Poles. But closing a mine or any part of the industry in Lower Silesia and Silesia is a bad idea
– a Law and Justice politician tells us.
National Broadcasting Council analysis regarding 2022 journalistic material on alleged mercury in the Oder
Maybe these fish are laughing?
So they were undoubtedly poor creatures, a today these dead fish are undoubtedly smilingjust like everything else in Poland these days
– Ironizes Zbigniew Bogucki, who, as a voivod of Western Pomerania, had to deal with a huge wave of hatred towards the dead fish in the Oder.
Thanks to the services, my colleagues and the efforts of many people, especially fishermen, we managed to stop this spreading crisis in the Szczecin Lagoon. We have taken very intensive actions. Today I would expect clear information to come from the government and its subordinate services about what we are dealing with and what the extent of the golden algae is. First of all, what happens in the Gliwice Canal, because that is where the source of the problem lies. We must also clarify whether we are still dealing with the situations that Elżbieta Polak and politicians of the total opposition talked about two years ago, that this was all due to mercury.
– says a lawmaker from the Law and Justice club, recalling that the Oder “was salty for decades when golden algae entered the river.”
I warned then not to use this situation for political fights, because this situation, in the case of low water levels and high temperatures, will happen again as soon as it occurs. Nowadays we have much better knowledge about the Oder, among other things, because we have done extensive research into it. At that time, the Odra was the most guarded river not only in Europe, but almost in the world. The government now has many more instruments after what we have developed. It is a warning system and a response and crisis management system
– summarizes Zbigniew Bogucki.
READ ALSO: MKiŚ about the Gliwice Canal: “The latest research shows a local decrease in oxygen concentration.” Do golden algae also cause fish deaths?
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Source: wPolityce